Turner Sports "All-Star" Game Plan for Brands and Fans

Alli Romanoamp160 NBA AllStar Weekend is one of Turner Sports39 marquee eventsamp160 How has the event changed and how does that impact your coverageamp160 Jon Diament The NBA took a risk last year and reinvented the formatamp160 Now there are two captains who pick their teams and there is a draftamp160 The draft has become an event itselfamp160 The last few Thursdays on TNT we39ve had AllStar Draft Showsamp160they39re sponsored and presented by Jordan Brandamp160 There39s a lot of hype and programming leading into the actual game that we39ve never had before and there is a lot of fan involvement and influenceamp160 This year we are building activations for our properties for the entire weekend including with Bleacher Report and our esports brand ELeagueamp160 The highlight of the weekend is definitely the game itselfRomanoamp160 How are you involving brands in all this actionamp160 Diamentamp160 Our advertising inventory is sold outamp160 We sold out earlier than ever and we39ve had this property for 35 yearsamp160 During AllStar Weekend every official NBA marketing partner activates and promotes their relationship with the leagueamp160 They create themed commercials branded content social and onground activationsamp160 You39ll also see a lot of competitors advertise during the AllStar Weekendamp160 The top categories this year are quick service restaurants insurance telco computer and tablets overthetop services and moviesRomanoamp160 What are some brand activations you have planned Diamentamp160 We39re hosting an ELeagueamp160event where current NBA athletes will play against some of our talentamp160 It39s a partnership between ELeagueamp160and the NBA the NBA Players Association 2K and TakeTwo Interactive which publishes the video game they39ll be competing in NBA 2K19 Playgrounds 2amp160 We have the NBA on TNT American Express Road Showamp160concert series and we39ll air lookins throughout the weekendamp160 We39re working with Intel on a VR experienceamp160 And since Charlotte is known as the home of NASCAR we39re going to have our talent do some drag racing at the Charlotte Motor SpeedwayRomanoamp160 What is it about the NBA that39s drawing in these brand partners and advertisersamp160 Diamentamp160 The NBA39s demographics are quite different than other sportsamp160 It reaches a much younger sociallyactive fan so many of the advertisers are quite different than the traditional sports advertisersamp160 You39ll see movies and gamesamp160 It is also a little more urban so you39ll see sneaker and fashion brands you probably wouldn39t see in traditional sportsRomanoamp160 What39s the appeal for these younger fansamp160 Is it the game itself or the athletesDiamentamp160 It is the social relevance of all the players and how engaged they are with their fansamp160 The league is overthetop when it comes to social outreachamp160 Most of the players are very active on social media and there39s so much banter and action with what39s happening with players trades and who will play for what team next yearamp160 All of these stories keep the league relevantamp160 There are so many pieces that make it popular and marketers just love it because it is 247 365Romanoamp160 Next up Turner will broadcast more NBA action then NCAA Men39s March Madness Major League Baseball and the UEFA Champion39s League socceramp160 How are you building marketing around these different properties and what39s the demand from advertisersDiamentamp160 Live sports especially sports that matter like an AllStar Game March Madness or a UEFA Championship enjoy strong live ratings and strong outofhome viewing which are great for marketers and distribution companiesamp160 There39s a big advantage to being in the live sports business It39s a pretty cluttered environment out there right nowamp160 Live sports have an inherent advantage right now because people are watching live including commercials and the ratings are strongamp160Romanoamp160 Do you package all of these sports for clients or sell each franchise separatelyamp160Diamentamp160 We really don39t combine all of our different propertiesamp160 We recognize the UEFA Champions League fan is probably different than an NCAA fan or an NBA AllStar fanamp160 We go to marketing partners and try to build out programs that make sense for them with each property as opposed to just trying to jam them together in an unnatural wayamp160 We believe you need to customize these experiences because the fans are very different per sportRomanoamp160 Sports fans are consuming action on more devices than ever so how are you delivering your properties across platformsamp160 Where do advertisers fit in Diamentamp160 That39s a huge priority and almost every sport that we televise is available onlineamp160 We are embracing technologyamp160 We promote the options and we create social content around itamp160 We39ve also launched an overthetop product called BR Live where you can actually go in and you can buy additional contentamp160 We know that the future for younger sports fans is to obtain content via their phone computer or their smart TV so we39re trying to adaptamp160 Marketers go along for the rideamp160 They recognize the power of television and the reach of television but they also want to reach these audiencesamp160 They usually buy both and we try to connect the dots for them because it39s all basically one fanPhoto credit of action shots E M Pio RodaTurner SportsClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Turner Sports "All-Star" Game Plan for Brands and Fans

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Alli Romano

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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Turner Sports "All-Star" Game Plan for Brands and Fans

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