Prince Tennis – U.S. Open Guerilla Marketing Campaign

Prince Tennis is an industry leader in the development and manufacturing of technologically advanced tennis equipment for players at all levels who have a true passion for performance. Formula was charged with generating significant exposure in and around New York City during the U.S. Open.

Challenges:

• Prince decided for the first time not to be an on-site sponsor of the U.S. Open, thus creating significant challenges to create exposure at Flushing Meadows
• Promote Prince-sponsored players Jennifer Capriati, Jan Michael-Gambill, Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero without being an on-site sponsor
• Limited budget to develop a multi-faceted program
• The tennis community is very conservative, providing additional challenges to be over-the-top creative

Strategy:

• Develop a street team called “Gang Green” comprised of athletic guys that have the letters
  P-R-I-N-C-E painted onto their chest and roam the high-traffic streets of New York
• Distribute Prince promotional literature and temporary tattoos to all passengers on the Number 7 train, the only train that goes from Manhattan to Flushing Meadows
• Publicize the “free” tennis lessons hosted by Prince-sponsored players in Central Park and Tennis Magazine’s Grand Slam event at Grand Central Station
• Ensure that Gang Green was in attendance at all Prince-sponsored players matches to drive spectator support

Results:

• The Gang Green team received national exposure on The Today Show, Good Morning America, MTV’s Total Request Live, ESPN, NY1 and WNBC and print coverage in Tennis Magazine and Inside Tennis
• Gang Green cheered loudly for the Prince-sponsored players during their matches causing fans to support the players as well
• Prince distributed more than 100,000 brochures during the five day Gang Green campaign
• Tennis Magazine cited Gang Green as one of the contributing factors to making their inaugural Grand Slam event so successful

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