PATRICK EWING WEEK
In collaboration with MSG Networks, the Knicks social team curated “Patrick Ewing Week” across social channels in July 2020. This week provided an opportunity with a unique way to engage fans during the NBA hiatus.
Content from this week was wide ranging — from exclusive interviews with Pat, motion graphics, and external artist collaboration, we were able to bring new and fresh content to engage fans with throughout the week.
Collectively Ewing week drove 500k+ engagements, 1M video views, and 14.6M+ impressions in just 7 days.
CONTENT SNAPSHOT: EWING FADE
The goal was to bring the current roster into the Ewing Week mix, giving fans a blend of nostalgic and current content. To achieve this, we had Ewing’s famous fade top mocked up on our current roster. This was the top performing post on Instagram for this week.
CONTENT SNAPSHOT: BEHIND THE LENS
Legendary Photographer George Kalinsky has been snapping photos of the team since 1966. Just about every magical moment at The Mecca since then has been captured by him, including the below picture. We wanted to give George the platform to explain the photo in his own words, so we created a “behind the lens” post. We were able to get on a zoom call with George and asked him a few questions…what he saw, what he was thinking, how this photo came to life. Then, we used his words as the caption across all platforms, letting the full bleed photo of the image of Pat stand alone as the sole piece of imagery.
“This picture of Patrick is one of the most iconic Knick pictures I ever took. The Knicks had just beaten Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals, when you’re in an situation like that you know that there’s going to be a picture that you have to get that captures the story of the game, the story of what happened… It’s not just what happens on the court, it’s also what happens with the fans - the ultimate picture would be something happening with the main player and you want to combine with the crowd, the crowd really is with the emotions and feelings of the evening. Patrick was really fabulous by being in the places I wanted him to be, it’s almost like we rehearsed this. Patrick is right in front of me and I’m saying to myself I don’t believe this even when I’m taking the picture…I could not believe as I stood up, Patrick is in front of me and everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to be doing… and Patricks’ arms go up. If I tried to set this up with a director or producer, and set it up so you had something you’d remember for the rest of your life, this is what I would set it up as. I know as I’m taking this picture, it’s going to be special. Emotionally, this is the best picture I’ve taken, everything is there. Artistically and for a moment, this is the best picture I’ve taken.”
CONTENT SNAPSHOT: RETRO GAME COVERAGE
What would covering a 90s NBA game look like in today’s social world? Throughout Patrick Ewing week, and in collaboration with MSGN, we broadcasted and covered several of Patrick’s electrifying games as a Knick — bringing a nostalgic feel to modern day social media.
