For the NBA's 75th anniversary playoffs, creating buzz was essential. Leveraging programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, the NBA relied on rapid turnarounds and dynamically personalized creatives, engaging fans with real-time scores and updates.
Real-time playoff updates
In anticipation of the NBA Playoffs' 75th anniversary, the NBA joined forces with Rapport and Vistar Media to pioneer a programmatic digital out-of-home campaign harnessing dynamic creative capabilities.
Their mission? To cultivate brand love and cultural resonance through compelling storytelling, ultimately rallying players, fans and influencers to share in the excitement of the upcoming playoffs.
With a primary focus on boosting viewership, the NBA rolled out a 10-week dynamic DOOH initiative, delivering tailored content to consumers at key moments throughout their day.
Redefining the game
Playoff precision
Tailoring their OOH strategy to playoff team markets, the NBA prioritized geographic relevance while layering key audience attributes. This approach ensured that placements resonated distinctly with the NBA's target audience—adults aged 18-54 & sports fans, including those actively engaged with basketball-related content.
Dynamic creative
The NBA curated a variety of creative messages spotlighting local matchups, game-time countdowns, real-time scoring, hometown victories and moderated Tweets, immersing fans in a real-time engagement experience. The NBA was the first brand to integrate dynamic messages at scale across the DOOH ecosystem, in a fully automated capacity via Vistar Media’s SSP.
Times Square takeovers
To amplify its impact, the NBA orchestrated takeovers on key game days leading up to tipoff. Concurrently, during a Twitter takeover by the social team, OOH dominated Times Square's digital spectaculars in New York City.
Market optimizations
Thanks to the flexibility of programmatic DOOH, the NBA could swiftly activate screens in playoff team markets as they progressed, seamlessly deactivating markets following a team's elimination—all without manual intervention.
Venue types
Embracing Vistar’s extensive supply inventory allowed the NBA to run messages across multiple high-impact and eye-level screens in the streets, across billboards, bus shelters, subways and urban panels.
“This forward-thinking approach to DOOH allowed the NBA to highlight pivotal moments throughout the Playoffs which helped build excitement and create a must-see factor. It was also a chance to connect with our fans in a way that was personalized, real-time and larger-than-life.”
The final score
- 7% lift in awareness
- 25% lift in consideration
- 25% lift in tune-in intent
The NBA Finals TV viewership was up by 24% compared to the previous year. The campaign was also recognized as a winner for Media Plan of the Year award by OAAA and as a finalist for the Best Use of Programmatic award by The Drum Out of Home Awards.
