How Overheard At Wimbledon Was Made

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

You have to see how West Ham United is traveling for its US Preseason Tour as part of the Stateside Cup.

The team bus, complete with a bubble machine on the roof and sponsored by Intuit QuickBooks, rolled into Tampa, Florida, on Monday morning.

The bus is an ode to West Ham’s famous anthem, “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles,” which is played before every home game while bubbles are released into the air.

Between this and Man City’s collab with NEXEN Tire, I’m becoming a big believer in branded buses for both owned and earned wins.

Pair this with team arrival content, or take things inside the bus like the New York Liberty and NYCFC, and you’ve got a valuable platform for brand partners.

In Today’s Edition:

• How Two Circles Made Overheard At Wimbledon 🎤 

• The Best Sponcon From The All England Club 🎾 

• Relishing The White Sox x Vienna Beef Partnership 🌭 

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
How Overheard At Wimbledon Was Made

If you work in social media and digital strategy in the sports industry (or any industry for that matter), Wimbledon is a must-follow account.

Don't just take my word for it—they won the Sport Industry Group’s Award for Best in Social for their event coverage in 2023.

This year, Wimbledon made a splash defending their crown, particularly with "Overheard at Wimbledon," a four-part series featuring fan commentary while mic'd up at the event.

• Episode 1

• Episode 2

• Episode 3

• Episode 4

These videos, posted across Wimbledon’s owned and social media channels, generated over 14.7M views.

Just like we saw roof cam footage and cross-sport mic’d up pieces spread rapidly across the industry, I expect the same will happen with "Overheard." In fact, it's already happening—the Scottish Open posted their version, "Overheard at the Renaissance Club," on July 12th.

The challenge of adapting another team’s concept is knowing whether it can work for your team. What resources do they have? How many people worked on the project? What does the review process look like? What is the goal of the content?

To get these answers, I spoke with Jamie Hosie, who leads the Two Circles relationship with Wimbledon and the International Tennis Federation on all things digital content.

Jamie shared how his team brought "Overheard at Wimbledon" to life and offered outstanding insights on how Two Circles supports Wimbledon year-round, their approach to covering a two-week event, tailoring content for markets around the world, and their focus on creating the next-generation of fans.

Note: Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

ALEX: Can you briefly describe your role at Two Circles?

JAMIE: My title is Client Lead in the Content Team. I am the main point of contact with Wimbledon for all of the work we as Two Circles do from a content point of view.

Two Circles work with Wimbledon in quite a few different ways across different departments. Content is one of the biggest areas that we work with Wimbledon. So I lead all the content work that we do with them and speak directly to both their content team, and then any work we do with the wider marketing function there.

ALEX: What is Two Circles expected to do for Wimbledon from a content perspective?

JAMIE: We have a lot of different work streams with them.

We scale up massively around the championships itself. We staff a huge team that comes in three weeks prior to the event, two weeks of the event, and then one week afterward.

That spans everything from content producers who are running the actual Wimbledon social media channels themselves to video editors, camera ops, and producers. We then have a handful of leads.

We'll have a creative lead, a video lead, and myself. We have full-time support from our creative studios and graphic designers on full-time who work closely with our creative leads to produce all the lovely graphics that you see on Wimbledon's channels.

We also have a separate partner content team that delivers all of the sponsored content that you see on Wimbledon's channels. That's the Championships team.

We also provide year-round support to Wimbledon. It's on a much smaller scale, but we do provide them with support in terms of creating content and managing the channels year-round.

We work with them on what we call their future fan strategy - it's essentially kid’s content. If you've come across Blade and Bounce, that's a joint Two Circles-Wimbledon initiative since 2021.

We script, produce, animate, do all of that for Blade and Bounce, and then distribute it via YouTube Kids.

For the first time this year, we localized them for a different market. We translated all nine episodes into German. They [Wimbledon] had a new broadcast partner this year in Germany, Amazon Prime. They're very interested in a wider content library and they were keen to host Blade and Bounce on the Wimbledon hub that they had on Prime Video.

ALEX: How did that work out? Have any results come in from releasing a German-language version of Blade and Bounce?

JAMIE: We haven't actually got the results through yet, but it was an interesting piece of work because it ties together two of Wimbledon's initiatives in more localized content for their key markets and also kids’ and future fans content, which is something that we're going to be working with them pretty closely on over the next few years to build out that pipeline of kids content.

ALEX: Coming off an award-winning year, what was the content strategy for 2024? Were there any key learnings from last year that you implemented into that strategy?

JAMIE: It's a really difficult question to answer because, as you said, we did literally win an award for Best on Social. Your strategy is never going to change too much when you're coming off the back of an incredibly successful event.

I think the bread and butter of it is always nailing the coverage of Wimbledon as an event across those two to three weeks, making sure that the tennis is covered as best as possible, all of those really nice, reactive graphics that we do.

You have such a short window to make the most of all of that stuff because it is literally just for two weeks in the year.

Making sure that we're leaving no stone unturned in terms of the things that are happening at Wimbledon. In that first week, there's just an incredible amount of tennis going on.

It's impossible to keep your eyes on everything, but trying to make sure we're not leaving anything out there in terms of the stories that we're telling.

A focus for this year, not that it hadn't been a focus in previous years, but particularly this year, we knew younger audiences are very personality-driven in how they consume, well, everything, but sports in particular. They're much more likely to be a fan of an individual than a team.

We were keen to try and tap into those personalities as best as possible in that really short window that we have. The players come to the site for a maximum of two weeks and it can be difficult to reach those players, especially when you're a one-off event.

Our thinking this year was, what can we do that will be quite high impact, but low investment and low effort in terms of having to set loads of things up with different players?

Two of the things that we landed on were the TikTok filters that you might have seen on your feeds, in which we tried to engage as many players as possible. We had one that was build your perfect player. There was also blind ranking of past champions, which is a very popular TikTok trend.

We also had the Wimbledon challenge. It was a simple game that we set up on-site rolling little strawberry-branded table tennis balls into a tube on the end of the table.

We set that up somewhere where we knew that players could quite easily come over and play with their team. It’s a great way to get to see the players’ personalities outside of a formal interview environment or anything like that.

They [players] have such an incredible weight of demands on them that it's understandable that it can be difficult to get time with them.

We were really looking for what can we do that's impactful but not necessarily too time-consuming.

ALEX: When does planning for the next year's event start?

JAMIE: Now, really. Not exactly this minute but we'll have post-championships debriefs where we dig into the various different work streams and discuss what went well and what could have gone better.

Then probably November, December maybe into January time we start building out our event teams looking at personnel that we're going to need, and filling those roles.

Then from a Wimbledon point of view, we'll be starting to plan for how we cover the build-up to the event and how we work with the broader Wimbledon marketing team on their campaign.

It’s an ongoing thing but the turn of the year is when it starts to get a bit more focused.

ALEX: A big hit this year was Overheard at Wimbledon. When and how did that idea come about?

JAMIE: It's really interesting how that one really kicks off that first episode when it went out. It was interesting reading the comments on those and it's a 75-25 split of people saying, wow, this is so cool, amazing to see fan reactions, and then a minority of people, but still plenty of them saying, this is so obviously scripted.

It wasn't at all scripted. That was the whole point.

I don't know if you're familiar with a show called Gogglebox, which is a very British thing that is essentially normal people who are filmed watching TV. It sounds like a slightly ridiculous concept as an entertainment show, but for some reason, it really works.

When you watch Wimbledon coverage on TV or on social media, you know it's an amazing event just by watching the tennis or seeing the around-the-ground shots.

But it doesn't give you a flavor of what it's like to be there on-site. That's what Overheard did so well. It gives you an actual insight into what people are doing and what they're saying at Wimbledon.

And also, the way that it's filmed with those subtle, almost documentary-esque cutaways just really helps land that.

ALEX: When was it brought up as a concept your team wanted to roll out?

JAMIE: Quite late on, to be honest. It was probably a month or so before Champs.

It was just one of our producers who was going to be on-site as part of our team.

There's always an element of we have the resource there and there's a lot of reactive stuff that we have to cover when we're there, but we do also have the scope to pitch pre-planned ideas as well, particularly if they're relatively low lift, which this was in the end.

It didn't require any player input. It didn't require going anywhere that there was any red tape around where we were going to film or anything like that.

In a way, it was a bit of a no-risk shot that ended up turning out really, really well.

ALEX: I'm surprised it's a low lift! How many people had to go and shoot it? What does it take to go out and capture it?

JAMIE: Each episode had a full shoot day with a huge amount of the footage left on the cutting room floor.

We had one team of two across a variety of locations, identifying members of the crowd that looked like they were having animated, engaged conversations and ask if they would be happy to take part in a content series.

Understandably, many preferred not to, which is totally fair, while others jumped at the chance. So we'd mic them up and send them off to their seats, while our camera op would find somewhere out the way in the distance.

I think the key was capturing authentic moments. The vast majority of people who ended up in the final pieces were the ones who just sat watching the matches, enjoying their day and being themselves, as opposed to trying to 'perform'.

ALEX: How long does it take to edit and what does the review-approval process look like?

JAMIE: In terms of how long it took to edit, no more than a day.

The review process in Champs when we're there on-site at Wimbledon, the quantity of content that is flying around is huge.

We as Two Circles have a long-term relationship with Wimbledon which is great because it means that they trust us. It wouldn't work if they felt like they had to approve every single piece of content that goes out on the channels. We're all in the same room so we're talking to them all the time and they are a huge part of the process of everything that is going out on the channels.

In terms of the review process for Overheard, once we looked at it as a team and for the most part thought that looks great there weren't many rounds of reviews. It was a pretty quick process in terms of once it was filmed to going out

ALEX: Do you have any advice teams or organizations that want to try out the Overheard concept?

JAMIE: Make it seem as authentic as possible. Lots of people thought it was scripted, but it never was.

Make sure the people that you're filming have as much free reign as they possibly can to just be themselves.

Hide the mics. That was a learning from episodes one to two. We learned that one pretty quickly. There are technical reasons why that's quite difficult a lot of the time, but as best you can, hide the mics.

You probably saw the episode of Overheard that we did over finals weekend was actually a joint production with The Hill in New York which is a big in-market activation where we also provide the crew that cover the event.

It was a nice link-up between those two teams and an authentic way to bring those two events together using a content format that we'd seen perform well. It's watching people watching something else so doing it as a watch-along event in New York made loads of sense.

ALEX: I saw the work from The Hill. Is that part of the localization strategy you were talking about earlier?

JAMIE: The US is one of the big key markets. There's always a need for our content and our content strategy to feed into the wider audience growth initiatives that Wimbledon has as a business.

It's easy to go along to an event like that and just film some footage of it and make a wrap video, which we've done anyway and serves a purpose for various marketing initiatives, but it's not necessarily social-first content.

That's where Overheard came in because we saw how successful that was early on and thought that's something that we could do from The Hill as well.

Then we did a man-on-the-street style thing at the event itself where the host went around and spoke to fans, asking them fun little tennis and Wimbledon-related questions.

We also, for the first time this year, did something similar in the build-up to the event. We had a host roaming around the streets of New York, which is quite a popular sort of content setup these days.

We wanted to put a bit of a Wimbledon spin on that. So we had a host roaming around the streets asking strangers silly Wimbledon trivia questions, getting them to rally with a tennis racket, and more.

That was all about both creating content that speaks to that market, but then also a good brand and event awareness piece for the Hill in New York as well.

ALEX: You mentioned a separate partner content team. What was the sponsored content strategy this year?

JAMIE: The strategy of partner content is the same year to year and it's always making sure that we're creating things that feel completely authentic to Wimbledon.

The best branded and partner content is always in a slightly odd way the stuff that feels the least branded.

When you're working with Wimbledon which has such a strong brand in itself we are beholden to the partners in terms of what they want to do but we will always push and encourage to create things that feel as authentic to Wimbledon as possible.

The value of this partner content is reaching that Wimbledon audience. We want to be creating things that we know are going to resonate with that audience.

💼 CASE STUDY [WIMBLEDON EDITION]
Sponsored Content of the Week

Let’s stay at the All England Club to explore my favorite sponsored content from Wimbledon in 2024.

IBM Match Insights

IBM brought a one-two punch of analytics to Wimbledon content this year.

Fans could see "Likelihood to Win" posts on social media and within the Wimbledon mobile app, aptly tagged with “Powered by IBM.” The social posts served as number-focused, single match previews. The end card of the carousel shared details on all the ways IBM was integrated into the Wimbledon experience.

The brand was also prominently featured in the app’s match previews and summaries, which were written by AI with IBM watsonx (highlighted at the top of those pieces).

This partnership showcased IBM's power through content that makes fans smarter.

Carousel Storytelling

Emirates #FlyBetter Moments stood out as a great vehicle for event storytelling. The carousels were tailor-made for Instagram, using mixed media to hold fans' attention visually and providing a clear recap of what fans needed to know each day.

On the flip side, Barclays 5 Things To Watch delivered a preview of each match day, differentiating it from IBM's single-match previews. Using carousels again worked well, guiding fans through key information before the action on the court began.

These sponcon formats could work very well for league and event accounts.

Stella Artois Perfect Serve

This series allowed fans to vote for their favorite serve of the day among four options shown in a Reel. A clever tie between a tennis serve and being served a beer.

The twist was that Wimbledon utilized Instagram’s new feature that lets you put a poll in the comments. Note – polls are only visible on mobile.

The series was also promoted on Stories to remind fans to vote on the post.

Vodaphone Interviews

This isn’t a new concept, but love the attention to detail here.

The co-branded mic flag and pop socket, the host holding a phone wrapped in the brand’s red color, and even asking questions related to using a phone.

Rolex App + Athlete Content

Let’s start with the most seamless integration. On the home screen of the Wimbledon mobile app, you’ll find a running Rolex clock that shows the current London time and your local time. It sits above the fold, making it impossible to miss.

On social media, the brand leveraged its athlete partnerships to create engaging sponsored content. There was a collab with former F1 driver Mark Webber, who answered trivia questions about the differences between the two sports. The bonus here is that Rolex sponsors both F1 and Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, the eventual champion, Carlos Alcaraz, was featured playing a putting game with golf broadcaster Paul McGinley (also a Rolex partner). This was a low-effort setup that maximized their time with the world’s third-ranked player.

American Express Postcards

Speaking of showcasing athlete partnerships, you need to watch this piece sponsored by American Express.

The brand had a physical place on the grounds where you could send letters, and Andy Murray (an AMEX Ambassador) penned a letter to his younger self.

Given it was the British tennis player's last time competing at Wimbledon, it was a cool way to tap into the emotion of his time in the sport and his connection to the country.

Celebrity-Led Content

Celebrity sightings are a big part of Wimbledon. A star-studded cast of spectators sits in the stands during the two-week event.

Universal Pictures capitalized on this moment by featuring a Steve Carell interview on the Wimbledon account. The connection? He was promoting Despicable Me 4, which includes a tennis scene.

Wimbledon’s time with Carell wasn’t solely focused on promoting the movie. They posted a clip earlier in the event to introduce his authentic connection to the sport as a fan.

Meanwhile, Dame Joanna Lumley joined Wimbledon in the Ralph Lauren suite, dressed in classic Wimbledon white attire, to share her tips on the tradition of afternoon tea.

The British actor’s comedic and witty take on the connection between tennis and afternoon tea aligned perfectly with her personality and provided moments to highlight the luxury of wearing Ralph Lauren.

🔍 SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

If you’re producing sponsored content from a team golf outing, check out Teeing Off from the Minnesota Vikings and 3M. Branded tee markers and polos are a must-have!

ICYMI, here’s my breakdown of last week’s MLB Schedule Release.

It’s the year of the hotdog in MLB! I loved this vendor-focused video from the Chicago White Sox in partnership with Vienna Beef for National Hotdog Day. But that’s not all—Sox fans can also create and name their own custom hotdog to be sold at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The California Redwoods had a fitting product integration, celebrating the Premier Lacrosse League’s Throwback Weekend with old-school Gatorade cans.

Inter Miami CF and Lowe’s are bringing a College GameDay-like tradition to home matches.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

US Olympic Athletes On Roblox: Team USA launched an obstacle course on Roblox ahead of the Paris Olympics where you can interact with 20 U.S. athletes (all from recently added sports) while also checking out highlights from the Paris Games and making visits to a virtual Team USA House called "The Vibe House."

The Court Of Carpets: Aditya Menon breaks down an incredible content collaboration between World Number 2 Doubles Tennis Champion Rohan Bopanna and Jaipur Rugs.

The Open AR Filter: Dizplai Gaming partnered with IMG ARENA & The R&A to create The Open Matchups free-to-play game allowing fans to showcase their knowledge and passion for the competition while competing for points and prizes.

Big3 Creator Network: BIG3 has been giving creators access to live games, allowing them to stream directly to their audiences on their channels. Over the past few weeks, more than two million viewers have tuned in, with 83% of them under the age of 34.

A Tale of Two Cities: Teams need to consider how season ticket holder deliveries will be highlighted on social media. The Las Vegas Raiders’ season ticket box consistently feels like a win each season. However, that has raised the bar and created disappointed STHs from other fanbases.