Dive Brief:

• Mountain Dew is taking a hands-on approach to its NBA All-Star weekend campaign with numerous live events including a three-on-three basketball tournament that will include Turner Sports’ TV, digital and social marketing channels per a company press release.
• The weekend will also include a new ad campaign featuring Russell Westbrook and the launch of The Courtside Project, a series of creative projects by NBA players, cultural creative icons and fans.
• "Spanning Turner Sports' footprint across television, digital, social and on-site at All-Star Weekend, Dew NBA 3X exposes fans to some of the best amateur basketball athletes in the country alongside the NBA's best from past and present," said Will Funk, EVP of sales and property sponsorships for Turner Sports, in the press release. "This is a perfect example of a true partnership that dives deep into basketball sports culture and uniquely engages those fans across all platforms."

Dive Insight:

The overall All-Star weekend campaign is notable from Mountain Dew with its emphasis on in-person elements rather than a more virtual digital experience especially as its latest “Do the Dew” campaign kicked off last month with a strong push into mobile as well as an official launch with a vertical video format ad on a brand ambassador’s Facebook Page.

At the event, The Courtside Project gives fans an experiential headquarters and taps into a renewed emphasis on experiential marketing by bringing fans closer to hoops culture off the court through style, music, art and tech. In another recent example of experiential marketing, leading up to the Super Bowl Ford rolled out a “brand experience center” in New York that it described as an interactive space designed to showcase the car maker’s expansion into both an auto and mobility company and inspire visitors to think about the future of transportation in a new way.

Experiential marketing is getting a boost because it can help brands create meaningful engagements with their most loyal fans and drive organic opportunities like the creation and sharing of user-generated content.