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While not a big tennis fan, I did happen to catch a couple minutes of a few of the matches over the last few days. Like most novice fans, I will usually tune in to see the big stars – Federor, Nadal, Roddick (maybe not so much a star, but an American) and the Williams sisters. Something caught my attention as I was watching a couple of these matches. Several players, each of whom was not highly ranked (or in my case I had never even heard of them), had sponsor logos on their respective shirts. And these were not small sponsors, but fairly major players like the Westin Hotel Group.

I was curious as to why this would be the case – surely the cost to sponsor a lowly rated player had to be a fraction of what it would cost compared to a top ranked player, but where is the return? Maybe each was a celebrity in their own country, so it was countrywide marketing. After checking online, that didn’t seem to be the case either. I thought it was odd, and was determined to get to the bottom of this. Then I opened the New York Post yesterday and got my answer.

It seems as though some sharp marketers are opting to sponsor lower rated players who are on the court against the world’s top ranked tennis players. It’s a one-time sponsorship, specifically for that match. It’s what the New York Post called ‘opponent marketing’ and you know what – I like it very much. Think about it, the opponent is going to get serious air time during the match, and the sponsorship will be a fraction of what it would cost for a highly rated player. Again, a touch of creative innovation in my opinion.

Much like my last post regarding Snookie from Jersey Shore and ‘un-branding’, I think it’s an incredibly creative way to promote your brand in a very targeted and cost-effective manner. Apparently, so does the New York Post as they, like I, must have noticed it enough to write a small article about this type of marketing. It’s great to see more companies taking these creative and cost-effective approaches to marketing, as our economy continues to stumble towards a recovery (maybe). I am constantly on the look-out for these type of programs and here again applaud the companies and their marketing folks for their creativity.

Regardless of who eventually wins on the court at Forest Hills this week, it seems to me like marketers such as Westin have already aced the tournament!