Net Generation

Advertising campaign

summer 2017

Detailed Process (30min read): https://medium.com/@kgao1996/wunderman-summer-internship-cf5d0bcd0dbf

My Intern Experience (5min read): https://medium.com/@kgao1996/kevin-wunderman-ny-3d84ddcfe2c5

Background

USTA (United States Tennis Association) is introducing a youth sports program within their large ecosystem of casual and competitive tennis. Youth sports in general is on a decline while interest in tennis remains constant. Kids give up playing organized sports because they feel an intense pressure to succeed. We need to provide kids with a way to define their own success.

Stakeholders

Kids: Generation Z, these kids are ambitious, fearless, and eager to change the world. They grow up in environments that promote inclusivity and diversity, and therefore value individuality.

Parents: 80% of millennial moms and 90% of millennial dads say it's important to be "the perfect parent." These parents watch YouTube to stay in the know with their children.

Providers: Coaches care about their players and want them to succeed. They understand that fun is a valuable element to the game but also want young athletes to learn lessons that they can take with them for life.

The Launch Pad

Proposal

The Launch Pad is a vehicle that holds the player's mobile device and connects to the Net Generation application to start the experience. We've transformed the world of tennis by creating illustrations and animations that live on top of a player's gameplay. Users record the tennis match by placing it inside the Launch Pad and render the video after the match is finished.

The Application

Call to action: Log in/ Sign up

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On and off the court experiences

The Launch Pad and application experience exist both on and off the court. Using the application on the court will generate an imaginary world on top of the existing gameplay based on the court played on. Each court is geofenced so that the app recognizes what location it's on and generates a certain theme that corresponds to that location. For example, a court in New York might have a space themed creation while a court in Seattle would have a pirate themed creation. The off the court experience will generate creations as well, but will not be as immersive as the on court experience and will have limited themes.

How do we involve Parents and Providers?

Support cards and conversation cards on the Net Generation app help keep the parents and providers in the loop. Coaches are reminded of a player's progress and are offered tips and tricks that help the coach craft a specific lesson for every individual player. As well as that, coaches are pushed to notify parents and touch base with them and their child. This allows all three stakeholders to thrive on the same page and helps grow the kids in a healthy and learning environment.

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User Flow

All three stakeholders live under an ecosystem that encourages constant communication of the player's progress. Coaches are reminded to develop unique plans for the player. They check in with the parents and send information back and forth. The parents feel a validation with the improvement of their child and feel engaged with the process. And the Launch Pad experience offers the kids a fun and valuable experience that develops life skills for the future.

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How do we get to the app?

We've introduced a landing page on the existing Net Generation website. This landing page shows examples of finished creations from other players, which inspires the user to create their own. Upon browsing the gallery, the user scrolls down to learn more about the application and how to get started. Scrolling to the bottom, there is a Launch Pad locater that provides location information and shares similar creations that are rendered at that specific location. This gives users an inside look into what they are buying into and shows which themes are available at which location.

How do we get the word out?

Net Generation will advertise this campaign using digital, print, and social advertisements. Some of these ads will live in spaces where USTA hold important events such as the US Open or other tournaments. The digital ads will live on sites like YouTube or Tennis.baseline, where our stakeholders frequently browse. And the social components on Instagram and other social media help engage young users into the program and directs them to the landing page.

User Flow

Digital, print, and social advertisements draw interest from our stockholders which leads them to the landing page. Then they a greeted by inspiration and easy to follow instructions on using the new Net Generation application and Launch Pad. Lastly, the users try out the Launch Pad and start the ecosystem where players, parents, and providers thrive under a continuous program.

Process and Thoughts

This was a collaborative effort that consisted of contributions from strategy, design, and project management teams. During initial research, our team looked at other case studies that involved our stakeholders and sports to understand the field of tennis and youth sports better. One thing we lacked was the availability of conducting focus groups. Although our research was extensive, focus groups were not within our grasp and time frame. Also, it would have been helpful if we worked more closely with our client USTA. Our team presented ideas to our client but only a few number of times with large gaps of time in between. A regular checkup would have given our team a more clear direction on the concept of interest and the components to that idea. Overall, this work was a success because the client bought the idea and it sparked interest in future opportunities for USTA and the new world of Net Generation.