NBA Fills Two New League Categories With Kaiser Permanente, H&R Block

Kaiser Permanente has signed on as the NBA’s first Official Healthcare Partner in a multiyear deal that also includes WNBA and D-League rights. A player component sees Warriors G Stephen Curry and Clippers G Chris Paul serving as ambassadors. The Oakland-based health care firm has a team deal with the Kings and is presenting sponsor of the Warriors through the '16-17 season. Activation plans include presenting sponsorship of the NBA Fit Live Week and other community health and wellness initiatives. Aside from an NBA media commitment, Kaiser Permanente will serve as a consultant for the NBA on health and wellness and will help organize an annual NBA Health & Wellness Forum. The company also will hold 14 annual community health and wellness events in NBA, WNBA and D-League markets. During the upcoming NBA All-Star Week in N.Y., Kaiser will sponsor the NBA Fit All-Star Celebration, a series of city-wide fitness and basketball events. Kaiser also will sponsor an NBA Cares Community Assist Award, which each month honors an NBA player for his efforts. NBA Exec VP/Global Marketing Partnerships Emilio Collins said, “This is a category we’ve been after for a while and we really wanted a good fit between the NBA and health and wellness." 

HEALTH USUALLY LOCAL: Teams and venues have been doing sponsorships with healthcare companies and hospitals for some time, but league deals have been far more infrequent. The PGA Tour's deal with Humana for its Palm Springs, Calif., event was a notable exception. Former NBA Senior VP/Global Business Development and FoxRock Partners Founder & CEO Peter Farnsworth said, "Kaiser and their competitors are largely regional players with local market imperatives. If for no other reason, this type of national activation is interesting and perhaps a category trend. With the increasing shift for the category to market to the end consumer, there should be a terrific way to leverage the appeal and prominence of the players to showcase the importance of healthy eating and physical fitness." This is Kaiser’s first pro league sponsorship. The company also has deals with the Raiders, Chargers, Redskins, Redskins, Nationals, Oregon State and the Rose Bowl.

ON THE BLOCK: Meanwhile, H&R Block yesterday announced a multiyear promotional partnership with the NBA in which it will be the first official tax services partner of the NBA and also a partner of the ASG in N.Y. The company at the ASG will serve as an associate sponsor of the All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday night and Saturday’s All-Star Practice. D-League and WNBA rights are not included in the deal. While the agreement marks H&R Block’s first pro league sponsorship, the company did recently buy rights from the Cavaliers and is expected to sign more NBA club deals as well. Optimum Sports brokered the NBA deal.