Norwegian and the NBA London Game

On 17 January, the US professional basketball league, the NBA, held a regular season game at London’s O2 Arena. The match, between the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks was held for the benefit of the UK’s growing community of basketball fans.

The “presenting partner” of the match was Norwegian, which operates an extensive route network out of London’s Gatwick Airport. In exchange for its sponsorship, the airline received brand exposure including event logo inclusion, oncourt and in-arena signage, along with promotions leading up to and during the game.

This included a competition for fans to win tickets to the NBA London Game 2019, as well as a competition to travel with Norwegian to experience an NBA game in the United States.

Outside of the US, the airline most commonly associated with professional basketball has been Turkish Airlines, which sponsors the Euroleague of European professional clubs.

In addition to sponsoring the league, Turkish Airlines has occasionally also rolled out basketball themed marketing tactics. For example, see the video produced by basketball trick shot experts “How Ridiculous”, filmed in and around famous Istanbul landmarks.