SMT has partnered with the Western & Southern Open to introduce expanded on-court sponsorship opportunities with the new Net Cube LED display and an expanded ribbon board LED display.
SMT, now in its 33rd year of providing visionary technology to the ATP event, has continued to elevate its services each year — keeping sponsors, spectators, media, and players informed and entertained throughout the entire weeklong experience from Aug. 11-19.
The 2-foot Net Cube is an LED net judge’s box, allowing for information and sponsor logos to be displayed on all four sides and the top, enhancing the fan experience while providing additional sponsorship revenue opportunities for the tournament.
The ribbon boards, introduced at the 2017 Western & Southern Open to great acclaim, are 40-by-2-foot long LED boards that span both sides of the Stadium Court. SMT is providing its full ribbon board content production, including sponsor logos, coin toss, player walk-ons, and player match introductions as well as fan hype and fan call to action graphics and animations. All displays are synchronized to provide maximum impact and cohesive production.
SMT’s Creative Studio designs all content consistent with the tournament branding, and provides an onsite animator, allowing for instant customization for new and exciting ribbon and video board content such as player bios, match-up graphics, sponsor screen takeovers, and fan hype animations.
“For this year’s Western & Southern Open, SMT designed and an innovative new display concept called Net Cube, which provides tennis tournaments with a new source of sponsor revenue,” says Andre Silva, Tournament Director, Western & Southern Open. “Combined with the on-court ribbon board displays, these present the perfect opportunity for sponsors to get in front of the Western & Southern Open’s growing fan base of 200,000 spectators.”
This year’s new services complement SMT’s array of regular offerings for the tournament, including video display services with content production for courts and hospitality areas, scoring services, data distribution, scheduling and draw services, and CC TV services with various channels such as Match Information System, Court Cast, interview room, and tournament information.
“Long before the Western & Southern Open’s first coin toss, SMT’s on-site crew is building video walls and networking infrastructure,” says Gary Pinkien, SMT Director of Event Technology. “We have our WTA team in broadcast, our Events and Video Production Services staff in the booths, our Event Project Manager constantly walking around ensuring every pixel is shining, and our Event Technical Services team working their magic, making sure not a single score or data point is missed.”