Happy August everyone – that means it is time for the July Stoak Marketing Report! We are excited to be back, especially with how much has happened in the world the past few months and it is interesting to see how marketing has ran in parallel.
It is amazing how much you can tell what is going on just by looking at advertising – from COVID-19 and quarantine to Black Lives Matter, marketing has continued to be an extension of the world’s current events and has shifted dynamically to fit the narrative.
There have been some great marketing campaigns highlighting the need for equality and the way businesses are helping to achieve just that. We are also seeing how marketing platforms are changing with virtual advertising opportunities, as sporting events move to their new formats.
Lets get into it.
Nike – Never Too Far Down & You Can’t Stop Us
Nike’s “Never Too Far Down” is an inspirational showcase of some of the best sporting comebacks in history – throw in some great copywriting and a Lebron James narration…we are so in.
It looks like a lot of people are too, as the video garnered over 110M views since it was posted to Nike’s YouTube channel in late May.
And just when you finished working-out, catching up on work or just tidying up around the house with all that inspiration, Nike dropped the following truly spectacular spot on July 30th…
This is flat-out insane video editing and production. The amount of time that took to storyboard, locate video clips and meticulously splice them together – major kudos to the creative team on this project.
This type of advertisement is what makes Nike, Nike. The overall quality and copyrighting are fantastic. Specifically, the clip of Lebron James’s I PROMISE speech seamlessly transitioning to Megan Rapinoe 2019 World Cup Ceremony speech is next-level.
The video has been viewed more than 40M times since it was posted a week ago – not counting numerous times it has been shared on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. It just goes to show, if you make a good enough ad, you don’t even have to buy ad space, it ends up sharing itself.
NBA: The Truth is #BlackLivesMatter
It’s great to see sports leagues, which can tend to avoid social and political issues, speaking out and taking a stand. This #BlackLivesMatter video that shows a number of the league’s star players at many of the protests and it speaks volumes.
With this advertisement, the NBA is letting its players and fans know that the league has their back and that it’s willing to sacrifice ad revenue, sponsors and whatever it takes to keep the message going loud and clear. Shoutout to the NBA for providing a great example for other sports leagues and organizations.
Premier Lacrosse League: Social Content Strategy
The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is in its sophomore season and is revamping its social media strategy to accommodate the change in season structure to do COVID-19.
In lieu of playing the full regular season, the PPL’s seven teams will play a four game round robin type tournament to determine the seeding for its single-elimination tournament, The Championship Series. However, with 20 games being played over the course of two weeks, the change in format has created a unique challenge for the league’s social media and marketing teams.
In order to increase the fan experience and speed content production, the PLL is using a content creation platform called Slate to streamline the process. Each team, brand and media organizations can access these digital assets and create consistent and quality content fast.
In addition, the league is encouraging its players to creating their own content leading up to the tournament. The PLL’s Director of Marketing, Tyler Steinhardt, is hoping the platform will improve audience engagement and their ability to connect with partners. As the sports industry continues to adapt to the new normal, this is a smart and nimble move by the young league.
New Opportunities with Virtual Advertisements
This new fully virtual world is opening up never before seen advertising opportunities for brands. There are a number of new assets that are currently being explored, including virtual ads, seat tarps and jersey patches.
What may just seem like temporary tactics, is actually providing a great test situation for expanding sports advertising possibilities. With the NBA for example, there are only 3 courts suitable for league games and with 22 teams alternative “home” games, the NBA has implemented new technologies to accommodate.
Taking a chapter from the National Hockey League’s book with virtual ads on the boards behind games, the NBA has begun to superimpose the teams sponsor’s onto the court during games (see example below and please disregard the score — sorry Sixers). The league is still working out the kinks as the occasional ad will appear over a player when they stand on it, but this could be a tactic here to stay. Teams could start to sell more of these virtual court advertisements and cycle them each quarter, timeout or even basket!
The NBA also has it’s bubble courts lined with multiple 17-foot video boards, which it primarily uses to stream fans, but these could also easily transition to virtual billboards for sponsors. It’s an exciting and interesting time for sports marketing, as advertisers begin to adapt and innovative new strategies could be here to stay .