The Uncontainable Game
Sprite
Brief as received
How can Sprite leverage it’s NBA sponsorship, and Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, to create a compelling fan connection with our core Sprite consumer…
when we are in middle of an NBA “lock-out” that consumers hate?
Research & Insights
Spoke globally with 16-34 year olds about Sprite, the NBA and their lives.
Love basketball, Kobe and Lebron, but many have a bad taste in their mouthes over a fight between “Billionaire” owners and the “Millionaires” of the Players Association.
I feel “disconnected from the players and the game - I can't relate.”
Re-framed brief
How can Sprite capitalize on NBA star’s “lock out” time?
How can Sprite re-connect the NBA to consumers during this period in a more relatable, down-to-earth way - making Kobe and Lebron “more available” during the NBA lockout?
Sharpened audience definition
Focused on the most connected, carbonated beverage, non-cola, consumers.
They were always on, sharing everything, younger (16-24 years old) and focused in global urban areas.
The primary target were “basketball culture" fans.
Problem identified
It’s the lock-out, Stupid.
The NBA was on strike and the everyday, always-on coverage of it was not positive.
We had to figure out a new way to leverage our expensive league and player investment, but not leave a bad taste in Sprite consumers mouth.
Insight that shed new light
People can be “negative about the lock-out and still love basketball.”
Can we counter-program rich people squabbling?
Marketplace & cultural understanding
Social everywhere - school, the basketball court and home. They share their most “intense” moments, and their friends share “sudden,” always-on content. Mobile has made the the target’s world boundless - everyone is sharing everything all the time… and they like it.
A new way of thinking about the product or brand
All the daily action and moments on their phones were like replays on the same “Global Jumbotron.”
How can we combine the Sprite consumers, NBA fans, Kobe and Lebron together, real-time into a global “SUPERTRON?”
Work the brief inspired
“The “Uncontainable Game” - a global “pick-up” game with the two best players on the planet picking teams.
The competition shined a spotlight on undiscovered basketball talent by teaming up NBA players — Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, — to discover 24 amateur ballers to represent either Team Sudden or Team Intense in the Sprite Uncontainable Game at NBA All-Star 2013 in Houston.
Uncontainable players were picked in rounds by the NBA stars for their teams via the Sprite “Uncontainable” site, powered by YouTube.
Coinciding with the player tryouts, fans also competed to demonstrate how uncontainable they are both online, at local events and through mobile text challenges. The more expressive fan you were, rating and commented on try-out clips, the more likely you would be to win a trip attend the Uncontainable Game.
Results
Uncontainable. Players and fans from more than 27 countries represented themselves in the Uncontainable Game search making it larger than the NBA itself.
The Uncontainable Game program generated over 1B views across all channels.
On game day, Team Sudden coached by LeBron James edged out Team Intense coached by Kobe Bryant in the final seconds of OT for a 1 point victory in front a sold-out crowd and over 25 million streaming on the internet.
Most importantly, Sprite exceeded year-over-year case sales goals while the NBA was in a lock-out.