I was out at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.  The first week is often thought of the “quiet” time to go, but over the last few years, I’ve noticed that there is no such thing as a quiet day at the Open.

It’s brimming with people – with a healthy gender split and a very international flavor.

I continue to be impressed at the levels of activation on the grounds of the National Tennis Center, and the sponsor roster seems appropriate. Heineken is embedded well with branding (their color green is a good match with the game of tennis), they have on-site beer “pourers” walking the grounds and are smart with their signage. AmEx always stands out, and this year the lines at their booths were shocking, at least to me.  The brand continues to have success with its mini-TVs and its complimentary radio live service. All you have to do is offer up your AmEx card for access.

Juvederm had long lines at its booth for complimentary massages, ticket upgrades and giveaways.  Additionally, local physicians provided complimentary facial consultations and the brand retained Tracy Austin and Lindsay Davenport for appearances. Those are just a few that stood out, but I always leave there impressed by the work of Pierce O’Neil, Gary Jacobus and the team of USTA corporate marketers.

Among other things:

Puma said it hasn’t/wasn’t going to actively market much around Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt, but my friends and I were struck at the large Puma billboard in SoHo touting Bolt’s Olympic world record achievements and promoting Puma’s two NYC retail locations.

Two articles of interest – Today’s Financial Times looks at more “companies and governments throughout the oil-rich Gulf are turning to high-level sports as a means to reach domestic and global audiences.”

In case you missed it, USA TODAY must have been the only mainstream pub NOT to profile Brett Yormark, but they joined the club on Tuesday by featuring him on a Money section cover story.  And I’m going to e-mail Brett and compliment him on his exercise routine – come on man, 10 minutes of suicides??!! Yormark’s daily workout: 40 minutes on treadmill; 10 minutes of suicides; 15 minutes of swimming.