During the N.B.A. draft on June 25, Philadelphia's die-hard sports fans weren't watching the event at home on their couches, following along in real time on their laptops or even viewing the action at a local pub. Instead, nearly 4,000 people came out to a massive party sponsored by online fantasy sports site DraftKings. In addition to being the largest draft party in Philadelphia 76ers history, the event enabled DraftKings to bring the online user experience into the real world and increase its membership by thousands.
"A primary focus for us is to grow the business, get more players, and increase the action on the site," said Jeremy Elbaum, vice president of business development for DraftKings. "We met with the Sixers and together we decided to throw a killer draft party." IMG Live helped coordinate the efforts between DraftKings, the Sixers, and the City of Philadelphia.
Rather than pay an entry fee, guests signed up for a free DraftKings membership ahead of time, which served as their admission ticket. The first 1,000 people to register received a free T-shirt with the new 76ers "Ballin' Ben" logo.
"One of our goals with this event was to get people to sign up for the site. Another was to provide something valuable for players," Elbaum said. To that end, the party included interactive games, appearances by Philly sports legends like Julius "Dr. J." Irving and Moses Malone, and free food and drinks courtesy of 76ers partners like Miller Coors, Tastykake, Papa John's, and Gatorade.
As the sole sponsor, DraftKings branding was present in every aspect of the event. "We were all over the invitation, the marketing, and all of the on-site tents," Elbaum said. "The host of the event continuously said our name in relationship to everything he was leading." DraftKings also had an on-site activation zone where participants could play in a league for free; the winner received a pair of season tickets for the upcoming Sixers season.
Even though this event was held outdoors in Dilworth Park, a heavy downpour didn’t keep droves of fans from showing up. Even if it had, the ticketing strategy meant that since attendees signed up in advance, the rain didn't affect the number of DraftKings new member registrations.
Elbaum said the company plans to expand the draft party concept to other markets next year.
"Philly is a great market,” he said, “and the Sixers are industry leaders in coming up with creative ways to do awesome things for the city and also to help grow DraftKings."