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January, 2025

Ralph Lauren’s K-pop partnership, Nike’s winning player lead Australian Open 2025 brand wins

Ralph Lauren’s multi-channel campaign strategy and K-pop alliance has been dubbed one of the big brand winners of this year’s Australian Open, achieving more than 96% share of voice and 1.9 million engagements.

The 2025 Australian Open set new records in attendance and engagement, with a significant increase in mentions and engagements from the previous year, according to the latest Meltwater figures. The event saw 2.63 million mentions and 28.6 million engagements, a substantial rise from 2.24 million mentions in 2024.

Ralph Lauren’s multi-channel campaign strategy at the Australian Open was a standout success, achieving a 96.3% brand Share of Voice (SOV) with 304,000 posts and 1.9 million engagements. The success of Ralph Lauren’s campaign was largely driven by its collaboration with K-pop star Mark Lee, with one of his posts generating an estimated reach of 1.47 million, 517,955 likes, and 270,000 engagements for the brand. The brand also chalked up 47.4% of the potential share of audience for brand over a seven-day period.

Among the Australian Open 2025 sponsors, Emirates was the most recognised visual logo with a 43.8% SOV and 3,680 mentions via logo recognition. Headline sponsor Kia maintained its lead in overall mentions with a 26.4% SOV. Nike was the most recognised brand via logo recognition, capturing a 31.7% SOV and 608,000 mentions, buoyed by its sponsorship of finalists Jannik Sinner, Madison Keys, and Aryna Sabalenka. Nike also outperformed Zverev’s sponsor Adidas, securing 8,600 mentions versus Adidas’ 2,230 mentions.

Novak Djokovic led mentions and influence, garnering 37.7% of mentions and earning a Klear Score of 99/100 with an average post engagement of 598,800 and 35.4 million followers. Sinner dominated the men’s finals conversation with 163,064 mentions compared to Alexander Zverev’s 98,552 mentions.

In the women’s tournament, Keys beat former number one Sabalenka, but Sabalenka led the conversation with 114,835 mentions compared to Keys’ 90,785 and maintained the highest engagement, averaging 158,900 per post. Wildcard entry Eva Lys reached the fourth round, earning 3,680 mentions on January 18, followed by a spike to 4,850 mentions on January 20 during her final match.

Mentions of men’s players accounted for over two-thirds of the total Share of Voice, with 317,000 mentions compared to 155,000 for women’s players.

“The 2025 Australian Open provided valuable insights into the power of multi-channel strategies and collaborative partnerships. Ralph Lauren’s multi-channel campaign, featuring K-pop star Mark Lee, and Nike’s strategic sponsorship of top seeds demonstrate the effectiveness of influencer collaborations in driving engagement and enhancing brand visibility,” Ross Candido, VP ANZ at Meltwater, said.

“The really exciting thing is how AI is changing the game for analytics. It helps marketers dig deeper and understand their audience better. This leads to more personalised, impactful, and targeted campaigns that truly grab people’s attention.”