The U League, which pits the U22 teams of the ACB clubs against each other, has completed its first season fulfilling its promise: to offer a development space for the next generation of Spanish basketball. Since it started last October until its end in May, it has provided a lot of basketball, but also a communication strategy that has sought to make the new competition stand out both in its discipline and in the competitive sports ecosystem.

The approach, which has been characterized by a shameless tone, creativity, the unexpected and the connection with generation Z, reached its peak in the campaign designed to generate notoriety around the tournament final, held in Burgos between May 15 and 17. The main objective was to make the players known following the League U’s own mission, which is none other than to facilitate and enhance academic life and sports training at the highest level, that is, cultivate talent.

This idea is precisely what inspired the creative concept of the campaign, developed internally and in a coordinated manner by the teams of the ACB (Association of Basketball Clubs) and the FEB (Spanish Basketball Federation). An entire storytelling and a network of multi-channel actions were built around the term “Cocoons” and a double meaning that established a game between the agricultural world and the players of the U League about to flourish. In addition, everything was also linked to the El Plantío Sports Center, which hosted the final of the competition.

The campaign, as explained by Jorge Antolín, Head of Communications for Liga U in ACB, in statements to reason.Whypart of a weakness. “We wanted to promote a final phase of a training basketball league in which practically no one knows the players“, he assures. “We decided to take this weakness as the axis and anchor ourselves in the fact that our Final 6 is the last moment in which players can be discovered before they rise to fame and everyone knows them. The polysemy and provocation of the word ‘coons’ fully fit with the identity of Liga U.”.

Here you can see a video, voiced by League U player Joaquín Taboada (San Pablo Burgos), which includes the strategy; and then we delve into the different actions:

Seeds, cocoons in the street and a compatibility test

The U League faced the challenge of publicizing an in-person event for a totally new entertainment product, training basketball, and taking advantage of the peak moment of the season to present itself to new players. However, it also had opportunities, the main one being the opening of a three-day window to offer a brand experience.

The campaign was developed under the claim “Nobody knows them. Yet”, and sought to involve basketball lovers in the development of the players participating in the tournament. Based on the narrative around the cultivation of talent, the players were turned into seeds, conveying the idea that young talent needs time and also support.

Thus, bags of seeds were created that included a mixture of native wildflowers and were sold through a website dedicated to the initiative, at a price of 2.22 euros per unit, an amount aligned with the Sub22 category. The collected, according to. explained the ACB, it was intended to sustain the competition and the grassroots basketball ecosystem.

In addition, he brought the players themselves to the streets of Burgos to show that they could be the least arrogant version of themselves. The young people interacted with people, offering them flowers and telling them about the competition being held in the city. All of this was shared on the U League’s social networks, where each video exceeded 50,000 views.

He also created a test that drew on the codes of the culture of online dating and that sought to “match” between users and players. Under the concept “How do you like buds?”, the form posed a series of questions related to romantic preferences and assigned the profile of a young talent based on the answers.

The actions were complemented with an outdoor advertising campaign on the streets of the city that communicated the date and location of the final, as well as the participating teams. Various specialized media and sports spaces echoed the initiative, expanding the scope of the campaign and the message of the U League.

Among other things, the campaign exceeded 500,000 organic impressions on social networks and generated an audience growth rate more than 6 times higher than the average. In addition, it caused the download of more than 8,800 free tickets to access the matches and gave rise to a media value of 32,800 euros, as explained by the ACB.

The communication of the U League

The “Capullos” campaign was integrated into a communication strategy that has focused on social networks as the main way to reach its target audience, generation Z. The publications have given prominence to the players and teams, in line with the talent development philosophy of the competition, as well as highlights of the league and behind-the-scenes moments. All of this with a clear vocation for entertainment and closeness.

“This competition is born from the alliance of two very established organizations in international basketball such as the FEB and the ACB. Still, the premise is that the U League is communicated as a youth entertainment product, not as a basketball league.“explains Jorge Antolín in statements to reason.Why. “This allows us to communicate in a much more personal and close tone. Users address Liga U as “you” and not “you”, like another account among their friends. That is, for us, an indicator of success in this first season.”.