IBM partnered with the United States Tennis Association to activate its sponsorship of the US Open tennis tournament with the launch of an iPhone application featuring augmented reality.

To underscore IBM's recent push into the mobile market, it introduced a new iPhone application called Around Me for the US Open featuring live, location-based data streams and mobile ads from IBM and American Express. The application is serving up live scores and match results and lets attendees at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens, NY, point their iPhone in any direction to find the closest food stand, restrooms or public transportation.

?At the USTA in general and specifically for the US Open, we?re always looking for ways to innovate, asking ourselves ?How can we make the sport better for the fans and the players??? said Phil Green, head of digital media for the US Open at the USTA, White Plains, NY. ?We?re working with IBM, and they help us do that by powering the launch of the official US Open iPhone app last year and this year with the Around Me feature of the iPhone app.

?The app has a high-end target demographic, the type of demographic that our sponsors like to be associated with, which is why we have such blue-chip brands sponsoring the US Open,? he said.

?We?re staying connected with as many tennis fans as we can in the best way possible, and the iPhone app is a great way to enable that.?

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for the sport in the US.

A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grassroots to the professional levels.

IBM claims that more than 100 million mobile phones shipped this year will include its technology, and 80 percent of the world?s smartphone software is generated from IBM development products.

IBM is attempting to growing its traction in the mobile market with a $100 million budget to advance its mobile capabilities.

IBM, AmEx court tennis fans via mobile
For more than 19 years, IBM has worked with the US Open to bring a better tournament experience to millions of tennis fans worldwide.

Last year, IBM helped the US Open connect with 13.5 million fans via USOpen.org.

Built and hosted by IBM, the official tournament site offers real-time scores direct from the court for every single match.

Fans can also find updated statistics and video highlights of the day?s action, talk with other fans and follow the US Open Twitter feed.

There is also a mobile-optimized version of the site at http://m.usopen.org.

From location-based insights on the US Open mobile application to the IBM Scoring System to the Speed-of-Serve Radar, IBM and the US Open are continually working to enhance the fan experience.

The US Open program and daily draw sheet promote the free WiFi in Arthur Ashe stadium and the Around Me iPhone application.

There are also in-venue Jumbotron mentions and public-address announcements around the grounds recommending that attendees use the USTA?s mobile Web site and the iPhone application and touting the Around Me augmented reality feature.

The USTA also offers free SMS alerts, with approximately 250 customization options, from breaking news, weather alerts and injury updates to ticketing updates and messages focused on every individual singles player in the tournament.

The USTA issues calls-to-action in venue, asking tennis fans to text the keywords USOPEN ALERTS to the short code 32075. They can also sign up on the mobile Web page or the USTA?s PC Web site.

As for the Around Me application, when attendees use the augmented reality or interactive ground map features, they can point to a food destination to find out the type of food they can get there along with other details.

Here is a screen grab of the application's PointStream real-time stat visualizaiton feature:

The USTA is considering adding a couponing feature in the next iteration of the application.

"Our goal is to stay connected with tennis fans in any way possible so they can engage with the US Open whenever they want, and we worked with IBM to achieve that goal," Mr. Green said.

Around Me features fun facts provided by IBM, with the company?s branding featured throughout, including on the load screen and a page of the application dedicated to IBM?s relationship with the US Open.

American Express has branding on certain sections of the application. Its sponsorship is intended to highlight its card-member benefits on site at the US Open.

The USTA is promotion the Around Me iPhone application on its Web site, Apple is promoting it in the iTunes store and both IBM and American Express are also promoting the application.

?IBM is the official technology partner?they build the app and they are the main sponsor of the app itself,? Mr. Green said. ?American Express sponsors the USOpen.org radio feature, among others.

?We engage with our fans in many ways, including via mobile, and that drives home the point of why brands sponsor the US Open,? he said.

Final Take
Dan Butcher, associate editor, Mobile Marketer