Two Florida based entertainment brands teamed-up in mid June in a deal that sees Disney become the jersey patch partner of the Orlando Magic.
Both Walt Disney World Florida and the NBA franchise are based in the city of Orlando and the tie-up sees the Magic become the eight NBA team to announce a logo shirt sponsorship – a commercial partnership strand that opens in the NBA next season.
Unsurprisingly, for such a natural alliance with plenty of geographic synergies (the Magic Amway Center arena is less than 20 miles from Walt Disney World), the partnership promotional approach revolves around the theme of ‘magic’ and led by the slogan ‘Connected By Magic’.
Starting in the 2017/18 NBA season, Magic’s hoops stars will wear a 2.5-inch-by-2.5-inch Disney logo on the front left of their jerseys and the Disney-branded uniform range will also be available for purchase.
In addition to the announcement event and its associated PR campaign, the new partnership was also promoted with a film featuring star player Aaron Gordon playing one-on-one with none other than Mickey Mouse himself (Gordon says he wants a lifetime FastPass).
This spot and its supporting video and image assets ran across the team’s digital and social platforms – such as Facebook,
and Twitter.
We will be powered by even more magic this coming season as @WaltDisneyWorld becomes our team's first jersey sponsor!#ConnectedbyMagic pic.twitter.com/eRJ9Iq5WJp
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) June 20, 2017
Our hometown team just got stronger.
Thank you @WaltDisneyWorld for believing in Magic.#ConnectedbyMagic pic.twitter.com/JpdKb9MBRl
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) June 20, 2017
While the deal was further supported across Disney’s own channels.
This season, the @OrlandoMagic will be powered by even more magic as we join forces on the team’s official jersey! #ConnectedbyMagic pic.twitter.com/j7g13ev7Tp
— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) June 20, 2017
The Magic, who’s Amway Center is less than 20 miles from Walt Disney World, are the seventh NBA team to announce a jersey sponsorship.
“With Orlando has our hometown, magic has always been a key strand of our DNA,” said Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins.
“This expanded agreement with Disney brings our story full circle and represents the coming together of two dynamic organizations that have become synonymous with Orlando.”
Disney has actually worked with the NBA franchise for the last seven years with the tie-up initially rooted in a series of local outreach initiatives.
The jersey sponsorship aims to further this alliance and the two outfits will work together on a set of shared marketing opportunities that highlight entertainment in Central Florida.
The deal also sees Disney expand its presence in-stadium at the team’s Amway Center: initially by adding a special branded seating and hospitality area.
The agreement is for three years and while the dollar amount involved with the deal was not disclosed other similar NBA jersey patch deals have been reported at around the $5m mark.
Activative Comment:
When the NBA became the first of the major US sports leagues to green light partner logos on team jerseys there was plenty of comment and a few complaints, but the fuss around the shirt sponsor idea (so long a stalwart of European sport) seems to have ebbed away rapidly.
Several other teams and brands have already teamed up on jersey sponsorship deals.
Here are 7 of the 8 NBA jersey ad patches announced. Timberwolves/Fitbit jersey will be revealed later. pic.twitter.com/P99a9nBaUV
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 20, 2017
The first franchise and brand pairing to announce such a shirt sponsorship was the Philadelphia 76ers and Stubhub back in May 2016 (see case study), which was followed by an alliance between the Cleveland Cavaliers and local tyre giant Goodyear announced in May 2017 and promoted by a campaign called ‘Drive’ (see case study).
While other recent jersey tie-ups include the Sacramento Kings and Blue Diamond Almonds, the Boston Celtics and General Electric, the Brooklyn Nets and Infor, the Utah Jazz and Qualtrics, as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Fitbit.
Interestingly, the promotional spot for this last tie-up (which was announced on 20 June) featured Timberwolves star Zach Levine who was traded during the NBA draft on 23 June to the Chicago Bulls as part of a package that saw All-Star Jimmy Butler move in the other direction.
Links:
Orlando Magic
https://www.youtube.com/user/NBAOrlandoMagic
https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoMagic
https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic
Disney:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WaltDisneyWorld
https://www.youtube.com/user/DisneyParks/
https://twitter.com/WaltDisneyWorld
