Turner highs up NBA menu

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Turner Sports this week will unveil a multimillion-dollar rebranding campaign to raise the profile of the NBA’s digital assets as part of the network’s new deal with the league.

Turner will immediately debut the tag line “The Game Happens Here,” to boost audiences for NBA TV, NBA.com and NBA League Pass.

A central part of the effort will be the relaunch of NBA TV on the season’s opening night, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. ET. The network will unveil a new on-screen look, featuring new sets and graphics, and its new schedule will devote much more time to live studio programming, which will use some of TNT’s high-profile talent such as Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

Turner wants to draw more viewers to the channel by building themes on specific nights for NBA TV, much as TNT’s Thursday nights are devoted to the NBA. Tuesday nights will be “Fan Nights,” during which fans get to vote on which game NBA TV will cover. Turner is hoping to develop themes for two other nights, as well.

“We spent the last nine months talking with consumers and found out that the typical basketball fan views NBA TV as a secondary destination,” said Jennifer Storms, senior vice president of marketing and programming for Turner. “We need to make NBA TV a primary destination. We need to make sure that fans go to NBA TV on certain nights and at certain times.”

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The moves are part of an aggressive marketing approach to increase the reach of the NBA’s digital assets. NBA TV has been stuck on sports tiers in only 15 million homes; the NBA does not disclose the number of League Pass subscribers but clearly sees growth potential there; and both Turner and the NBA are looking for ways to drive traffic to NBA.com, which has lagged the online presence of the NFL and MLB.

The centerpiece of Turner’s “The Game Happens Here” message is that the NBA’s digital assets cover every aspect of the NBA, from training camp through the playoffs. This message is embodied in a 60-second TV commercial that shows the highs and lows of last season for Kevin Garnett. The spot weaves Garnett’s on-camera quotes, beginning with training camp and continuing to after his Celtics team won a championship.

The commercial fades to black, then brings up the tag line: “The Game Happens Here.” Then, one-by-one, logos from NBA TV, League Pass and NBA.com appear on the screen.

“It’s important for us to give distinct and unique positioning and branding for our NBA Digital services,” Storms said. “We provide access inside these places. We can take fans on a journey like no one else.” Turner Sports used the Minneapolis-based agency Mono to help develop this campaign.

The aggressive advertising strategy comes nine months after NBA Entertainment and Turner completed a deal that shifted the responsibility of running the league’s digital operations to Turner, a move that meant relocating most of that business from Secaucus, N.J., to Atlanta.

Danny Meiseles, senior vice president of production, programming and broadcasting for NBA Entertainment, said 20 NBA employees moved to Atlanta and 50 employees left NBA Entertainment. The combined total NBA Digital staff in Atlanta and Secaucus is at 200, with nearly all in Turner’s Atlanta headquarters.Bryan Perez, senior vice president and general manager of NBA Digital, is leading the relaunch.

The NBA and Turner will promote the relaunch on both its digital assets and on Turner’s Thursday night NBA broadcasts. The network will also promote outside of its NBA media assets.

“We want to bring the fans closer and be very interactive,” Meiseles said. “There will be cross promotion on all NBA media assets. The goal is that every game matters.”