NBA Best Practices: Atlanta Hawks Introduce Playoffs Wallpapers

Playoff time!

Go to a game, you have to get a souvenir, right? Buy a program or a t shirt, or well something (I used to want the plastic cups, believe it or not). It's also why newspapers and magazines print special editions to commemorate this moment. But this vibe, this "have to have it" feeling exists even if you are not going to the arena. The best fans want to support their team heading into the playoffs... and they'll find value in whatever you can provide to enable this.

The Atlanta Hawks provide this value to you and show the door towards quite a bit of learning along the way. Let's roll...

The journey starts on the Atlanta Hawks Facebook page, shown below.

The first post you can see (hopefully) says this:

"Get ready for the 2011 Playoffs with the all new Atlanta Hawks wallpaper. This first batch features all three captains and offer options for your desktop and for your mobile device..."

Clicking in takes you to the wallpaper gallery, here.

See Al Horford's for yourself, here,

So the Hawks are giving you wallpapers with a special 2011 Playoffs logo (in the lower right-hand corner of the image)... and they are unveiling it inside Facebook, first. Plus, they say "first batch", which implies there will be other batches coming throughout the playoffs. And you can use these via desktop or mobile? Hot. Hot. Hot.

I feel like this is the start of a new model of thinking. Reward fans who are a part of each game with a visual takeaway.

How could this be better? What if every fan who went to the game could go and enter their ticket to get a limited edition download after that game? Perhaps it's from that game - commemorating the play of the game? It's could be stamped with your seat location and the matchup. And you could be encouraged to fan the Hawks on Facebook through the experience. Every game you went to would be a different visual, much like every game gets a different scorecard/game notes. And it ties the fan, emotionally, to the squad? That would be insane.

Come back tomorrow as we check out another best practice from the NBA. And as always, you can follow me on Twitter (I'm @pawlow34) or on Facebook (Digital Hoops Blast).

Thanks!

Andy