WNBA planning big activations around NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis

WNBA

The WNBA is taking fan engagement to new heights at NBA All-Star Weekend by launching a fan-centric Draft stage and providing opportunities for fans to engage with some of the league’s biggest stars. Inspired by the Indiana Fever’s top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft Presented by State Farm and NBA All-Star being in Indianapolis, the WNBA aims to immerse fans in an experience akin to the WNBA Draft at the NBA’s fan fest — NBA Crossover — where they can go through a customizable experience of selecting one of the 12 WNBA teams and be selected as the No. 1 Draft pick on a stage set with ultra-premium Draft Day stage aesthetics and WNBA and Fever branding.

The opportunity to do something immersive with the fans in Indianapolis is serendipitous for the league with the Fever based there, which wasn’t the case last year at NBA All-Star in Salt Lake City. “We’ve only got teams in 12 markets, so the fact that there’s a team in Indiana that we can work with and create an experience for the fans of Indiana made it very attractive for us to be a part of it,” said Phil Cook, WNBA CMO. He added they wanted to do something “disruptive” and a “little different than what everyone else was doing.”

With the Draft Day stage and an event like Saturday night’s Stephen Curry-Sabrina Ionescu 3-Point Challenge, Cook said the league can deliver an “authentic experience” for fans during their offseason. “This is a big part of our growth initiative, to leverage the opportunities around basketball and authentically insert the WNBA into those experiences where we can serve our fans and attract new ones.”

Touting growth throughout the league in areas like viewership and live attendance, Cook noted it was important for the league to ride the momentum that college stars like LSU’s Angel Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark bring to women’s basketball and apply it to a “fan first” experience like the Draft Day stage. The league is also reaching fans and highlighting its stars through its relaunched app.

“Our growth is directly tethered to our ability to get the stories of our athletes out,” said Cook. “Getting our existing fans and our potential fans the opportunity to get to know them better, and then deepen the engagement, and that engagement could be following them on social media or watching a game. Or in the best case, attend a game.”

During NBA All-Star there will also be significant representation of WNBA athletes and legends across different activations set during the weekend, including a WNBA Star Panel Conversation. Las Vegas Aces F A’ja Wilson will be a part of the Ruffles All-Star Celebrity Game as an assistant coach, while Phoenix Mercury G Natasha Cloud and Seattle Storm G Jewell Loyd will be a part of the game itself. Basketball HOFer and Fever legend Tamika Catchings will take part in the weekend festivities as a coach of the Panini Rising Stars game, giving the league representation across…