Tennis tournament goes on advertising offensive

The Indianapolis Tennis Championships (formerly the RCA Championships) has for the first time hired an advertising agency to boost ticket sales. Hirons & Co. won a three-year contract to serve as the tournament’s advertising and public relations agency of record. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This year’s tournament is July 18-26 at the Indianapolis Tennis Center. In recent years, the tournament has struggled with attendance, seeing fan turnout for the week-long event drop from just below 100,000 in the early 1990s to fewer than 58,000 last year.

"We felt Hirons’ sports and entertainment experience and focus on driving ticket sales made them a great match for our needs," said Sarah Brelage, the tournament’s executive director for staff operations.

Indianapolis-based Hirons will provide support with communications and media relations activities and will also collaborate with the ITC to develop a plan to effectively position the tournament, increase ticket sales, and promote the tournament’s Healthy and Active Lifestyles program.