November 18, 2015 | Volume 13, Issue 20
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION UNVEILS NEW MULTI-YEAR GLOBAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
NBA gives an ode to the fans in the new "This Is Why We Play Campaign" initiative.
By: Mike Curtin
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Click the image above to check out the "This Is Why We Play" Anthem Video!
Dear Faithful Readers,
Hard to imagine that the Holidays are right around the corner! I was on our website the other day and was shocked to see our Daktronics Countdown Clock moved under 90 days. We’ve been so busy around here trying to get everything buttoned down as we head into the final 3 months.
As you may know the staff here at the office changes over every couple of years. We’ll each stay at the Forum for 3 years before Ron kicks us out into the industry. Following Portland we will have a big turnover as Nicole Del Vecchio, Mackenzie Hodge, Dustin Ouellette, Stephen Corsaro and I will all be leaving for jobs in the industry (fingers crossed!). Part of the system is to bring in new people and help them learn our roles so when we do leave the Forum doesn’t miss a beat. With that, I’d like to introduce you to Michael Curtin, who is our new Communications Intern and will be our “Selling It…” author going forward.
Hope you enjoy his first story. With the NBA getting their season started we felt it was a good time to showcase what the league is doing to bring awareness to their charitable causes.
Enjoy!
Ryan Heidrich
Director of Communications
P.S. - Don’t forget to stay engaged with us on social media! Follow @NatlSportsForum on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook!
PROGRAM TITLE
National Basketball Association: "This is Why We Play Campaign"
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OBJECTIVES
Just prior to the beginning of the 2015-2016 NBA Season, the NBA unveiled a new advertising campaign that aimed to give the fans a closer look as to why so many people love to play the game. The new series, “This Is Why We Play”, will feature a series of spots targeting casual and core fans through TV, print and digital media. The campaign is a multi-year, global campaign that is integrated with all NBA platforms and social responsibility efforts including Jr. NBA, NBA Cares, and Noches ene-be-a.
One of the major goals of this initiative included bringing awareness to some of the NBA’s charitable causes, while showing fans how important making an impact in your community can be. Another goal of the campaign was to get the casual fans excited for the upcoming season in order to create buzz around social media and capture new fans, while educating existing ones about the start of the season.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
There are three major ads to jumpstart the campaign, ‘Anthem’, ‘Anticipation’ and ‘Joy’. ‘Anthem’, the first of the series will feature current and past stars of the game, including Becky Hammon, Jason Collins, Steph Curry, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. This campaign highlights that the NBA embraces uniqueness and welcomes people that step up to challenges or barriers that are in their way.
In this day in age, social media is a huge tool when looking to showcase your media to as many people as possible and this initiative looks to do that across many platforms. This campaign also includes unique activations on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, Tumblr, etc. that will feature authentic user-generated content. The NBA Instagram will also launch a moving first-person testimonial photo series, spotlighting how basketball has impacted the lives of individual fans, players and team personnel giving the fans even more ways to personally connect with the campaign. Social media efforts for this campaign also include customized video content of “Classic Hoop Moments” highlighting the greatest moments in NBA history. Select spots will roll out in customized team’s versions as well.
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Click the image above to view the "This Is Why We Play" Anticipation Video!
PARTNERSHIP
The NBA partnered with the league’s creative ad agency Translation in the making of this series of advertisements.
RESULTS
While the results from this ad series are still up in the air due to the season just beginning, there have been some very good indications that this campaign will be successful in the long-run. Social media is buzzing about the current NBA season. For the fans of teams with personalized notes during the campaign, feedback has been very positive thus far. Indications for this ad series are that as long as this initiative is a hit, they will continue it beyond the 2015-2016 NBA season.
LOOKING AHEAD
As previously noted, this campaign is a planned multi-year global campaign that will be integrated with all NBA platforms and social responsibility efforts. The NBA and its creative partner, Translation, will continue to put out spots throughout the year that shows what motivates, inspires and excites teams, players and fans: human connection, joy, hope, love, family, community, etc. Be on the lookout for what’s next in this new ad campaign for at least the next two NBA seasons and possibly beyond.
CONTACT
For more information, contact:
Barry Parasram, Senior Manager, Marketing & Player Programs Communications, NBA
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL SPORTS FORUM
The National Sports Forum is the largest annual cross-gathering of the top team sports marketing, sales, promotions, and event entertainment executives from throughout the broad spectrum of teams and leagues in North America. The 2016 NSF Conference and Trade Show will be held on February 14 - 16, 2016 in Portland, OR. Visit www.sports-forum.com.
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THE NSF SALUTES
OUR PARTNER
Ticket Galaxy joins the NSF as an Official Sponsor for the first time in 2016 as the title sponsor of the Ticketing Super Panel, which will take place on Tuesday afternoon at the 2016 National Sports Forum. Ticket Galaxy is the sports and entertainment industry’s leading source for tickets on the secondary market, providing consumers with hard-to-get, sold-out, and discount tickets to live entertainment events in the United States and abroad.
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