According to
The New York Times (free registration required) the NBA wants more women to watch basketball. Specifically, the league “wants more women, especially those 18 to 34, to watch its games, talk about its players and wear the jersey dresses,
leather jackets, pink caps and tank tops with Swarovski crystals.” The campaign to entice these viewers uses that tag line “the game is only part of the fun,” and runs in
People, US, In Touch Weekly and
Entertainment Weekly magazines. While we have not seen this campaign, The Times says the league believes “women prefer stories about the players to their scoring averages.” As such, the campaign features anecdotes called “conversation pieces” about five star players.
Marketing Blurb has mixed feelings about this approach, because we believe sports fans are self-selecting and others are not likely to respond to advertising appeals. On the plus side, the campaign was developed by a female league executive. Carol Albert, the league executive who developed the campaign says, "Women connect with sports on an emotional level. That's their entry point. We wanted to give an inside perspective to pique their interest." Hmm, maybe female sports fans are better sports fans and better advertising targets. Comments, anyone?
Photo Credit: NBA
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