ROLE: ART DIRECTION
CLIENT: UNIVERSITY OF OREGON MEN'S & WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Ducks Fly As One
THE BACKGROUND: After six years of working with the Oregon Women's Basketball team, Oregon Athletics came to us with a request: add the Oregon Men's Basketball team to our 2022-23 campaign. Adding the men's team was a challenge, but it gave us a whole new opportunity to create a more unified look for the program in the first-ever joint campaign.
THE IDEA: Both teams are uniquely different. Each have their own styles of play and unique swagger. But, they share a common thread—one court packed with a deep-rooted fanbase. We tapped into the pride of Oregon Ducks and created a campaign that lives to strengthen and enhance the spirit, community, and lifestyle surrounding Oregon Basketball. From taking over the student union with an art wrap to shipping out coasters to bars all over the west coast, we made sure the sense of pride for Oregon Basketball couldn't be missed.
With a college where football reigns prominent, we had to make sure the presence of Oregon Basketball was felt and known. So what did we do? Placed an ad that took over the busiest building on campus: the Erb Memorial Union. This piece of artwork integrates many of the aspects unique to Oregon Ducks— traditions, sayings, players, colors, scenery, and more. We created a piece that was as loud and spirited as the Duck fans that fill the stands for basketball games. You couldn’t miss it, even if you tried.
Placing this installation at the heart of campus brings the teams out of Matthew Knight Arena and integrates them into the everyday lives of our students and faculty. One program, one university, one community.
We shot a commercial. An ode to the electrifying atmosphere, relentless spirit, and unmatched energy of the basketball game experience inside the iconic Matthew Knight Arena.
On the local Eugene station, KEZI, around 200 commercials aired with an average reach of 84% and total impressions of over 1.4 million. Along with KEZI, this spot aired in Portland and Eugene on Comcast networks including ESPN, ESPN2, Pac 12 Network and FoxSports.
We also encouraged fans to attend home games through radio in Eugene on FoxSports KORE radio station.
To inject more energy and spirit into a basketball game day, we threw a party at 10:30 am on a Saturday morning, right before tipoff.
The Backcourt Bash was a fan experience event that allowed Duck fans of all ages to find a deeper-rooted connection with Oregon Basketball. As a celebration of the season, we rallied hundreds of people to pack the practice court. From games, activities, art installations, food, and more, there was something there for everyone. The goal was to fully immerse fans in a game day experience unlike any other, ultimately leading to a greater duck pride amongst all.
To create maximum exposure for Oregon Basketball, we created customized coffee sleeves, coasters, and stickers to distribute throughout Eugene, Portland, and Los Angeles. They were touchpoints that allowed us to reach a wider audience and integrate Oregon Basketball into the community.
We distributed over 1,500 coasters and 3,500 coffee sleeves to local Eugene bars and cafes, including Max's, Rennie's, Webfoot, Tailored, Meraki, Espresso Roma, and all on-campus coffee shops. We also distributed 2,400 stickers to some of the same Eugene locations and connected with our audiences outside of Eugene by sending stickers to The Sports Bra and Spirit of 77 in Portland and Busby’s, a Duck bar, in Los Angeles.
