How the Portland Trail Blazers used gamification to amplify existing initiatives

The Partner

The Portland Trail Blazers were founded in 1970 as the 17th NBA team, and remain the only team in the league representing the Pacific Northwest today. Since their inception, their devoted fanbase has been behind them every step of the way. The term “Blazermania” was coined to describe the fan frenzy surrounding the team back in the ‘70s–when they held the record for most consecutive home sellouts with a grand total of 814–and they’ve since adapted swiftly to the digital demands of the 21st century.

Adjusting to the constantly evolving marketing landscape is no easy task, even less so with a legacy like the Trail Blazers’ to maintain. Here’s what Ian Stark, Senior Digital Product Manager for the Trail Blazers, had to say about adapting over time. 

He also highlighted the importance of being open to shifting existing plans and pivoting in the moment based on fan feedback. It’s important to remember that just because you’ve been doing something a certain way for a long time, doesn’t mean it’s the most effective approach. 

The Strategy

The Trail Blazers are constantly looking for new and exciting ways to reach their goals of dynamic fan engagement. They were one of the early adopters of the Tradable Bits ‘Arcade’ platform, creating an entire hub of games inside their Trail Blazers app to engage fans. With little promotion, they have seen great traction and dwell time with the Arcade Hub. 

They utilized the Arcade campaign to supplement their long-running ‘3’s for Trees’ program. For this initiative, they teamed up with Daimler Truck North America and Friends of Trees to plant trees based on various in- and out-of-venue activities. For every 3-pointer made by the Trail Blazers–or their eSports team–three trees would be planted. The fan 3-pointer competitions held during games also added to the number of trees planted. 

The Trail Blazers used Tradable Bits’ Arcade campaign to launch ‘Hoop Heroes’–a customizable mini-game playable on both their official app and online–to accompany this initiative. Fans could play the game once a day, and for each game played, an additional tree would be planted. 

The Results

This campaign gave something of value to the fans–entertainment–while also supporting the Trail Blazers’ tree-planting efforts and helping them collect fan data along the way. Their Arcade hub had an average dwell time of four minutes, aligning with the team’s goal of increasing time spent using their app. Considering they did little-to-no promotion of this feature, the arcade hub became a huge asset without requiring much extra work. 

Their decade-long ‘3s for Trees’ program has resulted in a grand total of 48,351 trees planted since its creation. Congrats to the Trail Blazers on such a successful initiative!

Interested in supplementing your marketing efforts with our wide range of campaigns? Get in touch with our team today.

Happy fan marketing!