Emerging Brands in NBA Sponsorship: Who’s Making Waves in 2024
- October 2, 2024
- SponsorPulse Staff
The NBA has long been considered a leader in innovation. From its global marketing efforts that began in the 1980s, to its digital suite of products that engage and delight fans, the league has innovation in its DNA.
When it comes to revenue generation, sponsorship is often the spot where innovative thinking can take shape. Team sponsorships in the NBA account for 12% of total revenue, which adds up to around $1.3B. Of the big 5 men’s leagues, the NBA is 3rd when it comes to percentage of revenue from team sponsorships. At first glance being in the middle may not seem like something to write home about, but the league isn’t heavily on sponsorships to generate revenue, which means they can be more innovative in how they think about categories and assets. From new categories that didn’t exist 5 or 10 years ago, to new types of partnerships and integrations, sponsors are continuing to try to put their brands in front of highly engaged sports fans.
NBA sponsors continue to lean into the categories that its young, diverse, and tech savvy fans care about. Just how tech savvy are NBA fans? Our data shows that 75% of people who have visited the metaverse have engaged with the NBA. Need more proof? 78% of people who purchased an NFT engaged with the NBA, and 75% of electric car drivers (owned or leased) also engaged with the NBA. As the fan base continues to evolve, the brands and the league are evolving along with it to create experiences that are impactful for these fans.
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Technology sponsorships are one such category that’s seeing an uptick across the league. From 2023-2024, Sportico reported that the technology category saw the second biggest gains by spend at 26% among the top 10 spending categories, with the auto category seeing the biggest year over year growth at 32%. And the data shows that’s smart business.
When considering a purchase, our data shows that 27% of technology buyers who engage with the NBA are more likely to buy products from league sponsors. When it comes to luxury car buyers, 28% said they’re more likely to consider buying from brands who sponsor the league. These are fans who are influenced by the leagues they love. And with 60% of $100,000+ earners engaging with the NBA, these are fans who are willing and able to spend money on what they care about.
Our data also shows that the NBA has an overall Opportunity Rank of 3 out of the 680+ properties we track, and that there are more than 112.95 million engaged NBA fans. What matters perhaps more than the sheer size of the fanbase, is that half of those fans engage on a weekly basis, if not more.
Brands like Google, Meta, and Microsoft are among the brands fueling the tech sponsorship across the league, and these investments go beyond traditional logo or product placement. Younger fans cheer with their values as much as their hometowns, so when brands like Google Pixel invest $1 million in the NBA Foundation to help students at HBCUs get into the sports industry, the brand is demonstrating that it understands not just technology innovation but social innovation too.
Why does that matter? Because the data shows that 50% of Google users engage with the NBA, and a quarter of those engaged fans say they’re impacted by this kind of sponsorship. Translation: being a sponsor of the NBA is good business for Google because half their users are already fans.
Better understanding your current audience, and your target audience is key to a successful sponsorship in sports. Beyond demographics, uncovering behaviors and habits will help hone in on what partners are the best fit to drive engagement, purchase intent, and overall growth.
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