Editor's note: This story is revised from the print edition.
A record crowd of more than 90,000 is expected for Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Consequently, league marketers are anticipating record levels of activation from sponsors.
“Everyone is doing some kind of all-star promotion or activity,” said Mark Tatum, NBA executive vice president of marketing partnerships. “We’ve got an [in-person] audience more than four times bigger than usual, and our marketing partners want to connect.”
In its first year as an NBA sponsor, Taco Bell is flexing its promotional muscles. It launched an ad with Charles Barkley and Lamar Odom on the Super Bowl promoting an “NBA Five Buck Box” of menu offerings that carries league and player images.
T-Mobile, across its 85 stores in the Dallas market, is offering a package of two tickets each to the All-Star Game, the Rookie Challenge (for which T-Mobile has title rights) and the Jam Session fan fest to anyone who buys and activates a qualifying Android phone.
Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas, will fly in all the trophies associated with All-Star Weekend to Love Field on its Slam Dunk One plane.
Sprite is stepping up audience participation in the slam dunk contest it titles, which is the highlight of the Saturday skills competitions. A dunk-off at halftime of Friday night’s rookie/sophomore game will allow fans to select an additional dunker for Saturday’s dunkathon via text message and online vote. Fans also vote on the winners of that contest and will determine the winner of an amateur dunking contest.
Anheuser-Busch has extensive points-of-sale in the market, along with premiums. It has five sweepstakes winners coming in for the weekend, and is also staging a concert for 3,000 people hosted by Jamie Foxx and Erykah Badu.
Foot Locker is holding a “Watch 3s, win 10 Gs” watch-and-win promo in which a consumer can win $10,000 if he or she has a code matching the one that will be unveiled during the three-point shooting contest that the company titles.
Among those using the All-Star Game to show new creative are Right Guard, which will launch a new ad (in stadium only) with Chris Paul, and the milk processor co-op, which will unveil a Got Milk? print execution. Others are using the events as a launching pad for products. Haier is debuting a line of LCD TVs, Nike’s Jordan Brand will issue its 25th anniversary shoe, and Adidas will feature what it says is the lightest uniform ever.
JA Apparel, which owns the Joseph Abboud brand and supplies the league’s coaches with suits, will stage a fashion show. Video game licensees EA Sports and 2K are holding gaming tournaments at Jam Session.
Nike, a league sponsor since 1992, and Haier America (since 2002) have renewed as NBA corporate sponsors. With at least 75 percent of the league’s players with shoe deals under contract, Nike’s renewal was the ultimate corporate slam dunk. Haier, whose rights include the official HDTV designation, will be presenting sponsor of the Friday night D-League Dream Factory skills competition. Haier’s category rights include refrigerators, air conditioners, microwaves, freezers, wine cellars, washers, dryers and dishwashers.
Additionally, the NBA has signed Blue Diamond Almonds as a new sponsor at the lesser promotional partner level. The growers’ co-op will activate against its “Bold Flavors” line of nuts with an online program in which fans can watch and vote for the “Bold Move of the Week” and, eventually, a “Bold Move of the Year.” Blue Diamond supports with online ads, team radio ads and point-of-sale. The NBA has been affiliated with another salty snack, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, since the 2008 All-Star Game, but that product is kid targeted, and that deal is centered on the NBA Fit program.
