Lavazza partners with tennis legend Andre Agassi
During the US Open tennis championship in New York, Lavazza—the official coffee of the US Open—announced a new global collaboration featuring tennis legend, Andre Agassi. The partnership positions Agassi as Lavazza’s spokesperson for the world of tennis, and officially kicks with an “I’m Back’ campaign at the US Open.
The 120-year-old family company based in Turin, Italy, has been active in the world of tennis for many years, and in 2015 became the only food and beverage brand to partner with all four Grand Slams around the world. The US Open, which runs for two weeks beginning the last week of August each year, is the final Grand Slam of the tennis season.
Lavazza searched for a partner that shared its pursuit of excellence, and found that in Andre Agassi. During his tennis career, Agassi won 60 ATP titles, eight Grand Slam tournaments, and has the honor of being world number one six times, an Olympic gold medalist and is one of the only athletes to have a Golden Slam (four Grand Slams and a Gold medal).
Marco Lavazza, vice chairman of Lavazza, stated, “Lavazza is proud to unveil our new global partnership with one of history’s greatest athletes, Andre Agassi.” He said Lavazza began communicating the company’s passion for tennis over six years ago at Wimbledon, and tournaments quickly became one of its core strategic platforms from which to communicate its heritage, values and products. “Investing in the sport makes strategic sense for Lavazza [as] our target customer profile fits perfectly with that of a tennis fan, and beyond that, presence at key tournaments and the four Grand Slams gives us an opportunity to further showcase our quality products in key countries for the company.”
“In my autobiography I write about my life-long love for coffee, so it is a natural fit for me to be partnering with Lavazza, a company that has been at the forefront of the industry from day one,” said Andre Agassi.
With the new partnership, tennis fans around the world will be engaged via onsite events, promotions and personal appearances at the Grand Slams: the Australian Open (Melbourne), Roland Garros (Paris), Wimbledon (London) and US Open (New York), and at other select regional tournaments where Lavazza is present including the BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells), the Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart), and the Rogers Cup (Toronto).
Lavazza and Agassi have joined together to change the lives of underserved youth, starting at the US Open. To create buzz around the “I’m Back” campaign, which encourages “giving back,” Lavazza began with a series of teasers posted on social media. Lavazza then amplified its message in New York City with a series of out-of-home ads strategically placed in key points, featuring a silhouette of Andre Agassi’s iconic 1980s look, complete with a neon pink headband.
Consumers at the stadium can enjoy Lavazza coffee at two Lavazza cafés and other points, where the “I’m Back” frappe drink will be available to be served in special edition glasses available for purchase. This coffee drink was developed specifically for the US Open by Lavazza Training Center coffee specialists. During the US Open, for every coffee drink sold at the two on-site Lavazza cafés, the company will donate USD $1 to the USTA Foundation to benefit the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, which is dedicated to transforming public education and creating opportunities for children. Funds raised will be specifically assigned to the foundation’s college readiness program “Summer of a Lifetime” at the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy school in Nevada (with more than 1,200 students) as well as financial assistance for college tuition.
Agassi added, “It has been such a wonderful experience working with the innovative brand from filming the ‘I’m back’ video in Italy, to conceptualizing a fun and engaging activation that is kicking off our partnership. I look forward to seeing what the years ahead have in store for us.” He added, “I am very proud to be partnering with Lavazza, a company that shares not only my passion for tennis, but also an ethical commitment to children and education.”
