Tennis Marketing: How Does Your Tennis Garden Grow? Dig Deeper

The landscape for tennis marketing has changed. Consumers used to have one or two main hubs for tennis information. Today, there are multiple ways that consumers get info about how and where to play. Consumers themselves also are more diverse than ever before. They differ greatly by age, location, and a wide range of other demographics.

Simply put, what was once a large, mostly uniform field of tennis grass has become more of a multi-faceted tennis garden. The days of saturating a uniform field with a single marketing message and getting great results are over. It’s time to dig deeper.

Thanks to USTA Florida’s new Tennis Management Division, we now have the ability to work alongside communities and feed consumers at their roots. We’re planting our first seeds at the Racquet Club of Cocoa Beach, and the difference is noticeable.

During the last three months, we have worked with the City of Cocoa Beach to identify what grows best. Cocoa Beach is not a tennis community. It’s a beach community — probably the “beachiest” community in Florida. It’s built on surfing, cruise ships, and a local scene that values sun, sand and sea. Our marketing and promotions purposefully reflect the local community. The facility logo is a sunrise over a wave.

Our grand re-opening event on Jan. 6 is a beach barbeque. Our planned partnerships will include the city swim complex and surf schools. These are the seeds that will grow best.

Our next USTA Florida managed facility will be in a completely different area. We can’t just re-purpose what we do in Cocoa Beach. We will dig deep again and find out what seeds to plant in that community.

Ultimately, what makes a garden most beautiful is when the plants and flowers come together to produce a diverse and many-faceted landscape. USTA Florida is ready to dig deeper in communities across the state. To learn how you can join our garden, visit USTAFlorida.com/volunteer today.