1. Categorie:
Sponsoring campaigns
Title of campaign:
SEB Baltic Basketball League
short common description of the campaign::
Regardless of his or her nationality and home country, every person has the spirit
of competition. Sports have become a good way of spending time not only for the
athletes but also for the viewers; therefore, in early 2004, SEB Baltic banks (SEB
Vilniaus bankas, Unibanka and Eesti Uhispank) decided to support the SEB BBL
in order to develop the recognition of SEB brand in all Baltic countries.
The first season of the SEB Baltic Basketball League (SEB BBL) started on
November 24, 2004. The objective was to offer a quality and enjoyable
tournament for basketball fans in all three Baltic countries and to promote
development of Baltic basketball players. During the season, 12 teams from
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are competing for the title of the best Baltic
basketball team. At the end of the season, a Final Four tournament is held in one
Baltic city, and the winner is determined in four games. In 2007, the Final Four
tournament took place in Riga, Arena Riga, on April 21 and 22.

2. research work done during the campaign:
To improve and develop the SEB BBL, attendance measurements and public
opinion polls were carried out simultaneously in all three Baltic countries during
the season with the purpose to assess the recognition of the tournament and SEB as
its general sponsor and to find ways how to improve it.
These measurements show that the number of SEB BBL fans is growing every
year - on average 2,341 attendants per game (October/November 2007), and in
total 246,709 viewers attended games of the SEB BBL in the season 2006/2007.
More than 8,000 people attended Final Four 2007.
The SEB BBL is continuing the development, and this year a new three-year
cooperation agreement was signed and a sub-league, SEB Challenge Cup and
President Cup, was created.
strategy:
SEB BBL goal is to take important place among other tournaments in Europe and
to promote basketball as the most popular sport in the Baltic countries. The main
idea is to be a pioneer of global sports thinking in Baltic States, higher level
basketball compares to home language, grand and solid Baltic market and
extensive media interest and reflection.

3. The key target audience is socially active men, age 18-54, with income average +,
but the SEB BBL is also targeted to anyone who lives in the Baltic countries and
watches the games on TV or in the arena.
With the SEB BBL and Final Four, SEB banka:
 for the first time in bank's history, when it's name still was Unibanka,
implemented the project in all Baltic countries under the common SEB brand
before it was introduced in the Baltic countries;
 a joint slogan for Latvia was developed - For Great Victories! It was
initially used in relation to the SEB BBL, but now it is used in the bank's entire
sports sponsorship communication;
 distributes information in mass media, Internet, and outdoor
advertising;
 news are provided by league's organisers as well as journalists because
the SEB BBL is important for their news; in this way, regular media monitoring
coverage is ensured;
 SEB BBL and Final Four posters are displayed at all SEB Bank Latvia
branch offices;
 tickets to basketball games were presented to the best product
sellers-our employees, our customers, children from the SOS Children's Villages
Association, prize-winners of the SEB Student Basketball League, as well as given
as prizes in various competitions;
 During the Final Four, attendants received special inflatable sticks
with SEB symbols to be used in supporting the teams during the games;
 between Final Four games, competitions, where prizes from SEB
could be won, were held;
 as a marketing activity, SEB banka organised a ball throwing

4. competition for the attendants of the Final Four games. If five successful throws
were made, the competitor received a prize from SEB banka, but the best
competitors fought for a money prize and SEB banka credit card.
As from the 2006/2007 season, SEB banka and the SEB Baltic Basketball League
organises the campaign Tripple Effect - every successful three-point throw is
registered during the season and then converted into cash to be donated to charity
organisations in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. SEB BBL Triple Effect is a
season-long social campaign that joined together players, teams and SEB banks.
The value of every three-point throw in the season 2006/2007 was worth 2 euros,
but in the season 2007/2008 and in future - 3 euros. In the season 2006/2007, the
total amount donated reached 5,206 euros. The number of successful three-point
throws of players per every country determined the amount to be donated.
In its fourth season, the SEB BBL has become a very significant sports event in
the Baltic sports calendar.
Results of the campaign and evaluation::
The SEB BBL has become a very significant sports event in the Baltic sports
calendar, which is proven by the high recognition of the project. 71% of Latvian
residents recognise the SEB BBL, and 51% know that SEB Bank is its general
sponsor. Tension in basketball arenas and by TV is provided by the brightest

5. Baltic basketball stars, but the organisers, inter alia SEB Baltic banks, with the
help of opinion polls, study the wishes and interests of the audience and implement
innovative ideas with the purpose to facilitate the development and popularity of
the league.
As the targets set have been achieved, new possibilities to improve the work of the
league, communication with the audiences, broadcasts, and the organisation of
games in various arenas are being sought for. The work never ceases, because
basketball fans in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania deserve the highest quality
basketball, and SEB banka, believing in nice victories, can provide it.