Nestle and FILA make Rogers Cup debut

VP and CCO Rob Swann on the activations hitting Toronto and Montreal for this year's tournament.

The best of the world’s tennis stars have descended on Toronto and Montreal this week for the 2016 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank.

Switching cities each year, this edition has the men in Toronto and the women in Montreal. Both cities have new sponsors attached to the event, with Nestle brands Perrier and Nestle Life as well as FILA signing deals ahead of the 2016 tournaments.

Perrier is activating in Toronto and Montreal with an on-site tent and sampling, while FILA is outfitting the over 2,200 volunteers, as well as launching a trivia challenge on the recently redesigned Rogers Cup app, said Rob Swann, VP and CCO, Tennis Canada.

The clothing brand is sponsoring the “Streak Challenge,” a daily question and prediction challenge for visitors to the tournament. At the end of the week the person with the longest streak of correct answers or the highest score will win a trip to the 2017 Indian Wells tournament courtesy of FILA.

Swann said that between the two venues there are 40 sponsorship partners signed on this year, which is up from last year. Returning partners include Pizzaville, Aviva and Cambria, as well as title sponsors Rogers and National Bank.

Both lead sponsors have recently signed multi-year deals, with Rogers renewing through 2020 and National Bank through 2022, deals that are easier to make when there is high interest in the sport thanks to Canadian stars like Milos Raonic and Genie Bouchard, said Swann. Raonic’s performance at Wimbledon, where he became the first Canadian to ever reach the finals of the tennis circuit’s most prestigious tournament, has boosted his popularity.

The Rogers Cup runs through July 31 in Toronto and Montreal.

 

Image: Shutterstock