The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. This is, in part, due to the global marketing strategy the NBA has employed to extend their reach and increase their notoriety. While it's clear that the NBA has benefited in some ways from this marketing, it's not so clear that this move has done anything to actually benefit the league beyond making it known around the world.

As always, there's more than first meets the eye. Below, we explore whether the NBA's global marketing strategy has paid off.

The beginning

Despite its unbelievable size and success now, the NBA wasn't always the global powerhouse it is today. In fact, just a few decades ago, almost nobody knew about the NBA except those in the US. Kevin Durant's dating life certainly wouldn't have been on the minds of those in Europe and Asia. So, when did things begin to change?

The international push by the NBA started around 1980 through marketing efforts, but it wasn't until the 1992 Barcelona Olympics that the organization got its time to shine. In this legendary year, stars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird dominated the courts, drawing eyes from all over the world.

Nobody had seen basketball at that level before the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and in just a few games, history was forged.

Of course, this wasn't a coincidence. The NBA strategically made the decision to send its best athletes to the Olympics to boost the NBA's notoriety and put it on the map, and this decision was an unbridled success. Never before had an organization gained fame so quickly.

However, there was still a lot of work to do. While the 1992 Barcelona Olympics might have put the NBA on the map briefly, if it wanted to stay there, more efforts were needed.

Expanding broadcast reach

To further boost its notoriety and gain a global foothold, the NBA began expanding its broadcast reach. This meant negotiating deals with networks around the world to televise matches. Efforts were substantial, and every year there were new countries that had access to watch the NBA. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, over 200 countries had access to NBA games and content.

This was an incredibly aggressive expansion of the likes we have only seen a few times in history, with the sole aim being to get the NBA in front of as many eyes as possible. This grew the fanbase substantially and turned the NBA into what it is today.

Digital media also played a starring role. The NBA was quick to build its social media presence to promote games and content. It even launched its own subscription service, NBA League Pass, which allowed fans worldwide to stream games live.

NBA League Pass made it incredibly easy and practical for fans to get involved with the NBA, further boosting its notoriety and fame. It also did wonders for attracting a younger audience who were savvier with digital media.

Additionally, the rise of sports betting contributed to the NBA's success. The digital revolution made sports betting easier than ever, allowing people all over the world to bet on their favorite sports. In the beginning, the NBA wasn't even offered as a betting sport by most sportsbooks. However, as its popularity grew, things quickly changed.

Now, all the highest rated sports betting sites on AskGamblers offer NBA betting, and it's often the most popular sport. This is in stark contrast to just a few decades ago, where international sportsbooks were barely even aware of the NBA, and rarely gave users a chance to bet on it.

The NBA's marketing strategy was almost perfect. It did exactly what it was designed to do, and once the ball got rolling, there was no stopping it.

Financial impact and market growth

So was the NBA's marketing strategy successful in terms of brand awareness and profit? The answer is a resounding yes. Today, the NBA is one of the most profitable and recognizable brands in the world, drawing eyes from even the most remote of locations.

Similarly, the top stars of the NBA are recognized as global icons, becoming household names that everybody knows. Many of them have even gone on to partner with other large brands or create their own products to a high degree of success.

Pushing such aggressive growth may have been a somewhat risky strategy at the time as if it didn't work, the NBA could have crumbled under the expenses and debt. Fortunately for NBA fans, the results were much better than expected.

Of course, there are still challenges to overcome. Certain markets seem to be resistant to the NBA's influence -- primarily Indian and Latin American markets -- and there are also various cultural and political issues that come from trying to appeal to such a wide audience.

However, at this point, the NBA has all the resources it needs to overcome any obstacle and remain a global brand. It's almost too successful to fail, and this is all due to the tremendous success of the NBA's global marketing strategy.

Conclusion

The NBA's global marketing strategy has been a resounding success beyond what anybody could have expected. It's rare for any sports league to grab attention globally, with the only exceptions being the English Premier League in the UK which experiences immense investment from other countries and the NFL to a lesser extent.

For all intents and purposes, the NBA is the biggest sports league in the world. The amount of attention and investment it receives worldwide surpasses that of almost every other league and sport, and there is no debating that the NFL's marketing tactics played a huge role in this. The NFL will likely continue to be a giant in the sporting world for the foreseeable future, and it serves as a shining example of the power of marketing and promotion.