Everyday kids love basketball in China but they don’t believe they can improve or reach their dreams however big or small.
We set out to redefine the athlete tour and develop an idea that harnesses the brand’s power and athletes to change that perception, speak with and engage these grassroots kids and ultimately shift culture through basketball. Hence the idea of Rise: a real-time docu-drama aimed at showing that the ability to rise is within everyone. Nike’s House of Mamba was the epicenter of Kobe Bryant’s chapter in that story.
The House of Mamba was completely inspired by Kobe and Nike’s ongoing legacy of creating innovation that serves athletes and consumers. Everything from the architecture, art direction of the walls, even the tickets as well as the LED court and custom Kobe drills had those beliefs at their core. The court itself was cable of showing live video, animation and motion tracking performance that powered the challenges and drills, all while delivering an authentic basketball court feel and gameplay. Additionally, the space was designed to house 3 live events. So all components worked simultaneously and seamlessly together in real time.
Most importantly, the emotional and inspirational impact the experience had on the kids was evident in all the content captured and was incredibly satisfying to Nike. Kobe’s reaction to the LED court we built was also incredibly gratifying as well as the extremely positive feedback we’ve heard through social media. On top of the qualitative results, all 3 events were packed down to the last seat, the content drove over seven million views, video completion rate and average watch rate were outstanding and the activity generated billions of impressions via Chinese media. But not only Chinese press took note; Devour, CBS, Bleacher Report, Washington Post, Slam, USA Today and Daily Mail all picked up the activity.
House of Mamba was a high point in the Rise journey in China, but it’s making news around the world.