Two Milwaukee legends team up to build the next legend – well, that’s the lead PR line promoting the new multi-year sponsorship deal (which includes jersey patch branding) between the Milwaukee Bucks and Harley-Davidson.
The first half of August saw the Bucks and the bike brand announce a multi-year sponsorship agreement which sees the iconic Harley-Davidson black, orange and white bar and shield logo become the first brand logo to appear on the team’s new 2017-18 season Nike jersey as the National Basketball Association (NBA) becomes the first of the major US sports leagues to allow shirt sponsorship.
The deal was announced at a special event jointly held by the two globally renowned Milwaukee-based organizations at the Harley-Davidson Museum in the heart of the city.
As well as the launch event and accompanying PR campaigns, the alliance was activated across the city streets and across both the team and the bike brand’s digital and social channels.
This sponsorship activation phase was led by sponsorship launch film, called ‘We Build’, debuting on Harley’s YouTube channel,
and amplified across both partners’ social platforms – including Facebook.
While the team’s new Nike jersey with the bike brand logo was also unveiled across all Bucks and Harley platforms from Twitter
The Icon: https://t.co/b0Af7FPMTt pic.twitter.com/zBOUFYUw1N
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 10, 2017
#HarleyDavidson X @Bucks. https://t.co/9gHHSiP6ZR
— Harley-Davidson (@harleydavidson) August 10, 2017
and Facebook,
to Instagram
and Snapchat.
The 10 August new deal launch event – called the ‘Bike Night Celebration’ (http://www.nba.com/bucks/harley-bike-night) – saw Harley invite Bucks fans, Harley-Davidson riders and the Bucks Entertainment Team tonight at the Harley-Davidson Museum for aa special partnership programme of events and activities spanning live music, a prize draw raffle, fireworks and a $3 Miller High Life special if they show their H-D Museum or Bucks Koozie.
See the new uniforms and meet @ThonMaker14 tonight!!
Details: https://t.co/QR5fYiNlJn pic.twitter.com/m3Lo6mlkh7
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 10, 2017
Another aspect of the partnership launch was a city-wide street team strand to engage locals on the ground.
Celebrating our @harleydavidson partnership the only way we know how… all around Milwaukee! Where to next? pic.twitter.com/7XYVEx0mQd
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 10, 2017
Find the @BucksDancers and @BucksBango around town today and score a Bucks x @harleydavidson shirt!! pic.twitter.com/WWn46D8ZOl
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 10, 2017
and also live Facebook video streaming.
“It’s a perfect fit for Harley-Davidson and the Bucks, two international brands with deep Milwaukee roots, to join together through this partnership,” said Matt Pazaras, the Bucks’s senior vice president of business development and strategy.
“Harley evokes as much passion among its riders as the Bucks do for our fans. And with that passion, along with its iconic logo and what it represents, Harley is the coolest brand for our players to sport during games.”
Comment:
Jersey sponsorships were approved as part of a three-year pilot program by the NBA Board of Governors in April 2016 and will make their official on-court debuts when the 2017-18 NBA season starts on 20 October.
NBA sides are permitted to sell a small (2½-by-2½-inch) patch on the jersey’s left shoulder: a move that industry experts speculate could be worth between US$5m and US$10m per year.
Revenue from the new NBA shirt sponsorships will be split in three ways: the team retains 25%, the league’s revenue sharing pool nets 25% and 50% goes to the players under the terms of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
The Bucks become the 12th NBA team to agree a jersey patch sponsorship ahead of the new season.
The other 11 teams that have already filled the position are the Philadelphia 76ers (StubHub), Boston Celtics (General Electric), Sacramento Kings (Blue Diamond Growers), Orlando Magic (Disney), Cleveland Cavaliers (Goodyear), Minnesota Timberwolves (Fitbit), Utah Jazz (Qualtrics), Brooklyn Nets (Infor), Toronto Raptors (Sun Life Assurance Company), Detroit Pistons (Flagstar Bank) and the Denver Nuggets (Western Union).
Unlike other sports leagues around the world – most notably the Premier League (where a recent SportQuake study found that on average only 11.5% of a Premier League club’s social following are based in the UK) – this first wave of NBA jersey sponsorship deals have been dominated by alliances between teams and locally-based US businesses.
In addition to the Bucks/Harley tie-up, other examples of this local market led approach include the Cleveland Cavaliers and Goodyear (see case study) and the Orlando Magic and Disney (see case study).
Thus, despite the league recent global marketing efforts and overseas games series, this revenue reflects the more domestic nature of the NBA compared to global reach of the Premier League.
Links:
Milwaukee Bucks
http://www.nba.com/bucks/harley
https://www.facebook.com/milwaukeebucks
https://www.instagram.com/bucks/
https://www.snapchat.com/add/bucksdotcom
Harley Davidson
https://www.youtube.com/user/HarleyDavidson
http://www.harley-davidson.com
https://www.facebook.com/harley-davidson
https://twitter.com/harleydavidson
https://www.instagram.com/harleydavidson/
