The Max creates ‘floating basketball court’ activation for NBA India

The Max (a joint venture of DDB Mudra and Tribes Group) has partnered with NBA Games in India for creating a buzz on social media and for creating pre-season activiations.

The final activation that took place on Wednesday witnessed a floating basketball court on a barge. A few days ago the brand had a successful projection mapping at Gateway of India as part of the #NBAInMyBackyard campaign. This was a multi-channel experience designed by the agency.

The activation projected a montage of graphics and shots of basketball players along with hip-hop music to bring alive the experience of NBA. Hip-Hop and Graffiti resonates with the branding of NBA and these activations did just that. The impact of these activations has created great consumer interactions on their social media channels too.

The team at ‘The Max’ developed a storyboard that was a mix of street art and technology.

“We wanted to bring to life the essence of the NBA culture along with the games to our backyard,” said Gour Gupta, CEO, The Max and Managing Director of Tribes Group.

The storyboard was narrated through a 3D mapping projection at Gateway of India. On September 28 and 29, the people of Mumbai saw the monument come alive with colors of the NBA and that of the playing teams visiting the country – Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings.

Apart from the Gateway activation, four graffiti artists in Mumbai - NME, Minzo, Mooz and Dexter were commissioned to paint the city with colors of the NBA, covering over 4,000 sqft of walls, including a basketball floor.

They also commissioned five Hip Hop artists from across the country - Meba Oflia from Shillong, Madurai Souljour from Madurai, Brodha V from Bengaluru, Shahrule from Mumbai and Frennzy also from Mumbai - to create five tracks welcoming NBA. These were distributed across various streaming platforms and radio channels.

“In 72 hours flat, we shot five videos, edited them and got them ready for the release. In fact, just about now, the second video should be hitting the social media handles. Meba’s video- shot in Shillong - is out already,” said Sanjay Shukla, COO, The Max.

The final activation - the floating basketball court in the Arabian sea, was the first of its kind in India.

“Probably the most challenging part of the promotions, the will to bring the floating court alive took us on this journey, from finding the perfect location to understanding the logistics, we went all out to get the floating court alive," recalls Gupta.

“It gave us first-hand knowledge of tidal effects and many more maritime realities. The team braved the sea, literally, to create this piece of branding history. After three months of ifs and buts and then to see it all come through, I am proud,” he said.

The mascot and cheerleading dancers of Sacramento Kings took part in the final activation along with NBA academy kids and Hip-Hop rappers, who dribbled, sang and played a few games.