The Situation
Basketball is the Philippines’ most popular sport. Over 37 million hours of NBA content were watched on YouTube from the Philippines in 2020 alone. But the NBA‘s content was entirely US-produced and US-focused. Filipino fans consumed the league through American-made materials. The NBA needed to translate its global brand into a local Philippine presence with content that felt Filipino-authored, not imported.
The tension was cultural. The NBA couldn’t just localize its existing content library. It needed original, Filipino-created storylines that connected the league to the country’s basketball identity. That meant building relationships with Philippine sports journalists, creating Filipino pride narratives around players like Jordan Clarkson and Jalen Green, and launching initiatives that gave Filipino fans a role in the league’s story.
The Approach
Phase 1: Sports Media Network Building
Built relationships with key Philippine sports journalists who doubled as KOLs for the basketball community. The goal was to generate original, Filipino-authored coverage of the NBA rather than relying on press release pickups. These journalists became the local voices that made the NBA‘s stories feel Philippine, not American.
Phase 2: Filipino Pride Campaigns
Created campaigns around Filipino-American NBA players to build national pride narratives. The Jr. NBA Virtual Camp featuring ambassadors Jordan Clarkson and Jalen Green generated the most coverage of any storyline for the year, securing 22 pickups across Rappler, CNN, and ABS-CBN. A dedicated Jalen Green campaign celebrated a Filipino-American competing at the highest level.
Phase 3: Fan Engagement & Community Activation
Launched initiatives that gave Filipino fans a participatory role. The Pick ‘Em Playoffs Bracket Challenge 2021 let local fans express their basketball knowledge through social media. Influencer and thought leader engagement extended the conversation beyond traditional sports media into lifestyle and entertainment audiences.
Phase 4: Women’s Basketball Visibility
Organized a CNN interview with former WNBA player Jennifer Azzi to promote the NBA‘s Women’s Academy. The segment highlighted the Philippines’ own Camille Nolasco, selected to represent the country in the Academy, adding a Filipino pride dimension to the women’s game narrative.
The Results
- 123 Total proactive media pickups across the campaign
- PHP 3.6M Total media value from earned coverage
- 22 Pickups from the Jr. NBA Virtual Camp announcement alone
Campaign Highlights:
- Jr. NBA Virtual Camp with Jordan Clarkson and Jalen Green was the highest-coverage storyline of the year
- Top-tier pickups secured across Rappler, CNN, and ABS-CBN
- 13 press releases launched alongside ongoing fan engagement initiatives
- Jennifer Azzi WNBA interview aired on CNN, with Camille Nolasco representing the Philippines
- Pick ‘Em Playoffs Bracket Challenge drove fan participation through social media
- Filipino-authored sports journalism replaced reliance on US-produced press materials
The Takeaway
A global brand with an existing fanbase doesn’t need awareness. It needs belonging. The NBA had 37 million Philippine YouTube hours but zero local voice. The campaign succeeded by giving Filipino journalists and fans a role in the league’s story instead of asking them to consume someone else’s.
- Industry: Consumer Retail, Hospitality
- Service: PR & Digital Campaigns
- Solution: For International Brands Entering PH
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you localize a global sports brand for the Philippine market?
By building relationships with local sports journalists who become the brand’s Philippine voice. The NBA didn’t need more US press releases translated. It needed Filipino writers telling NBA stories through a Filipino lens. Original, locally authored content is what makes a global brand feel local.
Why did the Jr. NBA Virtual Camp generate the most coverage?
Because it combined two elements Philippine sports media prioritizes: celebrity athletes and national pride. Jordan Clarkson and Jalen Green are Filipino-American players that local journalists want to cover. Pairing their names with a camp that Filipino kids could participate in made the story irresistible for sports desks.
What role does Filipino pride play in a sports PR campaign?
It’s the highest-engagement angle in Philippine sports media. Any time a Filipino or Filipino-American succeeds at the global level, it becomes national news. The Jalen Green campaign and Camille Nolasco’s Women’s Academy selection gave journalists stories that connected the NBA to Filipino identity, which is what drives pickup volume.
Can a sports brand use PR to grow its local audience instead of advertising?
When the audience is already watching 37 million YouTube hours, PR doesn’t need to create demand. It needs to make the brand feel like it belongs locally. The 123 pickups and PHP 3.6M in media value came from content that made the NBA feel Filipino, which is something an ad buy alone cannot achieve.
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