As a result, Tyler Beadlescomb, svp of marketing and content at Pacers Sports and Entertainment, noted that the Pacers have stronger social media engagement in May and June of this year than they’ve had during the entire NBA preseason and regular season combined. Meanwhile, demand for Haliburton jerseys, gold Yes ‘Cers shirts, and anything with an NBA Finals logo on it has tripled demand for Pacers merchandise from regular-season levels.
As the NBA Finals head into Game 7, the series’ effect on each team’s business and marketing extends far beyond displays at the Omni Hotel or JW Marriott and fan parties at Gainbridge Fieldhouse or Scissortail Park.
“In The Finals, [Game 5] had just over 9 million viewers for the broadcast. That’s a lot more than are normally watching Pacers games, so we’re working with our partners at the NBA, ABC, and ESPN to provide them content that we have around the team to help get that in front of more eyeballs,” Beadlescomb said. “Realistically, this is your best chance to convert casual basketball fans that just love the NBA and are looking for a good series and a good game into Pacers fans, so we believe that if casual fans learn our players’ stories, and they see out the exciting brand of basketball, we think that we can get them hooked.”
Selling every season like the Finals
Michelle Matthews, director of fan engagement and retail for the Thunder, noted that some of the key changes in fan culture since the Thunder’s 2012 Finals appearance have driven this year’s success. For one, the fanbase is more digitally engaged, with sign-ups for the team’s SMS fan text alerts increasing during the postseason as followers try to stay informed.
Matthews has been with the Thunder for nearly 11 years, but came into her current position in the summer of 2023, after the Thunder ended their third-straight losing season. She noted that even in those early stages, data collected from fan interactions allowed her and her colleagues to rethink certain portions of the business: It introduced the Thunder Artist Group (TAG) to create street art and merch designs aimed at multiple generations.
