The International Tennis Federation
Boost global awareness of Billy Jean King Cup
OVERVIEW
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) governs global tennis, including wheelchair and beach tennis, representing 211 national and six regional associations. In 2022, we were tasked with boosting global awareness of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals—the women’s World Cup of Tennis—among new and existing fans in key international markets.
The mission: ignite excitement, reach fresh tennis audiences, and spotlight the world’s top female players through a creative, data-driven digital strategy.
OBJECTIVES
Our goal was to engage three main audience types:
Core tennis fans in target markets
General sports viewers (TV/online)
Connected ITF social followers
We designed customised creative strategies for 13 international audiences, shaped by their viewing habits, cultural preferences, and passion points within tennis. This multi-market, insight-led approach allowed us to fine-tune messaging and content formats to maximise engagement and awareness.
STRATEGY & EXECUTION
Phase 1 – Awareness
Deployed hero promo videos on YouTube to capture attention and build excitement.
Created localised “country hype” videos to resonate with regional audiences.
Phase 2 – Engagement
Retargeted viewers of initial content with daily highlights and key match moments across Meta.
Boosted engagement around major tournament milestones and broadcast moments.
Phase 3 – Recap & Retention
Post-event content highlighted tournament winners and fan-favourite moments.
Continued engagement with the most interactive audiences, driving deeper brand association.
We blended emotion-driven storytelling with agile ad placements, ensuring content was timely, relevant, and supercharged with country pride.
KEY COMPONENTS
Platform Focus
YouTube: Used for awareness-driving hero content.
Meta: Retargeting engine for dynamic, short-form highlights.
Creative Approach
Sharp, snappy video formats—under 30 seconds for Meta.
Region-specific hooks (e.g. “Go Italy!” or “Team Canada, it’s your time”) increased engagement and view-through rates.
Media Phasing
Pre-event: High-impact awareness promos
During event: Highlights and live content boosts
Post-event: Winner moments and wrap-up stories
RESULTS & IMPACT
YouTube Performance
736K full-length video views (30+ seconds)
36.9% view-through rate—4% above benchmark
£0.02 CPV—31% below industry average
99% of promo views came from paid media
Meta Performance
5.3M+ thru-plays
47.7% view-through rate
£0.003 CPV
Website & Search Growth
64% YoY increase in site sessions (643K vs. 393K)
108% increase in branded search traffic
43% rise in 25–34 year-old engaged users
Content Wins
"Point of the Day": 54% full views on Meta
“Team Canada” hype video: 60% view rate on YouTube
Localised content drove higher engagement—Italy and Canada led in views
Key Takeaways
Short, focused videos win on Meta.
Region-personalised content performs best.
Paid media is essential to scaling reach and driving meaningful brand engagement.
This campaign proved that smart segmentation and emotionally resonant creative can elevate a global sporting event—turning tennis moments into powerful marketing milestones.
Billy Jean King Image Credit: Kathy Willens/AP/Press Association Images via NPR
'Richard provided valuable guidance in how to shape a compelling narrative and to help improve our communications and develop a social media campaign to build awareness of the Billie Jean King Cup, the women's World Cup of Tennis. We fully intend to build on the success of that campaign and to continue working with Richard. He has a really good way with clients, he listens and is very clear and diplomatic when handling multiple stakeholders. A true pro. A strong comms lead for any organisation.'
SENIOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMUNICATIONS | INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION