Quick Answer
The Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League has launched Season 2027 with “Play It Loud,” a national campaign spanning TV, radio, digital screens, Out-of-Home, social and broadcast partnerships. A standout Opening Week activation delivered with QMS placed live NBL scores in real time across premium Digital Out-of-Home sites, including Melbourne’s iconic Punt Road billboard.
Bring Live Sports Moments Into Public Space With Local OOH
Sports leagues, broadcasters and sponsors can use dynamic Digital Out-of-Home to extend live action beyond the stadium and place real-time information directly into the flow of a city. Local OOH can help brands plan dynamic DOOH, sports media and high-impact outdoor campaigns that connect live events with premium locations and relevant audiences.
The NBL’s “Play It Loud” launch shows how real-time scores can transform a billboard from a promotional surface into a live extension of the game.
NBL27 Launches With the “Play It Loud” Brand Platform
The Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League (NBL) has officially launched Season 2027 with its new brand platform, “Play It Loud.”
The campaign follows a record-breaking 2026 season. According to the supplied campaign information, free-to-air audiences grew 22% year-on-year, streaming audiences increased 20%, and attendance reached 1.1 million fans.
With the league entering the new season with stronger audience momentum, RCJ Media developed an integrated media strategy designed to build anticipation, drive momentum and increase fan engagement as NBL27 tipped off.
A National Campaign Across Broadcast, Digital and OOH
“Play It Loud” launched through a fully integrated national media campaign spanning TV, radio, digital screens, Out-of-Home, social media and broadcast partnerships.
The platform was created to capture the energy, emotion and growing cultural influence of Australian basketball while giving fans more ways to connect with the league across different media environments.
Rather than relying on a single launch message, the strategy places the NBL across multiple touchpoints before, during and around the games.
Live NBL Scores Become the DOOH Creative
The standout moment of Opening Week was a league-first dynamic creative execution delivered in partnership with QMS.
Live NBL scores were displayed in real time across premium Digital Out-of-Home sites nationally, allowing public screens to reflect what was happening on court as games unfolded.
This changes the role of the billboard. Instead of simply telling people that the season has started, the screen becomes part of the live sports experience itself.
Explore dynamic DOOH and live sports OOH opportunities with Local OOH
Punt Road Connects the NBL With a Major Melbourne Sports Crowd
The most prominent execution appeared on Melbourne’s iconic Punt Road billboard.
The timing made the placement especially relevant. According to the supplied campaign information, the live-score creative was visible as thousands of fans were leaving the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) after an AFL Preliminary Final.
The result was a contextual crossover between two sporting moments: fans leaving one major event were immediately exposed to live action from another competition happening at the same time.
Real-Time Data Gives Audiences a Reason to Look Again
Dynamic creative changes the relationship between a digital billboard and its audience because the message can update as the event develops.
A static season-launch ad may communicate one message repeatedly. A live score carries uncertainty, movement and immediate relevance because the information can change from minute to minute.
For sports marketing, that creates a stronger link between the screen and the event itself.
RCJ Media Uses Context to Build Curiosity and FOMO
The supplied campaign information says Isabella Sciarra, Account Manager at RCJ Media, described the activation as an example of what is possible when strong partnerships come together around a bold idea.
The Punt Road live-score execution was positioned as an opportunity to generate FOMO, spark curiosity and place the NBL front and centre as the new season launched.
The media context was central to that idea: a large audience already focused on sport encountered an active NBL score rather than a generic awareness message.
“Play It Loud” Extends the Game Beyond the Court
The campaign also reflects the league’s focus on giving fans more ways to connect with the game wherever they are.
According to the supplied material, Ben Jenkins, NBL Executive General Manager, Marketing, positioned “Play It Loud” as a celebration of the fans who helped make NBL26 a record-breaking season.
The Punt Road execution makes that idea tangible by allowing people to encounter live NBL action even when they are nowhere near a basketball arena.
What Makes the NBL Dynamic DOOH Execution Stand Out
- Live data becomes the creative idea. The billboard does not simply promote the league; it displays the game as it happens.
- The placement matches the audience context. The Punt Road screen reached thousands of people already immersed in a major sporting event.
- Dynamic creative increases relevance. Live scores can change throughout the game, giving audiences a reason to keep checking the screen.
- OOH extends the live experience. The campaign brings NBL action into public space rather than keeping it inside arenas and broadcasts.
- Multiple media channels support the same launch. TV, radio, digital, social, broadcast partnerships and Out-of-Home work together around the “Play It Loud” platform.
How Local OOH Can Support Dynamic Sports Campaigns
Sports brands and leagues can use Digital Out-of-Home for more than static schedules or awareness creative.
Live scores, countdowns, event updates, location-based messages and other real-time data can help make outdoor advertising more responsive to what audiences are experiencing in the moment.
For brands exploring a similar approach, Local OOH can help plan dynamic campaigns that combine premium DOOH locations, real-time creative and audience context across the places where fans move before, during and after major events.
Final Reflection: NBL Turns a Billboard Into Part of the Game
“Play It Loud” is especially effective because the medium and the message work together.
The NBL does not use Digital Out-of-Home only to announce a new season. It uses the screen to carry live information from the game itself, making the public environment part of the experience.
The Punt Road placement shows how sports OOH can become more immediate when live data, audience context and premium locations are planned as one connected idea.
Build Your Next Dynamic OOH Campaign With Local OOH
If your brand wants to connect live events, real-time information or dynamic creative with audiences in public space, Local OOH can help turn the idea into a coordinated real-world campaign through Digital Out-of-Home, large-format billboards, transit media and high-impact placements designed around the audience and the moment.
Summary
“Play It Loud” shows how dynamic Digital Out-of-Home can move sports advertising beyond promotion and into live participation. By displaying real-time NBL scores on premium screens, the campaign turns outdoor media into an extension of the game itself. The Punt Road execution was especially contextual, reaching thousands of sports fans leaving the MCG after an AFL Preliminary Final and giving them an immediate connection to live NBL action.
Sources
Campaign information and visuals were supplied for this article. The supplied material identifies the Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League, RCJ Media and QMS as participants in the “Play It Loud” Season 2027 launch and describes live NBL scores being displayed in real time across premium Digital Out-of-Home sites nationally. It also reports 22% year-on-year growth in free-to-air audiences, 20% growth in streaming audiences and attendance of 1.1 million fans during NBL26. No verified impression count or campaign-performance figure specific to the Punt Road execution was supplied.
FAQs
What is the NBL “Play It Loud” campaign?
“Play It Loud” is the brand platform launching the National Basketball League’s 2027 season through a national campaign spanning TV, radio, digital screens, Out-of-Home, social and broadcast partnerships.
How did the NBL use Digital Out-of-Home during Opening Week?
The campaign used dynamic creative to display live NBL scores in real time across premium Digital Out-of-Home sites nationally.
Why was the Punt Road billboard important?
The Melbourne billboard showed live NBL scores as thousands of fans were leaving the MCG after an AFL Preliminary Final, placing the basketball campaign in front of an audience already engaged with live sport.
Who developed the media strategy for “Play It Loud”?
According to the supplied information, RCJ Media developed the integrated media strategy, while the live-score Digital Out-of-Home execution was delivered in partnership with QMS.
Why is this campaign relevant to dynamic DOOH?
It demonstrates how live sports data can make outdoor creative responsive to real-time events, turning a digital billboard into an extension of the game itself.
Comments (0)
Join the conversation. Keep it respectful and on-topic.