The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder took their NBA Finals matchup to Game 7, but just making it this far took each team’s merch, sports marketing, and media to another level.
Oklahoma City got the Thunder in 2008 and had just over 601,000 people when a team featuring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden went to the Finals in 2012. Amid the team’s success and struggles that followed, the city’s population grew to more than 713,000—moving from the 29th-largest in the U.S. in 2012 to the 20th-largest today—and has become more diverse.
This year, with star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named the league’s MVP and memories of three straight losing seasons from 2021 to 2023 all but erased, the Thunder have maintained their years-long “Onward” marketing strategy, bringing fans, brands, and community partners into the fold. The strategy focused on placing all 18 players on team graphics and merchandise, bringing in local designers to create special-edition gear, and encouraging fans to buy through their website or at activations like their Loud City HQ weeklong pop-up.
“We are consistent with our brand’s identity at every touch point, whether that be through the guest experience, the traditional marketing exposures, whatever that might be, and that is something that we adhere to, regardless of who’s on the roster at that time or what performance is on the court,” said Erin Lewis, the Thunder’s director of brand identity.
In Indianapolis, meanwhile, the Pacers’ surroundings have also grown considerably since Reggie Miller, Jalen Rose, and Rik Smits took the team to its last Finals in 2000. Not only has the city’s population jumped from roughly 782,000 to almost 900,000 in that time—and diversified rapidly—but the Pacers were joined in the city’s pro ranks that year by the WNBA’s Indiana Fever (which won the WNBA title behind Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings in 2012). This year, Pacers Sports & Entertainment has not only used social media to effectively tell the story of its “Yes ‘Cers” campaign and the clutch shooting of star Tyrese Haliburton but also to note the occasional presence of Fever stars Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Lexie Hull during NBA Finals games.
