The Chiba Jets Funabashi's Vision for a New Relationship with Companies: "Innovation Partner"

The men's professional basketball B.League team "Chiba Jets Funabashi" (hereafter Chiba Jets) has launched the "Innovation Partner" program, aiming to create new relationships between sports teams and corporations. Before explaining this program, Maika Miyazaki from Dentsu Inc. Sports Business Division provides foundational knowledge on the current state of Japanese basketball and the "B.League".

Showa-era Baseball, Heisei-era Soccer, and Reiwa-era Basketball

Launched in 2016, the B League is now entering its fifth season. Since its inaugural game, which made a strong impression with Japan's first LED court and live terrestrial broadcast, attendance has risen steadily each year. Tickets for events like the All-Star Game and Finals consistently sell out instantly. Furthermore, the men's national team secured an Olympic berth for the first time in 44 years and qualified directly for the World Cup for the first time in 21 years. The remarkable achievement of Rui Hachimura being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft also made headlines, signaling that Japanese basketball has entered an extraordinary era.

With over 600,000 players in Japan, basketball was a sport with inherently high potential. From a business perspective, it's clear that the launch of the new league was the catalyst for this rapid growth.

Furthermore, the JBA (Japan Basketball Association) and the B.League are implementing unified business strategies for the national team and the pro league under the motto "Revitalize Japan with Basketball!" They are pursuing sports sponsorship where the basketball world and sponsors jointly create value. This year, both organizations are aiming for ALL BASKETBALL, seeking further collaboration not only in 5-on-5 but also in 3x3 and wheelchair basketball. Japanese basketball is experiencing unprecedented growth.

Moving forward, the development of smart arenas equipped with cutting-edge communication environments will advance nationwide, and the World Cup will be held in Okinawa in 2023. This is expected to further elevate its value as a spectator sport and dramatically increase new business opportunities. While baseball symbolized the Showa era and soccer the Heisei era, each bringing their own boom, "Reiwa-era basketball" is poised to revolutionize both the sporting and business aspects.

What is the Chiba Jets Funabashi's new initiative, "Innovation Partner"?

Next, Masahide Kakei from Dentsu Inc. Second Integrated Solutions Bureau explains the new "Innovation Partner" partnership.

I constantly engage with corporate marketing challenges. While the idea of "collaborating with a sports team" often arises, it rarely materializes. Currently, the sponsorship relationship between sports teams and companies mostly involves displaying the company logo on stadiums or uniforms for brand exposure.

Of course, the power of that exposure and the brand value of supporting sports are significant. However, I've long believed that bringing sports and companies closer together could unlock new possibilities. Couldn't we create a better future, even from the perspective of solving corporate challenges?

With this sense of purpose, and after extensive discussions with Mr. Seiya Tamura, President of the Chiba Jets Funabashi, we created a new partnership model between companies and sports teams: the "Innovation Partner."

We believe the relationship should aim to be a "partner" in doing business together, not just a sponsor. That's why we named the program "Innovation Partner." We want to change the relationship between teams and companies, and through this, transform the very nature of the sports business.

Through the "Innovation Partner" program,

• * Activation initiatives, such as promoting app downloads to fans
• POC (Proof of Concept) for exploring new entertainment using sensing technology
• "R&D" (Research and Development) for health foods utilizing player vital data

Additionally, we envision conducting business development in collaboration with the team.
Furthermore, joint business development with the team is also envisioned.

Assets of the Chiba Jets available for use include players, fans, game venues, websites, etc. In principle, anything that does not interfere with player performance is possible.

A planning team within Dentsu Inc., including myself, will support the planning and design of projects to be implemented leading up to the October season opener.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, both sports teams and companies continue to face challenging times. However, we are seeking partner companies to collaborate on new initiatives as a strategic move to shape the future. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.