• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 5, 2024

Spalding, which invented the game’s first basketball back in 1894, wants the world to know it is entirely future-focused. With the introduction of the new “Always Building” ad campaign, the company is using a series of motivating videos to highlight how sports help build a community that transcends the court.

“We’ve predominantly focused on product campaigns in previous years,” says Matt Maresca, senior manager of brand communications. “But we wanted to create a more emotional campaign to connect with our community at a deeper level.

Spalding recognizes that sports are so much more than what they appear on the surface and are all about encouraging athletes to reach their goals, build upon their strengths and challenge themselves. 'Always Building’ isn’t just a campaign, it’s a mentality.”

The new creative features everything from free throws to building a Spalding Arena Renegade, linking the iconic brand to broader communities. And videos are shot in black and white to “create a dramatic look and feel that embodies the emotional messages and themes,” he tells Marketing Daily via email.

Russell Athletics, the Bowling Green, Kentucky-based company that owns the Spalding trademark, is running the ads on its company websites and Spalding’s social channels, including Instagram, X and Facebook.

Rather than use an agency to develop the effort, it worked with SLAM, the basketball-meets-hip-hop magazine, to build a campaign that will expand to include more young players in the months and years ahead.

“Working with a partner who is an integral part of basketball culture and the sports community helped us bring our vision to life,” Maresca says. “We then leveraged our incredible in-house creative team to lead the charge in creating the videos and assets.”

The campaign is breaking just in time for the Final Four games of the NCAA Basketball Playoffs.