CeraVe is the official skincare and haircare partner of the NBA, marking the first time the skincare brand has partnered with the pro basketball league.
CeraVe U.S. VP of marketing Jasteena Gill explained that she sees the partnership as “two powerhouses coming together.”
The multiyear partnership will provide CeraVe with opportunities to integrate its dermatologist-developed products and educational initiatives throughout the NBA season and across various NBA platforms.
The partnership will feature athletes, influencers and dermatologists to create “edutainment” in fun and engaging ways, said Gill. The brand is taking a social-first approach and showing “it knows ball” to resonate with the most digitally engaged sports league in the U.S., she added.
To celebrate the collaboration, CeraVe is teaming up with parody account NBACentel. This is the first time Centel has partnered with a brand, with entertaining content in the spirit of cross-brand fandom including posts, Gill said.
CeraVe is also doing an “NBA-in-culture inspired content takeover” of its own social channels, she noted, to tease the partnership, encouraging speculation and fan engagement.
Another key partnership highlight within basketball culture coming down the pike for CeraVe includes A Care For All Initiative, which is a philanthropic program with NBA Cares, offering dermatology check-ups and skin health education at Jr. NBA clinics.
CeraVe’s presence in the NBA multiverse will span across events such as the Emirates NBA Cup, NBA All-Star Weekend, NBA Summer League, NBA Canada Series and NBA House.
The partnership will also extend into the digital realm with NBA 2K integration, tapping into the league’s large and highly engaged gaming community.
Throughout all these activations, fans can expect exclusive access for player meet-and-greets, CeraVe branded experiences, product education and sampling, and dermatologist consultations.
The NBA appealed to CeraVe as a partner as it has “a massive reach of diverse fans that are engaged with basketball,” Gill said. “As a brand for everyone, this is an opportunity for CeraVe to bring skincare and skin health education from head to toe to the NBA fans.”
The brand particularly wants to ensure consumers are aware that everyone with skin concerns and conditions “can find an effective solution with CeraVe,” Gill added.
Ogilvy PR is supporting CeraVe with PR around this partnership. Budget information was not disclosed.
Earlier this year, the brand ran its Head of CeraVe campaign, which included authentic CeraVe users such as social media and Broadway star Charli D’Amelio, Dallas Mavericks player Anthony Davis, and WNBA player Paige Bueckers. The campaign highlighted common scalp symptoms and how CeraVe’s products can help to ease them.
“That campaign served as a great opportunity for us to engage both NBA fans and CeraVe users,” said Gill.
Last year, CeraVe’s Michael CeraVe campaign included a Super Bowl ad focused on the brand comically cleaning up misinformation that baby-faced actor Michael Cera is the mastermind behind its moisturizing cream. The campaign won several major awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2024.
This article originally appeared on PRWeek US.