The women’s tennis at the Monterrey Open is a gateway to one of the most attractive markets in Mexico. In an interview with El Economista, directors of the Caliente bookmaker and the Amstel Ultra Seltzer beer brand spoke about their positioning objectives at the local and international levels, as well as their association with a premium sport.
The objective of sponsoring Caliente at the Monterrey Open attacks different fronts: to be able to enter women’s tennis, since its strategy is to monopolize the sports market; also becoming visible in a world-class event attended by well-ranked tennis players (four top 20 before Emma Raducanu and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova were dropped); to grow her philosophy of supporting women’s sports and having a presence in a place like Monterrey.
“It is a city that matters a lot to us, not only because of its population density, but also because it has very good income per capita, it is a business city and it is very fruitful. It also has a lot of sports and great tennis schools. Monterrey is a place that we need to enter, right now we do not have a sponsorship here from soccer. Somehow entering tennis for us is very important so that people know that we are not only national, that we also play local and that we like to be known”, said Fernanda Sainz, Marketing Director of Caliente.mx.
According to INEGI, Nuevo León ranked seventh nationally for its number of inhabitants in 2020; the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) pointed out at the end of February that Monterrey is one of the best cities to work in the country, where per capita income was one of the highest in Mexico, according to El Financiero, which led to people will spend more on recreation events.
After six years supporting the Mexican Tennis Open in AcapulcoFor the first time, Caliente.mx was able to enter as a sponsor of the Monterrey Open, as it was this year that the WTA authorized the 250 category event to have the support of a bookmaker. The specialist from Caliente.mx commented that they have an agreement for this year, with the intention of moving to a larger sponsorship in the event and renegotiating for three or four more years.
“Before the WTA, being a bookmaker, would not let us in; that is something important that has changed a lot, the perception of the same sport, of the same people. Especially in places like Monterrey, where there is still a lot of misinformation or prejudice against us as a bookmaker, they do not see us with good eyes,” Sainz said, adding that the higher the category in sports, the bookmakers have more opening.
In addition to the tournaments in Acapulco and Monterrey, Caliente sponsors the Los Cabos Open, the Zapopan Open and, in November of last year, the WTA Finals. Although they maintain a good relationship with the Mexican Renata Zarazúa, they do not have individual sponsorships for tennis players, since the WTA restricts them from advertising with the players.
On the other hand, Amstel Ultra Seltzer, a premium Heineken brand, based in Monterrey, has sponsored the event since its launch in 2018, although that year it only did so with the ATP Challenger tournament and for 2019 it also joined the ATP Challenger event. the WTA. However, Nicolás Álvarez Schiano, manager of the brand, indicated that the company’s support for the tournament has been with other brands for years.
The goal is to be present at events with high attendance and that are of interest to consumers of your premium brand. Tennis, as a sport, is aimed at the highest socioeconomic levels.
“These types of competitions are organized by very capable people who manage to generate social events around the practice of tennis, which ends up being very attractive for consumers in the cities where they are happening,” said Álvarez, adding that “it is also a sport that goes with the brand’s philosophy of seeking an active, balanced lifestyle and with all the premium that accompanies tennis and Amstel Ultra, being one of our premium portfolio brands, from a lot of optics it makes sense for us to be there ” .
Currently, the contract that the brand has with the Monterrey Open is multi-year, although it did not specify until when it is valid. Amstel Ultra also sponsors the Acapulco Open and the Zapopan WTA.
Amstel Ultra is running the “It’s time to live your purposes” campaign, which seeks to motivate older consumers to meet their New Year’s goals, on the fronts of well-being, connection and experiences; in the latter, they are invited to participate to win trips to the tennis tournaments they are part of. The only tennis player to whom the brand provides sponsorship is Rafael Nadal.
The company GNP Seguros owns the rights to the name of the event and also has 15 other partners: Amstel Ultra Seltzer, Tane, Santander, Buick, Powerade, Christus Muguerza, AeroMéxico, Parvada, Terza, Manchester, Vinoteca, Caliente, Imagen Radio, San Rafael and the Government of Monterrey.
