J.P. Morgan makes a racquet in Grand Central

How J.P. Morgan helped bring squash into the limelight at Grand Central station.

This week, an out of the ordinary spectator experience in New York catches the eye of Joss Davidge, managing partner of brand experience agency BEcause.
 
Here’s a great sponsored public event that I haven’t featured as a Talking Point before, the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, an annual squash tournament held under the glistening chandeliers of Grand Central Station in New York.  

Between the 17th and 24th of January, a squash court was constructed in the iconic Vanderbilt Hall, surrounded by one way glass so the action could be viewed on all sides without distracting the players.
 
 
 
Alongside a chance to take up position in one of the 500 seats that wrapped around the court, passing commuters could peer in and get a taste of the action. Tickets were being sold for as little as $8 and available each day, an extraordinarily low price to see the world’s very best squash players battle it out, in what has become a firm players-favourite tournament.    
 
 
 
While the pop up court was in Grand Central there are a stream of other activities that sat alongside the main event, including ‘get into squash’ sessions for children and adults. It is also used for a ‘Wall Street Ping Pong Tournament’, where financiers could enter their office team for a $3,500 fee that went towards a New York charity.   
 
 
 
Last year we featured another take over of the Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central on the BEcause blog, Target’s life-sized dollshouse. The hall is a truly fantastic space for creative experiential marketing opportunities.

 Read more from Joss Davidge.