Launching in tandem with the start of a new basketball season in Canada, the NBA is hoping to give fans some insight into its players with the start of a new season-long campaign.

This year’s promotional theme is ‘Anticipation,’ set to run in mass media throughout the season on NBA partner stations TSN, TSN2, Rogers Sportsnet, Rogers Sportsnet 1, NBA TV Canada and The Score, Jonathan Chang, manager, marketing partnerships, NBA Canada, tells MiC.

The ads were created by Goodby, Silverstein and Partners in San Francisco. The media buy was handled in-house.

The target market for the NBA is 18- to 24-year-olds, and the campaign is more about engaging and exciting current fans than bringing in new fans.

The ads show NBA stars preparing for the new season by taking part in off-season training, preparing for the new year. The copy reads, ‘Last season was last season.’

‘A big part of [this campaign] is to help fans better understand our players,’ says Chang. ‘We try to tell authentic stories for the fans, and part of that is seeing them work out and prepare.’