The Wimbledon effect - why Brits feel the urge to take up tennis - 27 June 2008
As the first week of Wimbledon comes to an end, new data from Yell.com - the online service from Yellow Pages - shows how the Championships inspire Brits to get fit like no other major sporting event on the calendar.Searches online for tennis courts, equipment and lessons all soar as the nation gets caught up in Wimbledon fever. In comparison, other major events - the Rugby World Cup, the London Marathon, the Cricket World Cup and the UEFA European Championship – don’t inspire anywhere near as much enthusiasm.
On average, other sporting events inspire a 19 per cent spike in searches, while during the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, Yell recorded a 53 per cent increase in tennis related searches. And inspiration grows as the Championships progress. On July 11 2007 - two days after the finals - a peak of 87 per cent above the weekly average was recorded.
This year, with the nation’s hopes on Murray, it looks like we will all be calling for “more balls, please!” as, Yell.com has already seen an increase of 86 per cent on tennis-related searches in the weeks prior and during the first week of the tournament.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the European Championship has failed to make an impact on wannabe British footballers, with searches for football training, coaching and clubs up by just two per cent on average. However, even when patriotism is at play, other events just don’t have that Wimbledon effect.
During last year’s Rugby World Cup, searches for rugby clubs and coaching increased on average by 23 per cent, while searches for cricket clubs, coaching and equipment rose by 30 per cent during the Cricket World Cup. At the time of the 2008 London Marathon, searches for running, athletics and jogging clubs increased by just 21 per cent.
Clodagh Ward, consumer development director at Yell, said: “Wimbledon is a much-loved British institution, regarded by many as the true tennis major and the biggest sporting event of the year. There could be a number of explanations for the unique ‘copy-cat’ effect that Wimbledon prompts – the start of the summer, its special place in English heritage or the fact that the game can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities.”
For further information about this press release, please contact the Yell Press Office.
Yell.com analysts monitored searches for sport-related searches 2007-2008 noting annual increases and decreases in search volumes.
Yell
Yell is a leading international directories business operating in classified advertising markets in the UK, US, Spain and Latin America through printed, online and telephone-based media. Yell’s principal brands include: in the UK, Yellow Pages, Yell.com and Yellow Pages 118 24 7; in the US, Yellow Book and Yellowbook.com; and in Spain, Paginas Amarillas and PaginasAmarillas.es. All these brands are trademarks.
Yell.com
Launched in 1996, Yell.com is a leading local search engine and major online advertising medium for UK businesses. Yell.com provides users with a direct route to finding a business or service online using keyword, type of business, or company name and location as search criteria. Users can review relevant search results and quickly determine the right business for their needs.
Yell.com’s database of over two million UK business listings including 209,000 searchable advertisers (March 2008) can be accessed via the web site (www.yell.com) and mobile channels including JAVA™ and WAP services. www.yell.com provides several useful features such as zoom-enabled maps with directions, closest car parks and a personal Yell.com address book facility to keep a record of regularly used businesses.
Yell.com is part of Yell, a leading international directories business operating in classified advertising markets in the UK, US, Spain and Latin America through printed, online and telephone-based media. Yell’s principal brands include: in the UK, Yellow Pages, Yell.com and Yellow Pages 118 24 7; in the US, Yellow Book and Yellowbook.com; and in Spain, Paginas Amarillas and PaginasAmarillas.es. All these brands are trademarks.
Yell's online image library, containing product shots and logos can be found at: www.yellgroup.com/images
