For 100 years, the Harlem Globetrotters have brought families together through the joy of basketball, laughter, and play. But for all their history-making moments on the court, their marketing strategy remained rooted in the past – handled locally, city by city, without the power of a unified national message.
For their milestone 100 Year World Tour, AKA NYC saw an opportunity to change that. We proposed – and ultimately helped execute – the Harlem Globetrotters’ first-ever national marketing campaign to sell tour tickets, transforming the way America’s most iconic live entertainment brand connects with fans.
The innovation lay in structure as much as in storytelling. Rather than rely on individual market budgets, we built a centralised campaign that positioned the Globetrotters as a national entertainment event while maintaining local resonance. This was a seismic internal shift for the organisation, achieved through strategic collaboration, trust-building, and data-backed persuasion.
The campaign tipped off on September 22, 2025, in New York City with Times Square OOH and a double-decker bus wrap that came to life as an experiential PR activation. Players took over the streets for eight hours – conducting live interviews, playing spontaneous pickup games, and posing for selfies with fans – capturing the spirit of the Globetrotters and turning NYC into their stage.
Simultaneously, we launched a robust digital ecosystem that spanned Meta, YouTube Masthead, Programmatic, CTV, Search, and a Meta Moment Maker, driving awareness and ticket sales across all markets. The goal: achieve a first week on sale that outperformed 2023 and 2024 benchmarks, setting a new standard for the brand’s digital and paid media impact.
By uniting 100 years of legacy with modern media innovation, the Harlem Globetrotters’ national campaign became more than advertising – it was a reintroduction of an American institution. A celebration of heritage, movement, and play that proved even after a century, this team is still changing the game.
Partners
- Agency: AKA NYC
- Client: Harlem Globetrotters
Key Contributors:
- Elizabeth Furze – Chief Executive Officer, AKA NYC
- Miky Wolf, Chief Creative Officer, AKA NYC
- Amanda Blackman – Chief Strategy Officer, AKA NYC
- Kaila Stokes – Client Services Account Director, AKA NYC
- Bekah Risch – Client Services Account Manager, AKA NYC
- Sydney Mayer – Partnerships Manager, AKA NYC
- Samantha Bussell – Head of Paid Media, AKA NYC
- Logan Foster – Sr. Performance Marketing Director, AKA NYC
- Julianne Kovacs – Media Manager, AKA NYC
- Riian Winbush – Media Planner, AKA NYC
- Victoria Byrom - Experiential Marketing and Partnerships Manager, AKA NYC
- Dwayne Taylor – Diversity Marketing Manager, AKA NYC
- Cynthia Posillico – Creative Director, AKA NYC
- Robert Mathis – Art Director, AKA NYC
- Sam Veal – Content Director, AKA NYC
- Megan Warshofsky – Senior Content Producer, AKA NYC
- Agatha Knouse – Freelancer, AKA NYC
- Aubrey Downing – Studio Coordinator & Administrative Assistant to the CCO
