Tissue brand Cashmere is again leaning into grassroots sports after hosting a tennis clinic meant to inspire the next generation of players.

To celebrate 10 years as a partner of Canada’s largest tennis tournament, the Kruger brand served up Cashmere Tennis Clinics at the 2023 National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Toronto and Montreal. These clinics, the company says, provided an opportunity for up to 50 youth in each city to meet and learn from two pros, giving kids (who have never held a tennis racquet before) access to professional coaching, instilling lessons of sportsmanship, discipline, and perseverance.

Cashmere worked directly with local organizations Kids Up Front in Toronto, as well as Montreal community centres, Patro Villeray and YMCA Quebec. North Strategic is providing communications support.

According to Susan Irving, CMO of Kruger Products, the program is about fostering a new generation’s love of of tennis, and is part of its broader brand mission of making everyday life more comfortable for Canadians.

“We are always looking for new opportunities to engage consumers with meaningful experiences,” says Irving. “Our Cashmere Tennis Clinic serves as a prime example of leveraging an existing sponsorship to reinforce our belief that every kid should have access to opportunities that unlock a passion and open new doors.” Irving added that its target audience is families with young kids, particularly those who don’t have access to tennis lessons and have not yet had the opportunity to engage in the sport.

According to Irving, as Cashmere marks a decade of sponsorship for the National Bank Open, it took its partnership with Tennis Canada to the next level.

In Montreal, participants got the opportunity to meet professional tennis player Rebecca Marino, as well as former professional tennis player and current tournament director of the National Bank Open in Montreal Valérie Tétreault. In Toronto, the clinic was supported by 2022 Davis Cup champion Gabriel Diallo, as well as world tennis champion and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Daniel Nestor.

“Our role as an official gold sponsor of the National Bank Open focuses on our Cashmere brand,” she says. “We also leverage this partnership to reinforce the connection to our portfolio brands, including Scotties, SpongeTowels, and Purex.”

Supporting youth participation in sport is not new for the CPG. Its Kruger Big Assist donation program – now in its third year and featuring Kruger brands Scotties facial tissue, Cashmere bathroom tissue and SpongeTowels paper towels – is a CSR venture that recently provided over $150,000 to minor hockey associations across Canada to support families affected by the pandemic.

Kruger also has a longstanding sports partnership with the Canadian Women’s National Curling Championship (known as the Scotties Tournament of Hearts), and in 2021, the company made a larger media buy to inspire the next generation of female curlers.