Panini America has signed an exclusive multi-year agreement with the New Orleans Pelicans, hoping to capitalize off the NBA debut of star rookie Zion Williamson. The partnership was announced last Thursday, just one day after Williamson scored 22 points for the Pelicans in his first NBA game.
As part of the deal, the collectibles brand will produce Panini Instant trading cards to commemorate the Pelicans’ best moments as they happen throughout the season. The first Panini Instant card born from the new agreement launched on the night of Williamson’s debut (in which the Pelicans lost 121-117 to the San Antonio Spurs) and is available to order for $9.99 on Panini’s website through today.
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Pelicans cards will also be featured on Panini’s NBA Dunk mobile app, where users can trade digital versions of cards and compete in fantasy-like contests by building lineups featuring their cards. WIlliamson previously signed an exclusive autograph trading card agreement with Panini last summer. Demand for Williamson cards has been so high that it caused Panini’s website to crash in August.
“With Panini Instant, we’re going to work closely with a number of teams this year—both in the NFL and in the NBA—to highlight that real time component. We now have the ability, as people are walking out of arenas, to push-notify them and let them know, ‘Hey, that moment you just saw, there’s a card of that and you can get it right now. All you have to do is click here,’ ” Jason Howarth, Panini America’s VP of marketing, told SportTechie in August.
Panini’s new partnership with the Pelicans includes in-arena activations, as well as integrated content creation that will highlight other key Pelicans rookies. Last month, Panini also detailed plans to auction off 100 blockchain-backed digital trading cards.
