SITUATION
The NBA has established a major international presence with African headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, facilitating the league’s deep commitment to developing the game across the continent (home to Jr. NBA programming across 14 countries as well as other initiatives, including The NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training centre for the top male and female prospects). There are more than 80 current and former NBA players from Africa or with direct family ties to the continent.
NBA and FIBA’s new professional basketball league, the Basketball Africa League (BAL), begins play in March 2020 and will include 12 teams from several African countries.
NBA is looking to grow The BAL and nurture sports talent in Africa, highlighting the potential of basketball as the driver of growth and development and create opportunities across various sectors in Africa, contributing to sustainable and holistic economic growth on the continent.
OBJECTIVES
Develop a consistent and efficient strategy for media engagement and public relations in each African target country and globally, and communicate a message about NBA Africa’s strong commitment to the African continent.
Engage with targeted audiences via Tier 1 media through pitching key storylines and distribution of content to increase overall NBA Africa’s brand visibility and drum-beat the launch of The BAL in 2020.
ACTIONS
APO Group has provided NBA with its full suite of resources and services for public relations consultancy across the African continent. Through the continuous distribution of press releases, multimedia content, media advisories, and alerts, APO Group has been driving media coverage of the NBA and NBA global initiatives in Africa, with communications focusing on milestone events and programmes.