Häagen-Dazs has joined the lineup of Wimbledon partners, returning as the official ice cream supplier of the tennis championships after a six-year absence.
The five-year tie-up will be marked by a £2.5m marketing campaign and a new and exclusive limited-edition strawberries & cream stick bar sold exclusively at the 2016 tournament, which begins on 27 June at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
The General Mills brand was a Wimbledon partner up to 2010, after which the event had no official ice cream supplier, with artisan ice cream brand Jude’s sourced independently via Wimbledon’s supply arrangement with Compass. Jude’s marketing director Chow Mezger said the brand wouldn’t be at the tennis chammionships this summer, but added it still had “a great relationship” with Compass.
The lack of an ice cream sponsor at Wimbledon over recent years was because the All-England Club doesn’t aggressively court sponsors and limits itself to no more than 15 each year, said All-England Club commercial and media director Mick Desmond.
He added that the greatest benefit to brands of being a Wimbledon partner was the association with a “luxury sporting event”.
Häagen-Dazs joins 12 other official suppliers at the 2016 championships, including Robinsons, Evian, Lanson, Lavazza and Stella Artois. Last year, an estimated 135,000 ice creams were sold at the tournament.
“Wimbledon is a strong fit for our overall strategy to increase brand saliency and elevate our iconic equity,” said Arjoon Bose, Häagen-Dazs Northern Europe marketing manager. “Awareness is going to be very high this summer, and this gives us the perfect opportunity to excite and attract new shoppers.”
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