Launching the Washington Wizards x Robinhood Partnership
The 6th Annual Awards
- Best Communications Strategy
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) and Robinhood Financial announced a marquee partnership with Robinhood joining the Washington Wizards as the official Jersey Patch Partner. To mark the monumental partnership, MSE and Robinhood created a three phased announcement strategy to maximize the engagement, press impact, and earned media. To capitalize on the start of the season, the first announcement was released on the official NBA Jersey Day on October 23rd, the day before the NBA Regular Season tipped off.
Following the initial announcement geared toward the NBA and Sports Sponsorship landscape, the next focus was the Wizards Home Opener and bringing the Robinhood partnership directly to Wizards fans in an authentic way. The third press release leveraged MSE’s unique position as an organization that owns the broadcast network for our teams with an announcement of Robinhood as an official partner of Monumental Sports Network and the Wizards broadcast.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
Our dynamic announcement strategy exemplified excellence in engagement with both fans and media, setting a new standard for effective communication. As one of the last NBA teams to announce a Jersey Patch Partner, our task at hand was a challenging one. By strategically unveiling our collaboration through innovative and captivating channels, we sparked enthusiasm among our fan base and created buzz within the media landscape through earned media and an array of marketing tactics. This deliberate approach culminated in extensive coverage from local and national media outlets, showcasing our partnership as a significant and noteworthy event. Leveraging the Wizards social channels and broad digital footprint of over 11.3M+ followers helped to create a splash regionally and around the industry, generating engaging content to heighten fan excitement and awareness around the Robinhood partnership. The successful launch and integration of Robinhood into the Wizards global platform exemplifies the innovative execution that defines MSE’s position in the industry, unveiling new ways to collaborate with partners going forward.
Objective
The objective of this announcement was to cut through the clutter of the fall seasonal sports media landscape, introduce Robinhood to the world of sports sponsorship, and bring excitement and value to Wizards fans by way of the partnership.
The announcement marked a milestone moment for Robinhood as their first formal foray into sports sponsorships and therefore the roll out and communication strategy around the launch became paramount to the success of the partnership. Authenticity and cohesion between Robinhood, the Wizards, and the Washington DC market was a tentpole objective of the partnership and thus the integration of the City Edition Jersey Release became the final piece of the communication strategy.
MSE was tasked with creating a campaign around the release of the Wizards City Edition Jersey, a unique design celebrating the Boundary Stones of Washington DC in its colors and motif. Robinhood would need to be heavily featured within all City Edition Jersey marketing with the announcement and roll out of the jersey, as an additional media and fan-facing touchpoint that celebrated the Wizards and Robinhood’s heritage.
Strategy & Execution
Every aspect of the MSE x Robinhood announcement was created with Wizards, NBA, and sports media top of mind. To cut through the noise, MSE and Robinhood designed an engaging Partnership launch with quick hit announcements in succession to pique and retain interest:
- Phase I: Initial Announcement – Monday 10/23 NBA Jersey Day (Exclusives to media outlets and pre-placements; MSE owned and operated takeover; Sizzle reel shared on social media)
- Phase II: Home Opener Roll Out - Tuesday 10/24 (NBA Tip Off) (Press Release detailing the activations and events taking place at District E; Interview on Sports Junkies TV and Podcast show; Jersey Patch Robinhood branded t-shirt full arena giveaway)
- Phase III: Monumental Sports Network Launch – Wednesday 10/25 (Wizards 1st game of the season) (Dedicated release and pre-placed exclusives; Home Opener Broadcast presenting sponsorship and integrations during Wizards season opener on the road; Presenting Partner of Wizards Player Mic’d Up content; Home Opener Assets on network broadcast; Postgame Show Entitlement Launch; Featured Interview with Robinhood CEO/Executive in Pre/Postgame Show; Talent Participation in Pre/In-game/Postgame shows with jerseys)
- Phase IV: City Edition Jersey Launch – November 1st – 4th (Press Release, Digital & Social Announcement, and O&O and Earned Media Coverage; Influencer content campaign and in-person activation)
Organizations
- Monumental Sports & Entertainment
- Washington Wizards
- Robinhood
Links
Credits
Jim Van Stone
President & COO
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Patrick Duffy
Chief Partnerships Officer
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Lawrence Garrett
Senior Manager, Global Partnership Marketing
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Lauren Greenfield
VP, Global Partnership Strategy
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Jonathan Hack
Head of Partnerships & Influencers
Robinhood
August Fischer
Marketing Operations Manager
Robinhood
Anupriya Ghate
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
Robinhood
Anu Rangappa
SVP, Communications & Social Impact
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Jennifer Sparrow
Director, Corporate Communications
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Hunter Lochmann
Chief Marketing Officer
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Rebecca Winn
SVP, Marketing
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Michael Goodbody
Chief Marketing Officer
Robinhood
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Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
