Australian Open scores $35 million sponsorship extension with Emirates
Tennis Australia has locked in Emirates for a five-year Australian Open sponsorship deal believed to be worth $35 million.
Emirates – which has been a sponsor of the AO since 2015 – also sponsors Collingwood Football Club, as well as the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.
However, in recent years the airline has withdrawn sponsorship from other key Australian sporting fixtures, dropping out of the Melbourne Cup in 2018, and racing from the Formula One in 2021.
Emirates’ global vice president of marketing, Boutros Boutros told the AFR the decision to leave those sports was purely financial.
“The Melbourne Cup had been good to us, but then it became very expensive for what we got, you measure your sponsorship for return on investment,” he told the publication. Boutros said the airline “did not have such a great relationship with the VRC, there was no real chemistry,” he said.
Similarly, Boutros said the airline ended its decade-long sponsorship of the Formula One when the asking price became “a little bit over the top – we were not able to continue”.
Earlier this year, Kia signed a deal reportedly worth $107 million to extend its 22-year partnership as major sponsor of the Australian Open. The deal is the largest in Australian sporting history.
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Linkedin