Nokia US have signed a cross-marketing deal with the US NBA (National Basket Association). The NBA will promote Nokia phones in the wide range of media under their control – NBA and WNBA media and game telecasts including NBA TV, themed TV commercials, grassroots events, a customized content section on NBA.com, team alliances, and a presence within the NBA’s Hispanic-focused television, Internet and event initiatives.
The big push is the video capabilities of their phones. NAB video content will be available to Nokia phone owners including game highlights and special behind-the-scenes pieces. Additional NBA nuggets delivered, probably using text and information services will be news, scores, and NBA logos as wallpapers.
We think is an interesting deal, taking Nokia further into bypassing the network operators by taking their relationship directly to the mobile phone owner through content the love and care about. Financial terms haven’t been disclosed but we suspect the deal feature a number with a lot of zeros after it.