Australian Open Expands Brand and Fan-Tainment Activations

AI-Animated Broadcasts Lure Sportstainment-Seeking Viewers

With the main regional broadcast rights held by Australian broadcaster 9Network, Australia’s governing body for tennis, Tennis Australia, launched a series of alternative broadcasts of tournament matches for the Australian Open’s official YouTube channel, featuring players replaced by AI-animated avatars.

The gamified broadcasts delivered an engaging alternative sports streaming experience for young, gaming-savvy fans – with the animated AI avatars replicating players’ appearance and match clothing with a cartoonish flair (Tennis Australia cited their inspiration as 2000s game Wii Sports). It also proved a cost-effective viewing option for those without access to official broadcasters and streaming services. To comply with licensing restrictions, the streams were broadcast with a two-minute delay but retained official commentary and live crowd reactions. AI (developed by Tennis Australia’s research and development arm, AO Labs) was used to track ball and player movements and overlay cartoon avatars in-stream.

Despite minor technical flaws in racquet and clothing positioning, the streams enticed new virtual audiences, garnering 950,000 viewers on YouTube (Morning Brew, 2025). For more on gamified streaming experiences, see Peacock x Madden Gamify Sportstainment in CES 2025.

Fortress’s Gaming Pavillion Entices Crossover Sports-Gaming Fandom

Targeting the cross section of gaming and sports fans – a third of global gamers consider themselves sports enthusiasts, compared with 28% of the general population (YouGov, 2023) – Australian gaming venue Fortress is hosting a dedicated courtside gaming pavilion at the Australian Open. The activation follows previous sporting tournaments that have leveraged dedicated gaming zones to entice gaming-savvy Gen Zers, including at the 2024 US Open – see The Brief.

Open to the public via the tournament’s entertainment zone Topcourt, the gaming pavilion features sports-themed console gaming (including Fortnite minigames, basketball title NBA 2K and tennis game TopSpin), a virtual reality set-up to compete in virtual tennis, as well as a retro arcade (for more on the allure of retro games, see Pop Culture & Media’s Retro Gaming report, publishing February 6).

Mecca’s Match-Ready Beauty Courts Spectators & Players Alike

Harnessing a tentpole moment not traditionally associated with its sector, Australia’s largest beauty retailer Mecca activated around the Open, evolving the recent move of beauty brands into the sporting arena. For more, see Athbeauty’s Ascent in Strategies for Supercharging Beauty Retail.

Also housed within Topcourt, Mecca’s twofold activation offered free beauty treatments to spectators and players alike. Spectator treatments included “hat hair repair” hairstyling, “skin in the game” hydration skincare treatments and “scent on point” fragrance consultations. Meanwhile, players could book in for hair and make-up styling (mirroring a similar Olympics activation by Procter & Gamble – see Olympics & Paralympics 2024: 10 Big Ideas for Sports Marketing) as well as facials and massages.

Mecca also podcasted from the tournament under its social purpose banner M-Power. It recruited Australian sports presenter and content creator Kat Sasso to host a live podcast miniseries, called Momentum, spotlighting trailblazers in tennis and women’s sport (speakers TBC). Momentum will run alongside its existing Mecca Talks podcast, which is focused on beauty industry insiders.

AiFi x Mastercard’s Seamless Concession Shopping

American AI spatial tech company AiFi partnered with global payment services provider Mastercard for the seamless QuickServe store to upgrade concession shopping at the Australian Open.

Visitors scan their payment card as they enter the store, with AiFi’s AI able to spatially track their movements as well as any stock they take from the shelves. Shoppers are free to leave with their products, without the need for a cashier or self-checkout, as their card will be automatically charged the cost of their purchases.

For more on AI-powered autonomous stores, see Supermarket Strategies.