Nature Valley has launched a £2 million through-the-line integrated campaign across shopper, digital, print, social and PR, which will see the brand make a return to TV screens during the British tennis season.
The Official Snack Bar of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) will be seen on TV screens during June and July in a new 20-second ad which follows runners and hikers who highlight the taste and protein content of the brand’s Protein bars.
British women’s No 1 Johanna Konta (pictured) has renewed her partnership with Nature Valley as brand ambassador for the second year running and will be joined by Leon Smith (pictured left), the Davis Cup winning captain of Great Britain and head of Men’s Tennis. They will back the LTA’s Great British Tennis Weekend, supported by Nature Valley, on 21-22 July. The weekend is geared to encourage over 150,000 people to pick up a racket and play tennis for free anywhere from their local court to in the park across the nation.
The brand will also be the first-time title sponsor of the pre-Wimbledon ATP and WTA grass court events in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne for the next three years – named as the Nature Valley Open, the Nature Valley Classic and the Nature Valley International respectively, to drive brand awareness. To further bolster its support, Nature Valley Protein will be sampled to tennis fans with more than 50,000 bars given away during the summer.
“We remain committed to supporting the LTA, building on last year’s success, and our ambition is for Nature Valley to become synonymous with tennis in Britain,” says Arjoon Bose, Northern Europe marketing head for Nature Valley at General Mills. “We remain inspired by Johanna and are delighted to welcome Leon to the Nature Valley family.
“We firmly want to inspire an active nation and democratise tennis, moving it from the aspirational to the accessible. This is evidenced by the fantastic rise in the popularity of tennis and we are confident our support of the LTA’s Great British Tennis Weekend, alongside our inspiring ambassadors, will help drive an even stronger brand association with Nature Valley and continue to encourage more people to pick up their rackets and visit their local courts and – of course – have a Nature Valley Protein bar in their tennis bag as well.’’
