financial services

Esurance Expands US Open Sponsorship

Esurance

Esurance has signed on for another two years of sponsoring the US Open tennis tournament and is expanding its marketing around the event.

The direct-to-consumer car insurance provider, which first sponsored the event last year, will focus on elevating the fan experience and the US Open's Green Initiative, says Esurance vice president of marketing Darren Howard.

"Esurance will have a fully integrated marketing campaign that stretches across multiple channels, including television, online, print, along with a strong social media component," Howard tells Marketing Daily.

The deal includes media support of tournament television broadcasts, an on-site presence, and a relationship with USOpen.org, the official website of the US Open. The car insurance company is also one of the presenting sponsors of live match streaming on USOpen.org.

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"We are focusing on programs that enhance the US Open experience for fans with both technology and helpful personal solutions, much in the same way we've done for car insurance," Howard says.

The company's core target is tech savvy consumers ages 25-49 who are confident in their decisions and comfortable doing business online, he adds. "They intuitively know that online means both convenience and cost savings," Howard says. "This target is well represented among US Open fans. Sponsoring this event will help us reach and influence these decision makers, both at the event and through our national marketing efforts around the US Open."

Esurance will continue to support the US Open's wide-ranging Green Initiative, one component of which is to encourage attendees to take mass transit to the competition. The company will do this by distributing New York City Subway MetroCards at select times during the two-week tournament. Esurance will also have branding exposure on USTA shuttles and select on-site maps, and is sponsoring a bag-check station during the event for the convenience of fans.

Additionally, Esurance will sponsor four Olympus US Open Series events leading up to America's Grand Slam in New York. These include: Atlanta Men's Tournament (Atlanta Tennis Championships); Women's Tournament (Bank of the West Classic) in Stanford, Calif.; Men's Tournament (Winston-Salem Open) in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Women's Tournament (New Haven Open at Yale), in New Haven, Conn.

The 2011 US Open will be held Aug. 29 through Sept. 11. The 2010 US Open drew more than 710,000 fans, marking the fourth consecutive year the event has attracted more than 700,000 attendees. More than 70 million domestic viewers watched the 2010 US Open on CBS Sports, ESPN2 and Tennis Channel, and international broadcasts reached 185 countries.

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