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Cavs clean up at NBA sales awards

The Cleveland Cavaliers were the big winners at the NBA’s annual sales and marketing meetings last week.

The Cavs won six awards at the meetings, held across two days at the JW Marriott in Miami. The haul adds to the four awards Cleveland won at last year’s meetings, which occurred during what was LeBron James’ first season back in Ohio. Now, in season two of James’ return, the Cavs’ recognition was for the work the team did this past offseason following a run to the 2015 NBA Finals and in the current season to date.

The Cavaliers, anchored by LeBron James, have been winners on and off the court.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
The Cavs were recognized for selling at least 10,000 full-season tickets. They were one of at least 15 teams that drew recognition for reaching that annual league benchmark. Cleveland also won awards for new full-suite-equivalent sales, sponsorship account performance, sponsorship account growth and sponsorship retention. The team won a game-experience satisfaction award, as well.

“It is humbling and always great to be recognized in front of your peers,” said Cavs CEO Len Komoroski. “We are fortunate to have a great team both on and off the floor. It is great motivation, and we feel we are just getting started. The dialogue is changing on Cleveland.”

Other teams that won multiple awards were the NBA champion Golden State Warriors (with five awards) and the Portland Trail Blazers (with four awards, including a digital innovator award).

Portland, like Cleveland and Golden State, benefited this past summer from a strong 2014-15 season on the court (51-31 regular season). But whereas the Cavs and Warriors met in the NBA Finals, Portland fell in the first round of the playoffs.

The NBA recognizes teams at the meetings in categories related to ticket sales and services, sponsorship, premium seating, and digital strategies. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed team and league executives at the gathering. Gen. Martin Dempsey, retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is a special adviser to Silver, spoke to a group of team presidents at the event.

“He talked about what is fundamental to our work and the importance of integrity,” Komoroski said.

Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, and Mike Gamson, senior vice president of global solutions for LinkedIn, also spoke. PespiCo is one of the NBA’s newest partners, signing with the league as a sponsor in April. LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator product has become a tool used by NBA teams’ ticket-sales executives for prospecting.

“We spoke a lot about culture and innovation,” said Amy Brooks, executive vice president of the NBA’s team marketing and business operations division. “The importance of culture is a big theme.”

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