Revitalizing a Brand – the New Era of Prince Sports

www.princetennis.com

In April 2003, the Prince® and Ektelon® brands were sold to a partnership consisting of the senior management of the Prince Business and Lincolnshire Equity Fund II, L.P.  The new owners named the organization Prince Sports Inc. and sought to reinvigorate the brand through exciting new product launches, an aggressive marketing campaign, and a totally new web presence that would be the starting point of the new era of Prince Sports, Inc.

Prince has proven itself as an industry leader in performance racquet sports equipment and has revolutionized the game of tennis.  Today, the expanded tennis line outfits players with shoes, apparel, accessories and more.  Prince Sports is focused not only on the professional tennis circuit, but also the sport's next generation of stars.

Objectives

Prince Sports desired an entirely new website that:

  1. Represented who Prince wanted to be: the dominant name in tennis
  2. Possessed best-of-breed characteristics of a product marketing site that did not sell direct to consumers
  3. Possessed WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) administration tools enabling Prince’s non-technical staff to easily update and edit site content

Critical Issues

There were many issues with the existing website that Prince Sports needed to overcome in their new web presence.

  • Disconnected Brand Experience – The existing website did not deliver a brand experience on par with user’s expectations or the manufacturer’s aspirations.
  • Outdated Design - The site lagged behind competitor’s websites in nearly all aspects, including: product presentation, usability, quality of design, and technical sophistication. The overall site design lacked energy and professionalism with its muted colors, uninspired layout, and confusing information architecture and navigation.
  • Missed Opportunities - The two most exciting assets of Prince Sports — their products and their sponsored players — did not have adequate representation on the site.
  • Dead Ends - Missing a strong call to action at the product detail level, the site failed to increase intent to purchase.
  • Difficult Management – The static site architecture did not allow the Prince marketing team or product managers to upload and edit content themselves.
  • Financial Drain - The marketing division’s web budget was consumed by annual content updates to the site with no funds available for increasing functionality or enhancing the user experience.

New Web Presence

The new Prince Sports website was developed by Refinery, Inc. based on analysis of Prince’s competitor websites, in-person target market interviews with consumers and teaching professionals, and needs-analysis sessions with key stakeholders on the company’s leadership team.

The new site launched on June 10th, 2003 to high praise by Prince management, employees, partners, dealers, and consumers.

The homepage design metaphor is that of a tennis court, emphasizing the company’s stature as the only 100% dedicated sports equipment manufacturer that can outfit a player from head to toe.  The homepage design also drives home the idea that Prince "rules the court." The homepage prominently displays Prince-sponsored pros as well as attractive promotional images of four product categories.

The new homepage connected the brand experience with the objectives of the company and with the user’s expectations of Prince.  It also communicates the professionalism and energy of Prince Sports.

At the product detail level, Refinery made use of eCommerce best practices by:

  • associating racquets with professionals who use them,
  • recommending strings and grips that work best with each racquet,
  • highlighting the differentiating technologies associated with the racquet,
  • adding a graphical POWER / CONTROL bar, which visually gauges how this racquet might play vs. a different Prince model, and
  • providing a “Find a Dealer” button in precisely the same place an eCommerce site would position a "buy now" button.

Driving home brand and product success, the new website highlights the elite professional sponsors and the Prince products.  The new site also makes it easier for users to figure out which products are right for their needs and more easily navigate the site, creating a much improved website experience.    

Results

Web analytics of the Prince Sports site show significant improvements, including: 

  • increase in time spent on the site,
  • increase in page views per session,
  • increase in visits to the dealer locator, and
  • increase in visits to the product detail pages.

 

As intended, the new Prince site has become a symbol to both internal and external audiences for the strength and future of the brand.

2003 Best Sports Website

Refinery, Inc. won the “Best Sports Website” award for the Prince site — www.princetennis.com — during the 2003 WebAward competition, produced by the Web Marketing Association. 

The Prince site won the 2003 Best Sports Website award based on:

  • Design
  • Innovation
  • Content
  • Technology
  • Interactivity
  • Navigation
  • Ease of use

 

Before and After

 

Prince Home After

Prince Home After

 

Prince Home Before

Prince Home Before

 

 

 

Prince Product Detail After

Prince Product Detail After

 

 

Prince Product Detail Before

Prince Product Detail Before

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

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