Detroit Pistons 2021/22 Season Campaign -
The Detroit Pistons 2021/22 season campaign served as an aligned visual voice for Pistons digital, in-arena, marketing, and internal communication platforms. With the 2021 NBA Draft’s first pick in Cade Cunningham, Olympic Gold medalist Jerami Grant, and NBA all-rookie team members Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart, the franchise’s trajectory was rising. Re-igniting the hope of championship eras past, we embraced Detroit’s storied boxing culture to help personify the fighting spirit of our team, city, and fans. Featuring local influencer Mama Soul, boxing legend Joe Louis, and cultural icon Rosa Parks, we told a brand story deeply rooted in the cultural fabric of Detroit. Beyond just success at the box office, we also caught the media’s attention, drove digital engagement, enticed partner activations, sparked influencer collaborations, and drove retail sales.
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES:
• Give fans fresh and compelling reasons to attend each of the season’s 44 home games
• Promote the sale of single game tickets
• Drive engagement on social media and other digital channels
• Create a consistently best-in-class in arena experience for fans
• Drive game broadcast tune-in
• Maximize partnership revenue opportunities
• Cultivate excitement around the 2021/202 Pistons team and optimism about the franchise’s future
• Drive retail sales
ACTIVATION TACTICS:
• Designed templates and toolkits for season-long use on social media, in-arena, and across owned digital channels
• Developed In-arena graphic packages including matchup loops, marketing programs, interactive fan experiences, partner promotions, and player profiles
• Partnered with the estates of Joe Louis and Rosa Parks to develop theme nights, retail collections, and unique community activations
• Activated themed games around Black History, Hispanic Heritage, Women’s Empowerment, Military Appreciation, Kids Day, Lunar New Year, Holidays, 313 Day, and Sports Betting
• Created large-scale environmental graphic packages for both Little Caesar’s Arena and the Pistons Performance Center
• Developed retail collections celebrating the 2021-22 season campaign theme
• Collaborated to design bobbleheads, t-shirts, and other theme game giveaways
This technology could change the way we think about sports and fitness. Take a look at the science behind the game. #MondayMotivation December 18, 2017
This technology could change the way we think about sports and fitness. Take a look at the science behind the game. #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/1nWMr84YKY
— Ohio State (@OhioState) December 18, 2017
The Detroit Pistons utilized Slate, an innovative tool that allowed for our team to produce branded content in seconds from a creation app using Pistons fonts, colors, filters, graphics and animations. With creative responsible for developing and uploading graphics, we gave the social team hundreds of proprietary branded graphics to utilize over the NBA’s long 88 game season.
This technology could change the way we think about sports and fitness. Take a look at the science behind the game. #MondayMotivation December 18, 2017
This technology could change the way we think about sports and fitness. Take a look at the science behind the game. #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/1nWMr84YKY
— Ohio State (@OhioState) December 18, 2017
We’re taking the #Pistons Swag Cam to the next level.
Show off your swaggy love for the 313 and/or the Pistons. https://t.co/WWhOiVTSbd
4 finalists will be selected to attend our game on Sunday for a chance to win a CUSTOM 313 chain, courtesy of @hutchthejeweler. #Pistons313Day pic.twitter.com/6ey47Hlpzi
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) March 9, 2022
Fans embracing Detroit Pistons’ swag cam https://t.co/ajZaPTyP2N
— MLive (@MLive) March 14, 2022
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
CREATIVE:
Justin Winget
Brandon Morris
Alex Trajkovski
Jack Elwarner
Daniel Brandao
Kevin Reynolds
Kalem Williams
Anne Balutowicz
Romney Funderburg
Jeremy Smoker
VIDEO PRODUCTION:
Andrew Gyorgyfi
Erin Gibson
Joe Pendergrass
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Gavin Rhoades
Trey Mena
Josh Martin
Chris Schwegler
Brian Sevald
SOCIAL MEDIA::
Tina Jain
Valerie Poma
Tamar Davis
BRAND STRATEGY:
Tyrel Kirkham
Alicia Jeffries
Reagan Dailey-Chwalibog
Marissa Rickman
Morgan Roberts
MARKETING OPERATIONS:
Elton Branch
Mike Donnay
Kristen Alberti
GAME PRESENTATION:
Claire Czerniuk
Chris Stamatakis
EXTERNAL CREATIVE PARTNERS:
Paige Dall
Doozy Crew
Epic Arc Productions