International Marketing Study Program 2007
NBA (Europe)
23rd January 2007
On 23rd January 2007, we visited NBA Europe headquarters in Paris. It was a very cold morning and we reached NBA about 20 minutes too early than expected, and so we took refuge in the warmth of the local Starbucks café. After we entered the NBA building, we went to the 5th floor and were greeted by Becky Black, Managing Director NBA Europe. The presentation was held in a room full with NBA merchandise such as official basket balls, jerseys, and caps. The presentation began with an NBA trivia quiz and fortunately Resha, Han and Andrew managed to answer most of questions correctly and, as a result, they received some NBA official merchandise.
NBA expressed their mission to be the most successful and respected professional sport league in the world. NBA are also making concerted efforts to become more popular in Europe. In doing so, they have acquired some star NBA European players such as Paul Gasol, Tony Parker and Dirk Norwitzki. In addition, NBA organizes a series of friendly games between Europe and NBA teams held in different parts of Europe.
The NBA presentation was under way with Florant Marty, Senior Manager Marketing Partnerships, who provided insight into the operations and diverse range of localized marketing strategies implemented by NBA across Europe. It was a valuable presentation it gave us an in depth and comprehensive overview of a privately owned company whose main revenue stems from television, licensing and marketing partnerships as well as global merchandise sales in excess of US$3 billion.
A major aspect of Gael Caselli, Manager International Television and Media’s, discussion involved the vast changes occurring within NBA. They are working on reaching their current and potential future audiences via a wider range of mediums such as Internet in which nba.com has been the major cornerstone for this. Gale also explained how they are trying to package NBA not just for the entertainment value, but more so for the lifestyle value.
In terms of social responsibility, NBA launched several programs in order to give back to the community. Some include “NBA Cares” and “Basketball without Borders”. By the end of the session, we all learnt a lot of valuable information about NBA and its integrated approach to marketing.
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