The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the the national governing body for tennis in Great Britain, has announced a new three-year partnership with fresh fruit and vegetable giant Del Monte.
The agreement will offer the canned, fresh fruit and fruit juice brand 'significant exposure' at the series of pre-Wimbledon grass court tournaments, including the Fever Tree Championships at Queen’s Club in London.
'With a unique TV audience of 12.3m and attendances of over 155,000, the pre-Wimbledon series of grass court tournaments form the heart of the nation’s summer sporting calendar,' the LTA said in a statement. 'The Del Monte partnership will deliver on-site activation through product sampling and advertising at all British Tennis Tournaments.'
In the UK this summer, Del Monte will run an on-pack promotion across 3m cartons of Del Monte fruit juice and prepared fruit pots; offering prizes of 250 Babolat junior racket & ball sets, 50 adidas courtside kits and the chance to win a family break at La Manga.
“We are excited with this new partnership with Del Monte and to welcome them to the British Tennis family of partners,' said James Mercer, commercial director at the LTA. 'Del Monte is focused on quality and sustainability and are committed to promoting healthy lifestyles. Our fans, players and coaches will be enthusiastic about this news and we are looking forward to developing an ongoing relationship with Del Monte to support the LTA’s mission to get more people playing tennis.”
The partnership aligns with Del Monte’s commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle and educating a wider audience on the health benefits of eating fruit.
Speaking on the announcement, Martin Selley, managing director at Del Monte UK said: “We are delighted to announce this partnership with The LTA. British Tennis is regarded so highly culturally and is deeply rooted in our heritage. The LTA’s mission to promote healthy lifestyles and encourage a younger audience to engage with the sport makes the LTA a perfect fit for our brand as it aligns with our ethos and core values.'
The partnership feeds into Del Monte’s wider consumer focused ‘Everybody Says Yes’ campaign which aim to convey the brand’s key messages of convenience, quality and health to a modern audience and widen the appeal of canned fruit to new and existing consumers.
'Contemporising the brand and conveying the health benefits of the Del Monte fresh and canned ranges is also a key focus for us, being one of our key growth platforms,' Selley added. “Of course, at Del Monte we only ‘Say Yes To The Best' partnerships.”
