Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Richard Tedseco

The NBA boasts one of the biggest fan bases in the U.S. But it is now part of a global market, thanks to the foreign-born stars on its teams and events in Europe and China. About one-fifth of both the NBA's players and its merchandising revenue — $430 million last year — now come from outside the U.S. Across the world, the NBA will stage 135 promotional events this year. Emilio Collins, NBA vice president of international development, gives us a sense of the league's global game plan.

PROMO: Do you hope to expand on the list of 23 marketing partners who sponsored last year's pre-season NBA tour in Europe?

Collins: We expect it to be a very strong roster of partners, and we're going to emphasize the extent of activation with them. We have a very strong, consistent roster in EA Sports, Coca-Cola, KFC and Adidas. And we've been working closely with them over the last year to make sure they're expanding the activation around NBA Europe Live.

P: What kinds of events will we see on the pre-season European tour?

C: We've been making a concerted effort over the last year to build out a lot more grassroots activity. This summer, we expanded our Adidas 5, a five-on-five tournament, from three cities to six. For the first time ever, we brought our NBA Jam Van to Europe and toured with that to 19 cities.

P: How soon will the league create a European division or stage some regular season games on the continent?

C: Our initial focus is to build out our fan base because we need a mature base to support an NBA team. The other historical obstacle to having teams on the ground is arenas. We're very hopeful in what we've seen with the new arenas in London and Berlin.

P: Are you looking at any new regions?

C: We've expanded the number of regions from 19 to 25 this year. One is India, one of the fastest-growing economies with an emerging middle class that is increasingly looking for new forms of entertainment. Cricket is incredibly popular there, so our long-term aspiration is to be a number-two sport.

P: How important is China?

C: China is our single most important market outside of the U.S. We've been fortunate to have tremendous success there over the past five years. Today, basketball is clearly the most dominant sport in China. All the buzz in the Olympics really proved that.

P: Do you anticipate adding more media partners in China or elsewhere this year?

C: We'll continue to expand our media reach. We're looking at many more partnerships in the digital space, including mobile partnerships and other forms of relationships. One important marketing asset is fans viewing games over broadband.

P: Does it become easier to pitch the NBA to potential domestic customers because of the NBA's global presence?

C: We have about 20% of our players coming from international origins. That not only gives us relevance in those markets, but also makes us more relevant to an increasingly eclectic fan base here in the U.S. For example, we have 19 Latin American players in the league. That puts us in a position to be more relevant to the Hispanic fan base in the U.S.

P: Where do you see global merchandising revenues going in the near term?

C: Our merchandising revenues internationally will continue to rise very significantly. We're up about 40% in Europe this year, 60% in China.

P: Do you see NBA fans connecting with products supporting the league overseas?

C: We're very fortunate. In particular markets around the world where our business is most mature, our partners are able to tap into a very passionate and loyal fan base.

For more on consumer promotions, go to www.promomagazine.com.

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