Any affair can be good or bad, which can either spice up your life or can ruin relationships. But the longest relationship I know about is the affair of Slazenger with Tennis ball which is reaching its 125 year point in the next summer. >
Since 1902, Slazenger has been the Tennis ball supplier for the Grass court tournament and I have not seen a longer sport sponsorship deal anywhere and have helped build both the parties.
You need to practice for hours and have to spend a lot of money to learn a decent Tennis game. It may cost up to 250,000 to get to the professional rank over a period of five years and unless you have a sponsor you cannot reach your full potential due to the costs of tournaments and travelling.
Coaches, players and clubs get grants, extra equipments and funding from the sponsorship deals such as from the Wimbledon and Slazenger deals. Such deals generate huge benefits and also increase the brand awareness throughout the tournament. The profits go to the clubs, players and coaches.
Wimbledon would not have been what it is today without the help of Slazenger 108 years ago. The public approves the long relationship of Slazenger and the Tennis ball, while other brands such as Nike and another leading sports brands does not interfere with the Tennis market, the relationship goes on.
After the 125 years of tennis ball manufacture, Slazenger is moving towards launching a new branding of the Wimbledon Ultra vis tennis ball tins. Also the Wimbledon tournament sponsorship with Robinson’s fruit drinks company shows another long term relationship which reached 75 years in 2010. Such long term sponsorship deals are good to see as Slazenger selects good companies to be partner with. I would refer other sports brands to take a look at this relationship and see how the Tennis sport is being handled on the commercial side.