NBA looks to engage Indonesian fans with Ramadan content

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) has unveiled its first Ramadan campaign in Indonesia to engage its local fans this season. Titled "#NBAFastBreak", which plays on the double entendre of Muslims breaking fast as well as the basketball offense strategy "fast break", the campaign features a range of Ramadan-themed executions across NBA's localised social media accounts. This includes Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and LINE, which NBA said will collectively reach out to more than 4.2 million fans.

The campaign sees NBA incorporating the colour green, which is traditionally associated with Ramadan festivities, into its social posts. It also features selected Muslim NBA players in exclusive video content series "NBA Fast Break Tips" sharing Ramadan tips and personal insights. The topics include "How to stay active during Ramadan", "Day-to-day life during Ramadan as an NBA Player”, “Favorite food to eat when breaking fast", and "favorite dish during Eid Day". NBA also worked with 11 local influencers, including Jerry Arvino, Claresta Taufan, Andakara Prastawa, and Rekti Yoewono, for this content series.

Additionally, NBA will publish weekly infographics containing fun Ramadan facts, tips, and quotes from Muslim players in the NBA to inspire fans to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle while observing Ramadan. NBA will also be releasing a Ramadan special episode on its show "Waktu Indonesia Basket", which is hosted on the NBA Indonesia Instagram page. To further amplify the campaign, NBA also worked with local media partner Emtek to place OOH billboards in metro Jakarta and Bandung. These were done to promote the campaign and drive tune-ins to NBA games on Emtek's platforms.

This is the first time NBA has created one umbrella campaign around Ramadan specifically, where Indonesian fans can see the same theme and visual cues across various platforms related to the brand. Through these executions, NBA looks to build brand affinity and be relevant to consumers in local markets. It also aims to increase viewership during Ramadan, and drive sales in NBA stores in Indonesia.

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Earlier last year, NBA also engaged with fans by including some of them in its ad titled "Only Here" that promotes its new season. Featuring fans' thoughts on what is unique and exciting about the NBA in the season, the spot aired on TV, digital and social platforms globally in 10 languages, including Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Serbian. According to NBA, the spot was also modified to feature locally-relevant players.

Separately in January, NBA teamed up with sports shop Decathlon for a multi-year merchandising partnership. This makes Decathlon an official licensee of the NBA across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. For Asia in particular, the partnership covers Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and the Philippines.

The partnership features a dedicated range of NBA team and league-branded base layers, accessories and footwear designed by Decathlon and sold under its basketball brand Tarmak. Tarmak leader Damien Dezitter said both companies have a common objective to develop basketball worldwide. Hence, it was natural to partner up. At the same time, NBA EME director, global partnerships Steve Griffiths said Decathlon is a leader in sporting goods retail with a global footprint and the partnership will enable fans worldwide to access a range of merchandise.

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