NBA launches "Swag ka Khel" to reach Indian fans through multimedia and on-ground activities for the Playoffs

NHL great Wayne Gretzky had said once that, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take", but the true embodiment of "shooting your shot" was probably NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who made a career and won titles and awards out of shooting and missing and shooting again. The NBA's strategy in expanding in India seems like that Kobe ethos, too: there always seems to be another shot, another approach at developing the sport, another way to make basketball bigger than ever for Indian fans.

The latest shot by the NBA and their Indian broadcast partners Sony Pictures Network (SPN) is "Swag ka Khel" - the sport with swagger. For the NBA playoffs this season, the NBA and SPN launch a multimedia and on-ground campaign to reach more fans than ever in more Indian cities and to the regional language belts as well. The 360-degree marketing campaign rolled out across television, radio, outdoor, online and on-ground activation across 14 cities – Pune, Nagpur, Nasik, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Lucknow and Kanpur.

Swag ka Khel will include everything from Hindi in-game commentary during the playoffs and interactive zones around the various cities with interactive virtual reality games as well as contests designed to engage fans. According to BestMediaInfo, NBA legends, dance teams, mascots etc. will take part in the little basketball melas.

Yannick Colaco, the Managing Director of NBA India, said, "Our market-specific campaign is focused on creating awareness and relevance to our audience that enjoys NBA Games in Hindi. We have seen a significant rise in the viewership since the launch of the Hindi commentary, especially on prime-time Sundays. We will continue to cater to the demand for NBA, and engage with our audience across markets in India to grow the game of basketball."

Rajesh Kaul, the president of Distribution and Sports Business of SPN India said, "As the popularity of NBA increases steadily over the years, the time is right to increase the reach. From insights we have gleaned, we know that NBA is building significant traction in the Hindi-speaking markets. So far, we have telecast a total of 45 NBA matches with live Hindi in-game commentary. Our attempt to expand the viewership base through Hindi commentary has been extremely successful with over 13 million viewers and to fuel this further we are launching our new campaign titled Swag ka Khel."

Schedule for Swag ka Khel on-ground activities:

• April 14-15 - Pune - Phoenix Market City.
• April 21-22 - Ahmedabad - Alpha Mall.
• April 28-29 - Chandigarh - Elante Mall.
• May 5-6 - Faridabad - SRS Mall.
• May 12-13 - Gurgaon - MGF Mall.
• May 19-20 - Lucknow - Sahara Ganj Mall.
• May 26-27 - Kanpur - Z Square Mall.