Client: Charleston Open & USTA South Carolina
Event: Charleston Open 2022
Activation: Fan Zone
Location: Credit One Stadium, South Carolina
The Brief:
The Charleston Open has never included fan activation before, and this year was the first time they wanted to delve into the activation world! With the event being a major feature on the WTA circuit, the brief was focused on pushing tennis and in particularly kids’ participation, across the county of South Carolina.
The Process:
We wanted to make sure that the fan zone was centred around creating a fun and exciting environment, to encourage kids to interact with the activations. The activations needed to be accessible to fans of all ages and abilities, which incorporated the various skills involved with tennis. It was also a fantastic opportunity for us to utilise our partnership with BatFast, by using our simulator technology to help drive tennis participation.
The Result:
Charleston Open Fan Zone: Our Fan Zone featured four tennis activations, alongside a fun photo opportunity and
RacketFast Challenge: Using calibrated BatFast tennis simulator technology, fans of all ages, backgrounds and abilities could put their racket skills to the test! Facing oncoming serves, fans had to hit the ball at various targets to score as many points as possible.
Speed of Serve: Fans had three attempts to achieve their highest speed of serve!
Ball Kid Challenge: Replicating the role of ball boys & girls within elite tennis, fans had to roll the ball 10M into the ball kid’s hands.
Kids Zone: We provided a creative space for kids with our tennis themed colouring wall.
Photo Opportunity: Fans had great fun taking photos against various backdrops that was all about promoting the tournament and tennis.
Shy Challenge: We adapted the classic coconut shy challenge that incorporated more of a tennis theme! Fans had to hit a tennis ball to knock of the coconut size tennis balls which proved to be a lot harder than it looks!
We welcomed over 21,500 fans through our Charleston Open Fan Zone, where it was fantastic to see so many kids picking up a tennis racket for the first time. Marking the debut of BatFast out in the USA, we yielded our partnership to help break down the barriers to sport participation. With thousands of smiling faces leaving the event, we take great pride in recognising the inspirational effect our activation work has amongst fans. With fan activation growing more of a presence across sporting events, the future of sport is looking bright!
Comments