Wimbledon aims to serve better digital delivery for fans

A wealth of upgraded digital tools aims to give sports fans, both old and new, a deeper insight into matches at the London-based grand slam tennis tournament.

Mick Desmond, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) commercial director, said social networks such as Facebook, twitter and Google, would be key. Apps have been refreshed for 2013 and updated with preferences and alerts so that sports fans who want to follow a particular player can keep track of them.

There is also the “one big move this year” with YouTube, Mr Desmond said.

“It gives us far more scale, not just during the championships but also allows us to use our archives,” he said.

Mr Desmond also said they were setting up a global brand tracker this year “so that we have a health check about how people are accessing” the Wimbledon brand.

Technology giant IBM’s innovations for Wimbledon 2013 include an iPad app that serves accurate streams of match data, highlights and in-depth statistical information.

IBM is applying advanced analytics software to millions of public tweets generated throughout the tournament to assess which players are the social fans’ favorites.

It will look at the buzz around Wimbledon 2013 to give an insight into how fans are feeling.

There is huge value in getting a foothold in new markets such as China, Mr Desmond said. “It is building our region coverage and helping us get to as many people as we possibly can,” he added.

“You have a huge emerging middle class in India, China and Brazil so it is no surprise that like any other brand, and we consider ourselves in terms of a luxury brand, that we want to ensure we make contact with those markets – but that is going to take time.

“We need to build our brand in those territories.

“In some territories like China they may know of the Wimbledon brand but not fully understand it because the story has not been told in a way that we experience in the UK, the US or more mature markets.

“We take a medium to long-term view and of course there will be a commercial return.”

Last year, about 40 per cent of visits to the official tournament website were from people using mobile devices.

Technical officials are hoping to satisfy sports fans’ cravings for different types of instant information with “a snacking or a lightweight experience for people on the move”, according to IBM’s Wimbledon programme executive Sam Seddon.

The online SlamTracker tool, which serves up statistics and information, allows fans to follow a match point by point.