The Winnipeg Sea Bears is a professional basketball team playing in the CEBL.
The challenge
Brandish approached us with a unique opportunity to help launch Winnipeg’s first professional basketball team since 2001. When we came on board we needed to generate excitement around a brand new team without any history let alone a jersey. How can we build excitement for something that doesn’t exist yet?
The solution
The answer involved tapping into a passionate and growing sports community that for years lived in the shadow of hockey. We invited this community to be a part of something special right from the beginning. To say you were a fan from day one.
We met and filmed with many existing basketball fanatics of Winnipeg including local basketballers from JV school teams to past professional players. We invited them all out (in the middle of winter) to play ball on some iconic courts throughout the city. Even a temporary court we built to capture epic views of Winnipeg’s skyline.
We ended up delivering a comprehensive package of videos including versions to be shared prior to the season opener, during home games, and extending throughout the entirety of the inaugural season.
The results
The Day One campaign was a resounding success, with the Sea Bears' opening game selling out 7,303 seats and setting a new league record for attendance at a CEBL game. They went on to set the top seven attendance records in CEBL history, all in the inaugural year.
