NBA All-Star 2019 Case Study

Challenge:

Each year, the National Basketball Association (NBA) hosts an exhibition game and weekend of events, known as NBA All-Star, for the league’s brightest star players to showcase their talent. With Charlotte already named as the host city for NBA All-Star 2019, the NBA hired SPARK Strategic Ideas about three months ahead of the big game weekend to assist with local and regional public relations, news releases for key announcements and management of media attendees at numerous events.

SPARK knew the talk surrounding this game would be at an all-around high since the league revoked Charlotte as the host city for NBA All-Star 2017 and moved the game to New Orleans. This was a national shock. SPARK knew that now, two years later, more eyes would be on Charlotte and how important the success of this All-Star Weekend would be. Over 150,000 fans were expected to be in town for four days of events across the city, making this the largest event the Queen City had ever hosted.

For this national series of events, SPARK was hired to garner local and regional media attention, build excitement, manage communications and drive ticket sales over a three-month period. The NBA retained SPARK to assist with the media relations for Charlotte and surrounding cities, focusing on promoting the ticketed events and fan activities that were open to the public. In addition to overall pitching efforts, SPARK also needed to staff over 15 media events throughout Charlotte during All-Star Weekend, including numerous community outreach efforts on behalf of NBA Cares.  

Besides brand awareness and outreach surrounding the marquee games, SPARK was tasked with managing conversations around traffic, ticket scams, counterfeit merchandise, uniforms, community events, philanthropic endeavors, global feed distribution, entertainment, celebrity involvement and player interviews.  

Solution:

Jumping to the challenge, SPARK laced up their sneakers and created custom media and influencer databases for Charlotte and surrounding markets in North and South Carolina. Our team immediately started coordinating deskside meetings, scheduling on-air interviews and planning how to staff over 15 media events throughout Charlotte (some happening simultaneously at different locations). With only three months before the All-Star Game tip off, SPARK ramped up early media attention with calendar listings and long-lead publication outreach.

SPARK’s first major announcement for NBA All-Star Weekend was within the first two weeks before marquee game tickets went on sale in December. A news release was distributed to the media and SPARK scheduled local deskside meetings with NBA staff to connect with editors on various story topic ideas. This also included coordinating multiple TV and radio interviews and setting up in-studio appearances for brand ambassadors and former NBA players.

All-Star voting was another initiative that SPARK supported, encouraging local fans to help select this year’s team captains and starters. Ongoing pitches and reminders were sent out to local media to promote how fans can stay involved and generate excitement leading up to the All-Star Weekend. After the starters were announced, SPARK coordinated on-air TV segments to reveal the design of the 2019 team uniforms. As a way to generate buzz, SPARK coordinated and hand-delivered uniform jerseys to each of the broadcast stations in Charlotte for their hosts to reveal the design on their early morning news shows.

The SPARK team also put together a list of sports, family and lifestyle influencers in Charlotte and surrounding cities to partner with in trade, allowing them to either experience one of the events leading up to the All-Star Game themselves and post about it or to offer their followers a chance to win tickets. This helped generate more excitement and encouraged fans who weren’t so lucky to go to a game to attend NBA Crossover at Epicentre, a three-day fan experience open to the public.

In addition to heavy ongoing media relations, SPARK was also responsible for serving as PR representatives at over 15 events during the week and weekend. Team members provided support with inviting media, managing media and guest check-ins and helping facilitate the run-of-show for the following national events: Rising Stars Practice & Media Day, MTN DEW ICE Rising Stars Game, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, NBA All-Star Practice & Media Day and the 68th Annual NBA All-Star Game.

A key theme for NBA All-Star 2019 was celebrating the legacy of basketball in North Carolina at the youth, collegiate and professional level and how basketball impacts our communities. SPARK assisted the NBA with media on-site at events throughout the city that left a positive mark on Charlotte and beyond. These events included: Jr. NBA Day, Special Olympics Unified Game, Building Bridges Through Basketball, Hemby Children’s Hospital Visit, FIT Celebration at West Charlotte High School, Basketball Without Borders Global Camp, Technology Summit, and three All-Star Day of Service projects.

Results:

The NBA deemed All-Star 2019 a massive success, as they received over 1,300 broadcast, print, online and social media placements locally, regionally and nationally and over 2.2 billion total impressions. With round-the-clock media coverage, event tickets sold out in record time — quicker than the NBA team had anticipated. Registration for the free fan event at Epicentre also filled up immediately, and each of the three days there was a line wrapped around the building with fans waiting to get in the NBA Crossover space.

“The SPARK team was a pleasure to work with leading up to and during NBA All-Star 2019,” said Sheena Weinstein, NBA Communications. “Their knowledge of the media landscape, creative pitch ideas, positive attitudes and problem-solving abilities were essential to the success of the event. The extensive press coverage and fan engagement throughout the city of Charlotte would not have been possible without their help.”