For its 69th edition, basketball enthusiasts across the country gathered in the Windy City and home of the Chicago Bulls, to celebrate the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) annual All-Star Celebration.
As a proud and longstanding partner of the NBA, HARMAN and its premium brand JBL once again captivated fans through several product and marketing activations during the three-day weekend. HARMAN provided thousands of fans with epic experiences around music and sports from exclusive events to panel discussions with top-notch players on the intersection of basketball, music and culture. Here’s a preview of all the engaging experiences that were planned around our NBA All-Star Weekend program:
Basketball Goes Beyond the Court
Throughout the course of the weekend, and for the very first time, JBL took over a 6,350 square foot retail space inside the admired Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue for the JBL Sounds of City Experience. Armed with a branded DJ booth comprised of our powerful Party Box speakers, the activation featured interactive and unique experiences tying in basketball, music and culture, and an “always on” retail component for consumers and fans to explore.
At the Sounds of the City Experience, basketball aficionados got to participate in fun-filled activities, like our virtual 3-point game starring professional basketball player and MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The gaming space featured a gallery of custom-painted, Instagram-ready backboards created by the beloved Chicago-based street artist, Sentrock. The “back court” space invited guests to share a GIF in front of our JBL Dunk backdrop, featuring a slew of interactive JBL products and basketball props. We designed a spacious, built-in retail checkout counter for consumers interested in purchasing some of HARMAN’s superior audio innovations by JBL. JBL’s retail section highlighted the Sounds of the City thematic and featured a JBL headphone display behind the counter.
JBL also collaborated with several of the most culturally relevant influencers in the sports, music, fashion, and lifestyle space to generate awareness and to plant themselves in the heart of the discussion around the culture surrounding NBA All-Star. Legends like the Shoe Surgeon, the Professor, WNBA greats Candace Parker and Sue Bird headlined panels throughout the weekend with other JBL ambassadors. Each of the influencers and ambassadors were gifted with a 1 of 30 custom seeding kit featuring custom designs on the JBL Flip 5 that were also available for purchase on JBL.com.
Music and Basketball Themed Panels with NBA All-Stars and Influencers
Starting on Friday afternoon, JBL's All-Star Weekend activations created epic moments, while also taking time to give back to the Chicago community. As part of the Sounds of the City Experience, JBL partnered with Chicago Bulls star and JBL Ambassador Zach LaVine to give back to After School Matters, a charity LaVine volunteers with when he's not on the court. JBL invited students from After School Matters to interview Zach LaVine on his excitement around NBA All-Star, his favorite tunes to get pumped up for a game and more. At the conclusion of the interview, Zach announced a product donation that included (10) AKG Podcaster Essential kits to the charity as well as a special invitation for the children to come to an upcoming Chicago Bulls game. And don't forget about JBL Ambassador Kenny Smith's annual All-Star Bash presented by JBL on Friday night, with surprise performances from Fabolous and Ghostface Killah.
On Saturday afternoon, JBL hosted All-Star captain, reining MVP and JBL Ambassador, Giannis Antetokounmpo, first time NBA All-Star and JBL ambassador, Bam Adebayo and hip-hop artist Swoope for a panel discussion on NBA All-Star, music and JBL, moderated by Bleacher Report journalist Taylor Rooks. Following the conversation, fans received an exclusive performance by Swoope. That evening, JBL hosted four-time NBA All-Star and JBL ambassador Kemba Walker alongside eleven time WNBA All-Star Sue Bird, streetball legend The Professor and sneakerhead artist, The Shoe Surgeon to explore the powerful connection between basketball and music culture.
Closing out our panel discussions, ten-time NBA All-Star, Paul Pierce, with five-time WNBA All-Star legend and moderator, Candace Parker, took to the stage to address the role that music plays in their lives both on the court and in their personal lives.
From star-studded panel discussions with leading basketball athletes to our interactive virtual 3-point game, it’s safe to say that JBL awed fans, partners and customers during 2020 NBA All-Star. JBL and the NBA intersect perfectly at the heart of music, sports, technology and culture. Thanks to our well-established alliance and thriving ambassador program with the NBA, HARMAN is proud to provide hundreds and thousands of fans with epic experiences at the convergence of music and sports.
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Watch Celtic Point Guard, Kemba Walker’s discussion at our Sounds of the City Chicago Experience at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game to learn how music helps him get ready on game day.