NBA
Pitch has been working with international sports league the NBA in the UK and across various European countries since the first NBA Europe Live pre-season game at the O2 Arena in 2007. Since then Pitch have helped build the profile of the sport across the continent and worked on more than 10 NBA Europe Live games.
What we were asked to do
For the first time ever the NBA bought in-season games to Europe as the Toronto Raptors took on the New Jersey Nets in back-to-back games at the O2 Arena in London in March 2011. The task was simple – sell-out both games.
What we did
- Secured Radio 1 DJs Chris Moyles and Vernon Kaye as honorary captains of the two teams with Moyles interviewing Nets’ part-owner Jay-Z on his breakfast show
- Helped set-up the first-ever NBA Basketball Week, launched by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, with activity going on in different regions up and down the country ahead of the games
- Media trip with specific media to the USA to watch the New Jersey Nets with plenty of interview and behind-the-scenes opportunities to help preview pieces of the games
- Targeting American and Canadian communities with ticket competitions and interview opportunities with target media
- Working with celebrity footballers such as Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and Cesc Fabregas to help secure coverage in football media
- Interviews with players and team representatives with targeted media around ticket sales announcement, media trip and pre-event
Results
- Both games sold out
- Engaging the BBC by naming two main presenters as honorary captains of the teams resulted in over three hours of national radio coverage over a four day period reaching over 12 million listeners
- The first ever NBA Basketball Week took basketball to the heart of five UK cities and more than 10,000 people engaged with the ‘pop up’ basketball activities
- More than 260 pieces of coverage achieved in the UK
- More than 450 pieces of coverage achieved across Italy, France, Spain and Turkey
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