Pistons won first-ever NBA Team Marketing Campaign of the Year Award

As you might recall, during all the hype of the new season the Detroit Pistons released a series of goosebump inducing promo videos that focused on prominent areas of Detroit, linking the city's spirit and attitude with that of the team's -- or what the Pistons aspired to exude in the new season full of promise. In speaking to the Pistons' Creative Director about those videos, I could sense the amount of energy that went into creating that campaign.

Their hard work was rewarded with the NBA's first-ever NBA Team Marketing Campaign of the Year Award at the association's Sponsorship, Marketing and Digital Workshop in Austin, Texas the week before the Memorial Day weekend.

I'll let the press release take it from here:

The league invited each team to submit its best season-long team marketing campaign from the 2015-16 season and team executives voted for the top team marketing campaign based on creativity, cross-platform engagement and measurable results that align with the organization's goals.

Based on the organization's championship history and its involvement in the community led by owner Tom Gores, the Pistons created a campaign - Detroit Basketball - reflective of the team's core values: playing hard, smart and together. The campaign also highlighted the pride, passion, unity and authenticity shared by the Pistons, Pistons fans and the Metro Detroit community.

"The Pistons created a campaign that was highly successful because it created unity between the team and the people of Detroit," said Amy Brooks, NBA Executive Vice President, Team Marketing & Business Operations. "The blue collar, grassroots approach that the team took resonated with its fans because it was authentic and expressed the Pistons' aspirations for the team."

The campaign launched in market with a 90-second video manifesto airing on local television and was narrated by Pistons legend, Detroit native and former mayor Dave Bing. The video further created authenticity by showing several iconic locations and testaments from local personalities and fans.

"We are honored to receive this award," said Charlie Metzger, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Detroit Pistons. "It's a thrill to be recognized by the NBA and our peers. What's most rewarding is knowing that this campaign is connecting with our fans and partners and bringing them all together as Detroit continues its comeback and knowing that the Pistons are playing a role in that both on and off the court"

The team executed the campaign both internally and externally. Internally, the Pistons replaced all signage with new marketing messages and created custom gear for all team members. Externally, the team ran a multichannel campaign featuring traditional and digital advertising, integration with local businesses and social media. Furthermore, the Pistons showed their commitment to the community by working with local businesses and conducting social responsibility events tagged with Detroit Heart (#detroitheart).

The results were overwhelming with increased brand amplification, significant media exposure, a 21 percent boost in full season ticket sales, and renewal rates at 92 percent.

And that wasn't the only Pistons marketing campaign to go viral before the season. The Longest Oop was also fun and an innovative way to get all kinds of different fans excited about the new season.

Congratulations to the Pistons and their marketing team.