NBA, EMBASSY JAKARTA REALIZE INDONESIA'S HOOP DREAMS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001632 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/PD - RFerguson-Augustus, ECA - GAmeri, NBishop, ECA/PE/C/WHA-EAP - RHarvey E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO SCUL ID SUBJECT: NBA, EMBASSY JAKARTA REALIZE INDONESIA'S HOOP DREAMS JAKARTA 00001632 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Using the first-ever visit of a National Basketball Association (NBA) player to Indonesia as a platform, Embassy Jakarta reached Indonesian audiences with a combination of sports diplomacy and commercial advocacy. A gala reception at the Ambassador's residence and a basketball clinic on the Embassy courtyard brought together diverse Indonesian audiences, including athletes (particularly young athletes),musicians, entrepreneurs, and basketball aficionados. The events garnered tremendous positive media coverage -- both domestically and internationally -- and highlighted one of America's most popular cultural exports -- basketball -- to both key opinion makers and to the general public. High-profile events such as these have improved U.S. favorable ratings in Indonesia, as demonstrated by a recent BBC World Service poll showing an increase in favorable numbers from 21% to 32%. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) U.S. Embassy Jakarta combined sports diplomacy with Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) outreach in cooperation with the NBA on August 25 and 26, 2008. The events were made possible by the visit of Indiana Pacers' star Danny Granger and several NBA representatives to Indonesia at the invitation of a high-school basketball league in Surabaya. With the support of Embassy Jakarta's FCS and the Public Affairs Section, Post was able to capitalize on the NBA's first official foray into Indonesia. FCS CONNECTS WITH NBA ¶3. (U) In preparation for their inaugural visit, the Embassy's FCS formally signed the NBA as an export client, which enabled FCS to go out to the business community and look for ways to help the NBA meet potential buyers, partners, and research the local market. The NBA is a powerful U.S. brand and, consequently, several additional corporate sponsors offered to help with various aspects of the two events. These companies included Nike, Spalding, and DHL, who all provided sports gear and other promotional items, and even Krispy Kreme, which supplied donuts decorated to look like basketballs for the event at the Ambassador's residence. HIP-HOP & BASKETBALL ROCK AMBASSADOR'S RESIDENCE ¶4. (U) Ambassador Hume hosted a reception at his residence on Monday, August 25, that reached a much younger audience interested in sports and music, and brought the NBA together with key businesspeople and potential Indonesian sponsors. The guest list included basketball players and coaches, hip-hop musicians and producers, young entrepreneurs and business leaders, celebrities, and representatives from print and broadcast media, including influential sports writers and sportscasters. More than 200 guests attended, most of them much younger than the usual guests to an Ambassadorial reception. ¶5. (U) Highlights of the event included basketball-themed posters and banners, large-screen televisions playing video footage of the NBA "100 best shots," an attention-grabbing performance by local hip-hop musicians and a free-throw contest on the Ambassador's lawn, with the winning guests awarded Nike and NBA-donated gear signed by Granger. In addition to the print and society press, Jak-TV, the television station with NBA broadcasting rights for Indonesia, had three crews at the event and produced an exclusive, hour-long special, which is expected to air during prime-time on August 31 and September 6. NBA CARES ORPHAN EVENT ¶6. (U) On August 26, Granger and former NBA player Marty Conlon ran a "skills clinic" in the Embassy courtyard for 30 orphans, half boys and half girls, from two orphanages in Jakarta -- one Catholic and one Muslim. Granger and Conlon were joined by IVLP alumnus Fictor Roring, the head coach for the Indonesia Basketball League's number one team. The clinic was covered by dozens of media outlets, including eight Indonesian national TV stations and several international outlets, including CNN. Wire service pictures of American basketball star Danny Granger coaching orphans ran on the front page of papers all over Indonesia and were also picked up from Belgium to China. LONGTERM TEAMWORK JAKARTA 00001632 002.2 OF 002 ¶7. (U) FCS sees its signing of the NBA as an effective model to promote business interests and develop international partners and buyers of U.S. entertainment services. The NBA provides FCS with a new export client, able to advance intellectual property as a brand and simultaneously team with State to showcase U.S. Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) and transformational diplomacy with disadvantaged youth. FCS Jakarta will highlight the event in Commerce communications and prepare a short video describing the role of FCS as a bridge to assist the Embassy in using CSR and the public diplomacy power of entertainment/sports companies while delivering commercial services for business development. ¶8. (U) CONCLUSION: This program cut across a number of Post's MSP goals and worldwide PD objectives. It increased mutual understanding and respect, promoted shared values, countered extremism among at-risk youth, and reached the huge youth market in a way that many of our more traditional programs cannot. In addition, the Embassy was able to help FCS' goal to promote an American company, attract sponsors, and build the NBA's brand as they did not have the local expertise or support to do so on their own. The massive positive media coverage served as a force-multiplier for this message, with images of the nearly seven-foot American NBA star teaching young orphan girls wearing traditional Islamic garb transmitted worldwide as a symbol of U.S. outreach to the Muslim world. Moreover, the Embassy assisted this American company promote a uniquely American cultural product to reach a new, growing market in the world's fourth largest country. HUME