The NBA has a dedicated global fan following, rivalling most sporting codes.
Although headquartered in New York, the North American basketball league has a worldwide presence with international offices in almost every region.
NBA Asia’s remit also encapsulates Australia, where basketball ranks #1 in the market for participation – according to the league.
Sheila Rasu, NBA Asia’s vice president of marketing and communications, oversees the overall marketing, communications, and social responsibility efforts for the NBA in the APAC region.
Rasu spoke to Mediaweek about how the NBA is maximising the sport’s top spot in Australia, developing and driving fan engagement and the key to lining up partnerships with Nike, Hennessy, 2K and TAB.
How is NBA Asia maximising its popularity in Australia?
Rasu, who was recently in Down Under with the NBA Asia executive team at the Sport NXT, highlighted the NBA’s recent research that has shown basketball as the number one participation sport in Australia among the general population between the ages 6 – 64. She credited this to the popularity of the game, the existing basketball infrastructure and that Australia currently has 12 Australian players in the NBA.
“The participation in the sport, coupled with the success Australians have had on the global stage, has contributed greatly to the popularity of the NBA in the country. In fact, according to Google’s 2021 Year in Search in Australia, the NBA was the no. 1 overall most Googled term,” she added.
Rasu noted that interest from fans is not only driven by their ability to play the game, but their connection to it, which is something her team is constantly looking to strengthen through their live games, programming, fan engagement and storytelling.
In Australia, ESPN televises NBA games and programming, with more than 250 regular-season and playoff games. Live games and NBA-related content are also available on demand through its premium live game subscription service, NBA League Pass.
“Australia remains our no. 1 country in revenue and subscriptions for NBA League Pass outside of the U.S,” Rasu revealed.
NBA also engages with fans across a variety of touchpoints across digital, retail, and on-ground activations, as well as social media, where they have a combined 2 million followers from Australia.
Engagement also came through the form of the NBA opening two physical stores in Melbourne and Sydney last year. This gave fans access to the widest range of official NBA merchandise in the country and brought players – Dallas Mavericks’ Josh Green, Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray, and NBA Champion Dirk Nowitzki – to the country for a fan meet-and-greets at the store
Rasu also highlighted the NBA Gallery in Sydney, a free pop-up art exhibition that featured specially-commissioned works by local artists showcasing the impact of the NBA in Australia. Meanwhile in Melbourne, the NBA also unveiled a 40-foot mural that stylistically showcased the names of Australian players participating in the 2022-23 NBA season.
“Overall, I believe we are entering the Golden Age of basketball in Australia, and we are incredibly bullish about the enormous potential to further grow the popularity of the NBA brand in Australia,” Rasu said.
Rasu on how NBA Asia has achieved successful digital fan engagement
When it comes to successful digital fan engagement, Rasu noted her marketing team’s goal is to make sure the fans in their ecosystem engage and think of them in their daily lives. She explained that as a U.S. professional sports league, the reality of being part of the international fanbase is that only a small percentage will have the opportunity to watch a game in an NBA arena.
“Our focus is on how we can use technology to engage fans and tell stories that resonate with our fanbase in ways we could never have before.
“We measure our success based on how well we’ve engaged our fans on the digital platforms that they use, enabled them to create personal experiences with the NBA, and produced localised content that drives yearlong engagement and excitement around our league.”
Rasu noted that in the Asia region, their brand of the NBA oversees 25 local social media handles across seven social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LINE, and Sports Navi – across seven markets, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Each market has a different level of interest and knowledge of the NBA and Rasu pointed out that as marketers, they are strategic with their fan engagement approach and deliver content and experiences that are relevant to each market.
“At present, we’ve produced original social media talk shows featuring the latest NBA events such as Courtside Huddle and Republika Huddle that cater to core fans in Australia and the Philippines respectively, and developed content for more casual audiences, including Indonesian bi-weekly debate show Jubir Basket and a Japanese influencer-led basketball show entitled NBA Kamiwaza,” she noted.
The key to lining up its partnerships
Rasu said that NBA has been fortunate to have partners that see the value in associating with their brand to reach a wide, young, and engaged audience.
The NBA boasts the youngest, most diverse fanbase of any major sport, according to Rasu. It also has one of the largest social media communities in the world – with 2.1 billion followers globally across the league, team, and player platforms. Of that, there are 2 million social followers from Australia combined across the league’s global and local pages
Rasu explained that their partners are instrumental in helping us reach fans in new and creative ways and highlighted recent work with Hennessy and TAB to deliver unique experiences to our Australian fanbase.
“Last May, we worked with Hennessy to put a floating basketball court in the middle of the Sydney Harbour as part of their Court Beyond Limits series, where Hennessy launched stunning courts in iconic locations around the world to celebrate basketball’s cultural influence on-and-off the court.
“The floating court in Sydney Harbour is a follow-up to the viral basketball court Hennessy installed in the famed Bondi Icebergs Pool during the 2021 NBA Playoffs. In addition to Hennessy, our partnership with Australian sports betting company TAB has allowed us to televise NBA TV – the league’s 24-hour television network – on Tabcorp’s Sky Channel in more than 4,400 TAB retail and entertainment venues across Australia,” she explained.
Rasu noted that working with like-minded brands helps them deliver more uniquely Australian NBA experiences to passionate fans across the country.
Rasu on what should marketers need to know about developing and driving fan engagement
Sharing her industry wisdom when it comes to developing and driving fan engagement, Rasu highlighted the importance for brands to have a deep understanding of their audience and engage their fans where they are.
Rasu explained: “At the NBA, we have long prioritised the importance of a multiplatform strategy, especially after seeing a significant increase in time spent on digital and social platforms.
“We’re focused on using advancements in technology to make the fan experience more interactive and personalised, which we’ve incorporated in our reimagined NBA App.
“Ultimately, brands will be defined by their ability to innovate in the digital space and reach their consumers on their preferred device and language,” she added.
Rasu shares her outlook of NBA Asia’s marketing strategy in the year ahead
As the NBA enters the final month of its regular season, Rasu said the team has been implementing its strategy to support the promotion of its direct-to-consumer business, and the development of its valuable assets and content to engage fans across the region.
Looking ahead at NBA Asia’s marketing strategy for the year ahead, among the key milestones she highlighted was rising awareness and growth in the number of registered NBA ID users on the NBA App.
“Last November, we launched the “Josh Giddey: Record-Breaking Rookie” video on the NBA App, which showcased highlights of Giddey’s remarkable first year in the league, that drove successful registrations and subscribers to both NBA ID and NBA League Pass, respectively,” Rasu said.
“We recently also hosted ‘NBA ID Member Day’ that provided NBA ID members with access to a night of free games on Saturday, April 1 and every NBA Finals game from the 1990s on the NBA App for the remainder of the season,” she added.
Focusing on Australia, Rasu noted that the team is focusing on delivering an expanded offering of live games and original programming across the NBA App and the league’s global and local social platforms.
“For example, we’ve extended the distribution of the latest season of Courtside Huddle, a series hosting local influencers and sports personalities to discuss the latest NBA events, from NBA Australia’s Facebook page to the NBA App.”
Also launching later this year is the second season of Ingrained, a six-part limited docuseries featuring the NBA, Australian hoop culture and their influence on fashion, music, pop culture and fandom through the lens of iconic local personalities.
Last year, it was the best-performing original series across NBA Australia Facebook and Instagram through October 2022.
NBA Asia is also continuing to build its catalogue of in-depth original programming, including long-form documentaries spotlighting Australian NBA players, delivering exclusive access content with current NBA stars and legends during their visit to Australia, and developing narratives for upcoming talents from the region, including NBA Global Academy graduates.
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Top image: Sheila Rasu