Wimbledon 2023 – BatFast x Barclays

Client: Barclays

Event: Wimbledon 2023

Activation: Take on Tiafoe

Location: London, United Kingdom

The Brief: 

To deliver an engaging fan activation where fans had the opportunity to pick up a racquet and return serves from American Tennis star Francis Tiafoe.

The Challenge:

Barclays’ partnership with Wimbledon is bound by the idea of creating possibilities to make sport more accessible to everyone. With Francis Tiafoe as their ambassador, Barclays wanted to create an experience where fans would have the chance to take on the then-world number 10 and test their skills against the best.

The Process: 

BatFast in partnership with Barclays worked on three key elements ahead of the Wimbledon. They are:
1. White-labelling – Outlined a fully white-labeled experience to promote Barclays, right from the moment a player registers to their post-game experience.
2. Gameplay and animations – The machine was calibrated to deliver 6 serves to players at three different levels – easy medium and hard. BatFast used real-life renders of Francis Tiafoe’s serve to create a digital avatar of Tiafoe on the simulator.
3. Automated scoring – The LED Screen was designed to double up as targets after a serve is delivered, creating a challenge for fans to score more points

The ‘Take of Tiafoe’ challenge was part of the Barclays Clubhouse where fans could engage in a range of activities.

The Fan Experience: 

The activation was designed for players of all ages and stages.

Fans would register to ‘Take on Tiafoe’ and face a digital avatar of Tiafoe. The objective for each players was to score the highest points. The LED screen was manipulated to display a wide range of scoring targets which would light up upon being struck. The score would be added to the player’s tally.

At the end of their round, they would receive a total score that would be added onto the leaderboards for the tournament so fans could compare and compete with friends and family.

The Result: 

The ‘Take on Tiafoe’ challenge was a hit amongst fans attending Wimbledon. Players of all ages and stages took part in the challenge. With participation in sports on the decline, activations like this are supporting NGBs in overturning the decline in participation levels. BatFast creates an extremely inclusive and engaging environment for participants of all backgrounds.

Key highlights from the activation included: 

• 14,726 serves were delivered to 1,643 players at Wimbledon in 2023.
• 66% of all participants were over the age of 16, whilst 30% of the participants were aged between 4-16.
• Over 5% of the users came back to play again, despite queue times being long.
• 25% of the participants were female, while 61% were male.
• Come rain or shine, the simulator was running for all the days.