M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and Kia Launch Kia Clubhouse: Melbourne
Specialist passions agency, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, has launched the latest iteration of Kia’s Clubhouse program, ‘Kia Clubhouse: Melbourne’ in partnership with Rafa Nadal Foundation during the 2023 Australian Open. Working in collaboration across their global offices in London and Sydney, the agency launched the latest phase of the programme following Kia’s recent extension of the brand’s historic partnership with the tournament until 2028.
M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment specialises in making brands culturally relevant and commercially stronger through people’s passions. Continuing in the successful footsteps of ‘Kia Clubhouse: Paris,’ opened last May, the project in Melbourne aims to make tennis more accessible for all, inspiring the next generation to take up their rackets.
To mark the launch of the latest Clubhouse location, Kia gave 18 children from Rafa Nadal Foundation in Mallorca and Nadal Educational Tennis School India a once-in-a-lifetime Melbourne experience. They were provided with behind-the-scenes access to the 2023 Australian Open and taken on trips around the city, including visits to Melbourne Zoo, a culinary school where they cooked traditional Australian dishes, and a street art tour.
The children also took part in the renovation of two local tennis courts at Maidstone Footscray Tennis Club in central Melbourne. Having not received any funding in 15 years, the courts were renewed in the Australian Open colour schemes, with designs that showcase the glorious moments of Rafa Nadal’s Australian Open victories back in 2009 and 2022. Following the completion of the work, the RNF children became the first to use the courts during a tennis lesson led by official Tennis Australia coaches and supported by Australian influencer Samuel Begg.
To complete the project, a pair of bespoke art pieces were designed and created by Australian artists JESWRI and Heesco, depicting two of Rafa’s most iconic rallies from the 2009 and 2022 finals. Displayed at Maidstone Footscray Tennis Club as part of the ‘Rally Gallery’, the RNF children helped to complete the pieces, leaving their mark on the city and helping to inspire the next generation of players.
M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment has worked with Kia since 2020, and has a specialist offer, Step Up, which supports brands to invest in purpose initiatives to make culture more inclusive. In 2022, the agency delivered a significant number of purpose-driven campaigns, most recently launching The Absolut Choir. To deliver this work, the agency has created an ‘Inclusion Alliance’, a series of strategic partnerships with key organisations and voices, to help guide and shape their thinking and execution, ensuring authenticity reigns and the work has maximum impact.
Rich Barker, co-managing director of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment London comments, “Increasingly, we are able to collaborate closely with our global M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment network, to activate world-class brand experiences across all regions of the world. As a network, we are driven by a belief in the power of passions to make brands culturally relevant while driving long lasting societal and commercial impact. The Kia Clubhouse partnership does exactly this, bringing to life opportunities which will inspire the next generation of tennis players, in one of the world’s top destinations for iconic sporting tournaments”.
Michael Choo, head of Kia brand experience at Kia Corporation commented, “After a successful launch of the Kia Clubhouse in Paris last year, we committed to continuing the legacy to help inspire the next generation through movement, tennis and our long-term partner Rafa Nadal. Uniting RNF beneficiaries from both India and Mallorca, Kia Clubhouse: Melbourne was the next step on our journey to provide more spaces for children to have access to tennis”
