With the 2018-2019 NBA season just around the corner, teams are getting ready to sell tickets, get fans excited about their respective teams and hopefully win games. In preparation for the season, the Milwaukee Bucks hope they can drum up excitement citywide and get fans believing in their team. It’s also a way to boost an already record-breaking ticket sales for the team this year.
In 2014, the organization launched “Own the Future,” an aspirational campaign with the goal of reconnecting with fans and giving them hope for a promising team in the coming years. The latest effort, “Built to Stay,” which was created by agency Laughlin Constable, is the next chapter and reiterates that while the team hasn’t reached all of its goals just yet, the organization is working hard to do just that.
“The aspirational goals we promised with our ‘Own the Future’ campaign over the past four years now feel more tangible—we have a team that is led by a genuine global superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo, we’ve made the NBA playoffs in three of the past four seasons, and we’re moving into a brand new world-class arena, Fiserv Forum. But we weren’t just building for one moment; we’re here to stay,” said Dustin Godsey, CMO, Milwaukee Bucks.
Until the season starts, the team will rely on TV, out of home and radio to spread its message. Once the season is underway, the Bucks will rely more on digital and use a more personalized and targeted approach to reach specific audiences “with creative that speaks to their behaviors and tells the story of our season in real time,” Godsey said. The organization is looking to speak not only to loyal fans, but to reach out to those who haven’t gotten behind the team yet and figure out what those barriers to entry might be for them.
“What we learned was that there is a tremendous amount of excitement for this season to begin— people love watching [Antetokounmpo], they’re intrigued by what our new coach will bring, and they can’t wait to experience a game night in the new arena,” Godsey said. “But to truly invest their time and energy, they want to know that the organization isn’t just focused on making a big splash but is here for the long haul. That is the essence of what we want to convey with ‘Built to Stay.’ These are exciting times for Milwaukee, but this is just the beginning.”
