Tennis Canada is launching a new brand and website during Canada’s largest tennis event.
On Aug. 6, when tennis superstar Raphael Nadal conducts the draw for the Rogers Cup lineup, Tennis Canada will concurrently launch LoveMeansNothing.ca, its new website and the culmination of a rebranding effort led by Level5 and Smith Roberts Communication.
The goal, according to Liz Atkins, vice-president and senior strategist at Smith Roberts, is to “talk less about Tennis Canada, and more about tennis in Canada… There will be a lot of interactivity on the site. We’re hoping it will become the hub of tennis in Canada.”
For those who don’t swing a racket regularly, tennis players who are scoreless in a match are said to have “love.” The URL is a nod to the semi-secret code of the sport, known to the approximately 4.5 million who Tennis Canada said play the sport in this country. The “language of tennis” is a theme that is carried throughout the new website.
The site does away with comparatively bland presentation of the organizations’ rules, news releases and policy archive in favour of more social elements meant to engage the sport’s fans and create a hub for discussion and information–a recommendation of Level5’s.
“Our old site was an online binder,” said Michael Cvitkovic, Tennis Canada’s director of communications and media relations. “It was more for putting up our annual reports and strategy plans and there was no opportunity for dialogue.”
Thanks to the new site’s improved functionality, the Rogers Cup will be streamed live on the site throughout its run Aug. 7 to 15, as will the upcoming Canada-Dominican Republic Davis Cup match in September. The site will also feature video interviews and lessons with Canadian tennis professionals, and video lessons with world-class instructors.
“Fans have the opportunity, if they have questions about their backhand, for example, to send an e-mail to [former Boris Becker coach] Bob Brett and he’ll make it a video lesson,” Cvitkovic said.
Level5 developed the rebranding strategy, while Smith Roberts was charged with creating the new web property and promoting it.
Tennis Canada has dedicated several of its media properties–including custom publications and highly visible court-side boards–to promoting the new site. It also negotiated with broadcast partners TSN and CBC to air 30-second television ads developed by Smith Roberts. The ads will also appear during the Canadian broadcast of the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 30.
