23/02/2017

All-Star Activations: Sponsors Bring NBA’s Big Easy Basketball Celebration To Life

Sponsors who invested in striking 2017 All-Star activations – bringing the NBA’s basketball celebration in New Orleans to life – look to have made a sensible strategic decision.

 

Not least because the 66th All-Star Game was the most viewed All-Star broadcast since 2013: with an average audience on TNT of 7.8 million (peaking at 8.5 million) the event was up 3% on 2016.

 

Amoung our favourite leverage programmes was an integrated, multi-phased initiative by the PepsiCo-owned official drinks partner Sprite (see case study) and an inventive, on-court stunt from Intel (see case study).

 

But there was much, much more on show in terms of notable partner leverage initiatives.

 

In fact, this year’s mid-season basketball celebration saw at least 24 of the league’s official sponsors, partners and suppliers leverage the event with a strong presence in the Big Easy through the 16 to 19 February weekend.

 

Title sponsorship of official All-Star Events (like the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, the Verizon Slam Dunk, the JBL Three-Point Contest, the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, the Kia All-Star MVP), to presenting partners (eg The NBA All-Star Entertainment Series presented by JBL, the NBA D-League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire and the NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon), to multi-platform activations, product launches, or just partners primarily using simple player ambassador activation at the event (such as American Express and ExxonMobil), the 2017 NBA All-Star weekend was a hotbed of marketing activity.

 

We outline some of the stand-out work.

 

 

Major Multi-Platform Initiatives

 

As well as the previously mentioned Sprite activation, one of the most notable multi-platform programmes was State Farm’s integrated activation: which, as well as debuting a new Chris Paul fronted ‘Drilled’ TV spot in its ongoing sports ambassador led  ad series (see case study)

 

 

spanned its role as an associate partner of the ‘All-Star Day of Service’ to its ‘Right Locker Combination Hunt’.

 

The former initiative was hubbed around the State Farm All-Star Assist Center, which, as well has helping out visitors, also displayed aggregated event-related social activity via the @AllStarAssist Twitter handle.

 

Fans were invited to submit All-Star questions to @AllStarAssist on Twitter (using hashtags #StateFarm #HereToHelp) and the brand’s assist centre staff  answered their questions.

 

 

This phase was supported by State Farm Assist Ambassadors placed all round the All-Star venues to help fans with queries and problems and to give away concession stand gift cards

 

While the later activation strand saw the insurer place gym lockers in high-traffic areas around the city centre and invite fans to try and unlock them to win event- and brand-related prizes.

 

Plus, on All-Star Saturday, February 18, in New Orleans, LA Clippers star and brand ambassador Chris Paul  hosted the first-ever Facebook Live-streamed ‘State Farm Neighborhood Sessions’ (https://neighborhoodsessions.statefarm.com/) at the House of Blues in New Orleans: a concert featuring music producer DJ Khaled along with musician Jon Batiste, and other special guests.

 

 

 

‘By hosting Neighborhood Sessions on Facebook Live, audiences around the world will see the work being done by State Farm, the Chris Paul Family Foundation and local community,’ comments State Farm brand content director Patty Morris.

 

‘The community programs in New Orleans leverage the power of basketball to inspire others to give back to their communities.’
On the cause side of the All-Star campaign, the ‘State Farm NBA Cares Assist Tracker’ program saw the insurer and the Chris Paul Family Foundation unveil a new technology centre/computer lab at the New Orleans Dryades YMCA on 18 February.

 

This followed a similar project unveiled in December at the Belle Chasse YMCA and both aim to bring to life State Farm and the NBA’s commitment to the power of good neighbours, and encouraging others to do good in their communities through hands-on service projects.

 

Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game marks the second season of the State Farm NBA Cares Assist Tracker. Throughout the season, State Farm and NBA Cares donate $5 for every assist made on the court. During the NBA All-Star Game, the partners will donate $1,800 per assist, representing the 18,000 State Farm agents that are in communities across the country. The Tracker will be visible on the video board throughout the evening, and fans can track the assists that will support the installation of educational technology throughout the country.

 

One of the more surprising multi-media marketing campaigns at this year’s All-Star weekend was an extension of the ‘Built With Chocolate Milk’ initiative by the Milk Processor Education Program.

 

The campaign is fronted by new programme athlete endorser Klay Thompson.

 

The Golden State Warriors’ star fronts an integrated campaign spearheaded by a TV commercial called ‘The Three Pointer’,

 

 

supported by a behind-the-scenes spot,

 

 

plus print executions and digital assets

 

 

that ‘spotlight his distinct approach to training, performance and muscle recovery’.
‘Sales for chocolate milk have steadily increased as the demand for simple and effective recovery tools are at an all-time high, and we’re excited to continue to inspire and inform everyday athletes through our new partnership with Klay,’ attested Milk Processor Education Program marketing director Miranda Abney.

 

 

Fan Engagement Events

 

Verizon, the title sponsor of the Slam Dunk Contest, launched a new series on the go90 app (https://www.go90.com), ‘NBA Slam Kings’, which shows 90 highlights from all previous dunk contests leading up to this year’s event.

 

Among other live fan engagement opportunities was the ‘NBA Crossover’ – a multimedia, cultural exhibit that brought to life the blending of basketball and pop culture – which saw five of the league’s partners activate at and around the event.

 

 

These included a Bud Light bar and lounge selling NBA team-branded Bud Light cans.

 

 

 

Bud Light worked with its NBA team partners to create specific can designs ‘that speak directly to each team’s passionate fan base, and serve as a way for die-hards to show their support whether they’re cheering courtside or from the couch’.

 

Following All-Star Weekend, the cans will be available in local participating stores through the rest of the season.

 

Another activation on show at this event strand was a Foot Locker audio tour celebrating the evolution of basketball footwear (with endorser athletes and signature shoe ranges, plus a ‘sneaker cleaner station’ and a ‘Kicks Cam’ sneaker selfie booth)

 

 

JBL built a wall of JBL Pulse speakers which lit up as different designs, while Stance offered fans a chance to design their own (free) pair of socks which it shipped the next day and TISSOT curated fashion exhibition showcasing the styles of the East and West teams and gave attendees a photo opportunity with the style that they best represent.

 

 

TISSOT, which released its league-themed ‘NBA T-Touch Expert Solar Special Edition’ watch earlier in February to maximise interest ahead of the All-Star game,

 

 

also awarded customised watches to all the All-Star event winners – including the Taco Bell Skills Challenge champ, JBL Three-Point Contest champ and Verizon Slam Dunk victor.

 


 

Another pillar weekend event space was ‘Champions Square’ which was anchored by official broadcaster Turner Sport’s 70,000 square-foot ‘NBA on TNT Road Show’.

 

A programme of (mostly branded) activities ran in the square over the four-day period including Mountain Dew’s ‘NBA 3x All-Star Edition’ which saw Team Russ take on Team Kyrie, a Tissot ‘Road Show’ from the official watch partner that interviewed star player endorsers and enabled visitors to compete for prizes in a one-on-one NBA trivia Q&A competition format in a Tissot-themed kiosk.

 

 

While one of the league’s newest partners, Jack Daniel’s, kick-off its All-Star sponsorship work at ‘Jack Daniel’s House No. 7’: a hospitality space offering experiential events from live music to guest rooms with unique programming, eclectic southern-style food and a set of basketball-themed activities.

 

 

Fellow NBA partner Foot Locker, which released a new ‘Stats’ TV spot (with Jordan Brand and featuring All-Star Russell Westbrook),

 

 

also extended its #NBAKicks campaign by highlighting All-Star Kicks throughout the weekend and teamed up with Nike to rework its Canal Street branded space into a ‘House of Hoops’ by Foot Locker retail outlet.

 

 

 

While Pepsi took over a local Big Easy restaurant in order to recreate a pizza parlour scene from its new ‘Uncle Drew’ film shoot starring Kyrie Irving and Baron Davis (see case study).

 

 

 

Video game partner 2K hosted the finals of the ongoing NBA 2K17 All-Star Tournament at the event:

 

 

 

while the winning team of gamers scooping $250,000, tickets to State Farm All-Star Saturday Night and the NBA All-Star Game, plus an opportunity to play an exhibition game against five NBA players (who are, of course, 2K endorsers and were well beaten).

 

 

 

Services/Utilities

 

On the services front, official automotive partner Kia teamed up with Uber for the ‘Kia All-Star Ride’: offering free rides to fans throughout the city – with some lucky passengers also bagging NBA giveaways and surprise in-car player appearances (https://www.uber.com/info/uber-kia-all-star-ride-experience/).

 

 

New Product Launches & Sports Brand Work

 

New Product Launches leveraging the event included Adidas’ new James Harden All-Star shoes,

 

 

 

while Gatorade promoted its new Gx system (https://www.gatorade.com/gx), Jordan Brand stars (including Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, and Russell Westbrook) wore special edition All-Star kicks and the range was showcased through a ‘Gotta Shine’ pop-up and campaign.

 

 

While Under Armour introduced custom All-Star shoes reflecting New Orleans’ rich musical history – including the #Curry3 Brass Band.

 

 

Nike continued to roll out its ‘Equality’ initiative (which launched at last week’s Grammys) which encourages consumers to take the fairness and respect they see in sport off the field and into everyday life (see case study).

 

In terms of official NBA gear, there was a minor campaign around the official jerseys from Adidas (in its last kit supply season before Nike takes over), while cap provider New Era launched a set of custom All-Star hats at its ‘Design Lab’, a current/retro range from Mitchell & Ness (who also hosted a celebrity weekend brunch),

 

 

plus further products were released by NBA mouth guard partner Shock Doctor and official sock brand Stance.

 

Links

 

NBA

http://www.nba.com/allstar

https://www.allstarweekendneworleans2017.com/

http://www.NBA.com

http://www.youtube.com/nba

http://www.nba.com/leaguepass

http://www.nba.com/mobile

http://www.facebook.com/nba

http://www.twitter.com/nba

http://www.instagram.com/nba
http://nba.tumblr.com

http://store.nba.com

 

 

 



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