Noah Basketball: The Next Big Playmaker
Broadcasting the Story of the Game-Changing Technology
The MVP
Noah Basketball advances the game of basketball using state-of-the-art, shot-tracking technology. A result of 25 patents, Noah’s technology captures a unique data set never available before in the game of basketball. The Noah Shooting System analyzes three specific measurements of every shot: the arc of the shot, shot depth and shot left-right position. The system also knows the location of each shot taken, and if the shot was made or missed. Noah’s instant, audible feedback allows players to correct their shot in real-time, building the muscle memory needed for a perfect shot. Noah uses a sensor to measure every shot and facial recognition to track each shot to the specific player. The sensor is always on and is always ready for individual and team workouts. Without the need for special equipment, Noah can also track in-game play for unique automated shot charts and rim maps, helping teams analyze shot performance in real-time. All data collected is stored in the cloud on Noah’s accompanying data service, Noahlytics, allowing for quick review and immediate improvement opportunities for the specific areas needing the most work. With over 236 million shots (and counting) tracked from high schools, over 50 Division I College programs, and nearly half of the NBA, hundreds of customers use Noah Basketball’s latest technology to make more shots and win more games.
The Pre-Game Evaluation
Noah Basketball’s technology is changing the game of basketball. Noah’s CEO, John Carter, knew this when he first read about the product in an article and became instantly intrigued as a consumer and eventual CEO. Since then, he and the Noah team have worked hard for many years to distinguish themselves as the leading experts in shot-tracking technology while successfully establishing relationships and onboarding Noah Basketball clients at every level of the game from middle and high schools to the NBA.
In 2017, John and his team recognized that in order to break through the noise of a crowded space and grow the Noah Basketball brand within the sports technology industry, they needed to earn consistent, national media coverage. However, given the rules and regulations of athletes’ image and likeness at the NCAA level as well as contractual agreements at the NBA level, the Noah team needed a strategic PR partner they could trust, one who could think outside the box.
The challenge? To increase the media coverage and pickup of Noah Basketball’s technology without relying on the hook of high-profile players and the likeness of the majority of the well-known teams who use the technology.
The Winning Game Plan
When Knight Eady’s partnership with the Noah Basketball team began in 2017, Knight Eady committed to respecting the NCAA rules and regulations and honoring John’s relationships and contractual agreements at the NBA level. How then do you market a product when you can’t specifically speak about the high-profile customers? You establish relationships, craft unique stories and focus on consistent and timely pitch opportunities.
In partnership with the Noah Basketball team, Knight Eady crafted story ideas on the evolution of the technology and how Noah is the first basketball shot-tracking technology to improve the experience in every aspect of the game – performance, operations, recruiting, broadcasting and fan experience. Pitches include new technological advancements made by the Noah team such as the launch of their Automatic Shooter Identification (facial recognition) feature, new uses of the existing technologies employed by Noah including using the technology in broadcasting and fan engagement, and improvements of existing technologies such as Noah’s shot-tracking technology being leveraged for game operations improvements at the 2019 NBA Summer League.
Our strategy team crafted detailed, targeted pitches every month positioned around recent media pickup, timely updates and developments in Noah Basketball’s partnerships and customer relations. Each pitch required a compelling story the writer would be passionate about and a selling point that would draw the reader in from the very beginning. The team researched and followed sportswriters to monitor the topics they were currently writing about to make each pitch personal to them and their interests, instantly increasing the likelihood of receiving a response. Taking the time to craft personal, specific pitches allowed our team to form deeper and more intentional relationships with the writers and publications we need to reach. Even more, while email remains the traditional approach to pitching, Knight Eady chose to incorporate some of the more recent, unconventional ways to reach out to writers. For example, on Twitter, monitoring the tweet activity of specific writers and striking conversations that would warrant a larger dialogue about Noah Basketball. Personal pitches and consistent conversations have built trust with specific writers and publications, allowing our Knight Eady team to create pipelines of go-to writers and publications for certain announcements.
Getting the Win(s)
Knight Eady focuses on objective key results to reach goals and show our successes to our client.
Big Wins:
2017
- SportTechie: Noah Basketball Wins Startup Competition at 2017 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
- Sports Illustrated: Eight Things We Learned from the 2017 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
2018
- ESPNU: Quint Kessenich Interview
- SportTechie: Noah Basketball Improving Shots at Every Level Through Technology
- Business Journals: Anthony Tolliver Joins Noah Basketball Advisory Board
- ESPN: In-game coverage (University of Michigan vs. University of North Carolina), Michigan’s use of Noah.
2019
- Pac-12: Pac-12 Utilizes Noah Basketball Shooting Technology At Conference Tournaments
- AP: How Cutting-Edge Technology Helps Basketball Players Shoot
- SportTechie: Inside the University of Virginia Basketball Team’s Analytics Weapon
- WSJ: Computers are the New Basketball Coaches
- Forbes: Noah Basketball is Challenging What the NBA Thinks It Knows About Shooting – And Might Be Right
- Forbes: Portland Trail Blazers Using Noah Basketball’s Shot Tracking Technology to Gain Shooting Edge
In July 2019, a writer for the Wall Street Journal caught wind of Noah Basketball when he heard a player, Admiral Schofield, paused in the middle of his workout to thank John Carter for the technology that may have attributed to him becoming a professional.
Capitalizing off of this buzz, Knight Eady crafted a story that would interest even the best-known writers in the world of sports and expand the brand’s reach. The goal was to tell the story of Noah to include the characteristics and proven success of their product in all areas of the game – coaching, player performance and development, recruiting and spectator experience. As a result of this detailed approach, the story landed with different writers who focused on varying aspects of the game, including a Forbes SportsMoney writer, Jeff Feld, who uniquely focuses on the front-office perspective. In his article, Jeff addresses how Noah is challenging what the League currently knows about shooting and how Noah can affect their thinking moving forward.
Aside from the numbers, Knight Eady’s efforts paid off in other ways for Noah Basketball. The technology received a nomination for the 2019 SportTechie Awards and are the only shot-tracking technology selected as a nominee for the 2019 Sports Business Journal award in the sports technology category.
What started as a search for a PR solution in 2017 has now evolved into the winning strategic PR partnership between Noah Basketball and Knight Eady. Prior to this partnership, the Noah Basketball team had been successful in making a name for themselves in the sports technology world. Knight Eady partnered with the Noah Basketball team to craft the unique stories of the technology’s evolution in order to consistently engage the sports industry and writers. With the help and support of Knight Eady, the Noah Basketball technology and brand continues to be nationally recognized as the leading shot-tracking technology improving every aspect of the game.
Knight Eady continues to tell these stories of Noah Basketball while also supporting the brand with additional services such as social media content and management, blog content creation and management, and creative fulfillment. The stories of Noah Basketball will continue to be changed and adapted to mirror the evolution of the technology as well as the evolution of the game.
