This year marks Kia’s 19th year as the Major Partner of the Australian Open.

With years of experience, Kia knows that owning the grounds takes more than branded assets, but experiences that stimulate the senses, create memories and ultimately, turn the idea of traditional auto touchpoints on its head.

Kia is using the Australian Open to launch a car, this year it’s their first small SUV, the Seltos. A car that’s bolder in terms of design and features and aimed at catering to a younger audience who over-index in urban aesthetics. To engage this more discerning audience, rather than building a typical auto experience, Bastion EBA built ‘Kia Seltos Studios’, a multi-sensory experience that invites AO fans to step inside the Kia Seltos universe and experience deconstructed elements of the car’s design.

Located at the Grand Slam Oval precinct at Melbourne Park, Seltos Studios outer walls mimic in-built Bose speakers with jagged edges that creep up over its roof. Neon signs and changing wall colours give onlookers a first-hand feel of the mood-lighting feature and draw attention from across the grounds. The hero of the activation is ‘Beat The Beat’ which brings together an amalgam of the Seltos features in a digital game that challenges guests to stomp digital tennis balls to speed up their virtual Seltos.

After week one Kia are close to recording their fortnight consumer target for the Kia Seltos Studios activation. Dean Norbiato, General Manager – Marketing at KIA Motors Australia said: “The Aus Open is the vanguard for sponsor activations in Australia and this year Seltos Studios is at its epicentre. For us, it’s about shifting brand perception and using our sub brands, like Seltos, in fresh and unique experiential ways to hero our master brand.”

Whilst Kia Seltos Studios is the hero consumer activation, multiple other touch points inside and outside of the Tennis Australia precinct come together throughout the Australian Open period working simultaneously to drive awareness of and engagement with the Kia brand.

Bastion EBA worked closely with Kia and Tennis Australia to curate the VIK Ceremony, the first public Melbourne appearance of global Kia ambassador Rafael Nadal. The appearance saw Rafa hand over the keys to the fleet of Kia cars that are fundamental in moving players and officials around Melbourne throughout the tournament.

The campaign was also amplified by Kia Surprise Sunday. This year falling on Australia Day, EBA composed Kia Tricks Squads, who gave fans a chance to win spot prizes and the opportunity to participate alongside renowned Serbian trickster Stefan Bojic, for their chance to win a 2021 Australian Open VIP experience.

Two Seltos car displays in Federation Square and Garden Square North completed the campaign where fans could get a selfie with the custom Rafael Nadal bobblehead. The campaign was further amplified by the KIA Fan Fleet partnership with Uber, giving fans the chance for free Uber trips to the tennis throughout the tournament.

This campaign is an example of true integration from the ATL spot that plays across broadcast, right through to the look and feel of Kia Seltos Studios and the designs of each car display. The sleek design of each execution is an encapsulation of the new Seltos, aimed at a younger urban audience who value the tech and spec of this progressive new model. Each decision was made with this consumer in mind, and the result is a consumer led campaign that caters to their passion points and lifestyle choices.

In Garnier’s second year of partnering with the Australian Open, the brand has utilised the sponsorship to complement and amplify their existing Coast to Court creative campaign currently in market. As part of this program, Garnier is excited to have produced the first competition grade tennis net made completely of recycled plastics.

With over 800,000 fans estimated to attend the event in 2020, the Garnier Coast to Court activation helps tennis fans take a journey through Garnier’s mission to reduce the plastic waste making its way into our oceans and onto our beaches every year.

The experience invites fans to walk through the wave, feel the mist of water on their skin, learn about Garnier’s sustainable approach and, on their way out, take a unique photo and a sample of Garnier’s iconic Micellar Water – with its 100% recyclable plastic packaging.

Speaking to the role of experiential marketing in driving and amplifying campaign engagement, Alexandra Shadbolt, Garnier Marketing Director, said:

“Garnier is committed to sustainable sourcing and reducing our environmental footprint to support our future generations.

“If we can engage in a conversation and offer a fun and interactive activation that truly resonates with Australians, then it’s the first step in creating a more sustainable future.”

Bastion EBA was responsible for building an activation for Garnier that amplifies their existing Coast to Court campaign and heroes Garnier’s Green Net. The Coast to Court activation featuring the giant wave on Federation Square, the mini version at Show Court 3 and the team of helpful Garnier Coast Guards roaming the AO grounds help Garnier serve a greener summer of tennis from the coast to the court.

At Bastion EBA, we believe the human touch and immersive nature of experiential marketing goes a long way for brands, and pays off in the long run. Brand experiences engage customers directly by inviting them to participate in-person rather than putting them in the role of a passive observer. The Freeman Global Brand Experience study discovered 93% of consumers claim live events have a larger influence on them than TV ads. Making experiences a significant opportunity for brands to bring their ethos to life and turn imagination into reality, helping customers fall in love with their culture not just their products. By reflecting consumers increased needs to create memories, thanks in part to social media. From a business perspective, this means consumers are willing to spend money on experiences, and in turn are more likely to purchase products the company sells.

With total attendance approaching 800K over a 2-week period, the Australian Open (AO) is the biggest sporting event in the southern hemisphere.

With serious crowds, and even bigger broadcast numbers, it’s no shock that sponsors have upped the ante in recent years with zones that step away from preaching a commercial brand plea to immersive experiences that leave a long-lasting, emotional impression on attendees.

While ‘customer-centred design’ and ‘consumer-first’ experiences are vetted concepts when it comes to product design and the online customer journey, in sports sponsorship, it’s only just getting started.

The AO is proof that it’s perhaps less about logo placement (judged by ROI) and increasingly about the consumer reward (judged by return on experience or ROX).

Tennis Australia’s desire has been to transform the Australian Open to more than just a sporting event, instead creating an entertainment destination in its own right.

With restaurants, live entertainment and anchoring themes for the GSO (this year’s themes: “Countryside”, “Eastside” and “Northside”), sponsors are taking heed of Tennis Australia’s visions with activations that focus on detail, frictionless customer experiences and above all, creating memories.

In this post-interruption era, (read: ad blockers and streaming services) brands have to work harder to win over the hearts and minds of their target audience.

A simple logo placement no longer constitutes success at the sponsor or consumer level.

For brands, the AO has become a chance to build activations that elevate live sports experience and connect with people through tangible, real-world activities that communicate things TVC’s can’t.

According to the Freeman Global Brand Experience study, 93% of consumers claim that live events have a larger influence on them than TV ads.

The human touch and immersive nature of experiential goes a long way for brands and pays off in the long run; they engage customers directly by inviting them to participate in-person rather than putting them in the role of a passive spectator.

Experiences are an opportunity for brands to bring their ethos to life and turn imagination into reality, helping customers fall in love with their culture not just their products.

This thinking reflects the needs and wants of today’s consumers who prioritise creating memories thanks, in part to social media.

With today’s more discerning and powerful consumer, experiential is a huge opportunity for brands to spark positive word of mouth through tactile activations that humanise an otherwise inanimate entity.

Unlike the past where the internet was a way to escape our physical worlds, today, the real world has become a respite from the interminable pull of our digital lives.

A bad experience runs not the risk of being ignored, but of being called out and publicly shamed.

This is the year that Pat Cash’s words will ring truer than ever “It’s always felt like a festival that happens to have a tennis tournament going on at the same time” and we’re excited to watch it unfold as we enter week two of the event.

Written by: Georgia Patch, Creative Strategist