Categorie:

Sponsoring campaigns

Title of campaign:

SEB Baltic Basketball League

short common description of the campaign::

Regardless of his or her nationality and home country, every person has the spirit

of competition. Sports have become a good way of spending time not only for the

athletes but also for the viewers; therefore, in early 2004, SEB Baltic banks (SEB

Vilniaus bankas, Unibanka and Eesti Uhispank) decided to support the SEB BBL

in order to develop the recognition of SEB brand in all Baltic countries.

The first season of the SEB Baltic Basketball League (SEB BBL) started on

November 24, 2004. The objective was to offer a quality and enjoyable

tournament for basketball fans in all three Baltic countries and to promote

development of Baltic basketball players. During the season, 12 teams from

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are competing for the title of the best Baltic

basketball team. At the end of the season, a Final Four tournament is held in one

Baltic city, and the winner is determined in four games. In 2007, the Final Four

tournament took place in Riga, Arena Riga, on April 21 and 22.

research work done during the campaign:

To improve and develop the SEB BBL, attendance measurements and public

opinion polls were carried out simultaneously in all three Baltic countries during

the season with the purpose to assess the recognition of the tournament and SEB as

its general sponsor and to find ways how to improve it.

These measurements show that the number of SEB BBL fans is growing every

year - on average 2,341 attendants per game (October/November 2007), and in

total 246,709 viewers attended games of the SEB BBL in the season 2006/2007.

More than 8,000 people attended Final Four 2007.

The SEB BBL is continuing the development, and this year a new three-year

cooperation agreement was signed and a sub-league, SEB Challenge Cup and

President Cup, was created.

strategy:

SEB BBL goal is to take important place among other tournaments in Europe and

to promote basketball as the most popular sport in the Baltic countries. The main

idea is to be a pioneer of global sports thinking in Baltic States, higher level

basketball compares to home language, grand and solid Baltic market and

extensive media interest and reflection.

The key target audience is socially active men, age 18-54, with income average +,

but the SEB BBL is also targeted to anyone who lives in the Baltic countries and

watches the games on TV or in the arena.

With the SEB BBL and Final Four, SEB banka:

for the first time in bank’s history, when it’s name still was Unibanka,

implemented the project in all Baltic countries under the common SEB brand

before it was introduced in the Baltic countries;

a joint slogan for Latvia was developed - For Great Victories! It was

initially used in relation to the SEB BBL, but now it is used in the bank’s entire

sports sponsorship communication;

distributes information in mass media, Internet, and outdoor

advertising;

news are provided by league’s organisers as well as journalists because

the SEB BBL is important for their news; in this way, regular media monitoring

coverage is ensured;

SEB BBL and Final Four posters are displayed at all SEB Bank Latvia

branch offices;

tickets to basketball games were presented to the best product

sellers-our employees, our customers, children from the SOS Children’s Villages

Association, prize-winners of the SEB Student Basketball League, as well as given

as prizes in various competitions;

During the Final Four, attendants received special inflatable sticks

with SEB symbols to be used in supporting the teams during the games;

between Final Four games, competitions, where prizes from SEB

could be won, were held;

as a marketing activity, SEB banka organised a ball throwing

competition for the attendants of the Final Four games. If five successful throws

were made, the competitor received a prize from SEB banka, but the best

competitors fought for a money prize and SEB banka credit card.

As from the 2006/2007 season, SEB banka and the SEB Baltic Basketball League

organises the campaign Tripple Effect - every successful three-point throw is

registered during the season and then converted into cash to be donated to charity

organisations in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. SEB BBL Triple Effect is a

season-long social campaign that joined together players, teams and SEB banks.

The value of every three-point throw in the season 2006/2007 was worth 2 euros,

but in the season 2007/2008 and in future - 3 euros. In the season 2006/2007, the

total amount donated reached 5,206 euros. The number of successful three-point

throws of players per every country determined the amount to be donated.

In its fourth season, the SEB BBL has become a very significant sports event in

the Baltic sports calendar.

Results of the campaign and evaluation::

The SEB BBL has become a very significant sports event in the Baltic sports

calendar, which is proven by the high recognition of the project. 71% of Latvian

residents recognise the SEB BBL, and 51% know that SEB Bank is its general

sponsor. Tension in basketball arenas and by TV is provided by the brightest

Baltic basketball stars, but the organisers, inter alia SEB Baltic banks, with the

help of opinion polls, study the wishes and interests of the audience and implement

innovative ideas with the purpose to facilitate the development and popularity of

the league.

As the targets set have been achieved, new possibilities to improve the work of the

league, communication with the audiences, broadcasts, and the organisation of

games in various arenas are being sought for. The work never ceases, because

basketball fans in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania deserve the highest quality

basketball, and SEB banka, believing in nice victories, can provide it.