A while back, I came up with a little framework I call the Sports Ad Meter—a way to measure and guide how a sports marketing specialist should approach building a great sports ad. Since then, I’ve picked apart plenty of famous campaigns, breaking down what works, what flops, and why. But this time, I finally got to put my own theory into action.
Here’s the twist—this isn’t your typical “go viral, reach millions” kind of ad. This one’s laser-focused. The audience? A very specific crowd: 3×3 basketball federations looking for the right spot to prep for championships. The product? A sports facility that’s already got a serious résumé—home to Lithuania men’s national 3×3 team (Paris 2024 bronze medalists) and also used by Latvia and Poland’s Olympic squads.
The budget? Basically nonexistent. The challenge? Capture the essence of this place during one practice camp—featuring some of the best 3×3 players in the world—and turn it into something that convinces other national teams to book our venue. Not hype for the masses, but proof for decision-makers.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the final ad itself, my original prep sheet, the reasoning behind every shot, and how we managed to pull it all together in just a few hours on shooting day.
The Prep-Sheet for my Convincing Sports Ad
First, we nailed down the key selling points:
- Facilities trusted by Olympic teams
- Everything in one place — stadium, gym, indoor/outdoor 3×3 courts, locker rooms, and a great surrounding environment
- Well-known faces from the 3×3 basketball world
Once those were clear, we knew exactly what needed to be captured on shooting day—and what each representative from the Olympic 3×3 teams had to say on camera.
Of course, shooting day had its curveballs. A number of unexpected challenges forced us to tweak the original prep-sheet plan on the fly. But in the end, having the spread-sheet still paid off—we ended up with enough material to improvise when it came time to cut the final ad.
Below is the raw, unedited spreadsheet we used to organize every shot, making sure we ticked off all the traits of a good sports ad. At the same time, you can see that the end result was very different from the initial idea. Lesson here? It’s important to have a plan (even a shitty one), but if you have one, then you still have some starting point to work from.
| Opening | Every medal that Lithuania has won in 3×3 basketball, it all starts here in Vytautas Magnus university sports centre (Player) | Player is filmed by the indoor 3×3 court; – Moments from Paris; – Lithuania men’s national 3×3 team playing here. |
| Introducing the others | – This year, we have our friends from Latvia and Poland, who are working here together with us. – They have been here last year, when prepping for Paris Olympics. – So, three out of eight teams, who played in Paris, were preparing in the VMU sports center. (Dainius) | – Moments of playing with Polish and Latvian teams in the sports centre; – Moments from Paris of Polish and Latvian teams. |
| Polish / Latvian | – VMU sports center has everything that you need when preparing for 3×3 basketball tournament; – From clean spacious locker rooms with ice bath, to weight rooms. Indoor, outdoor courts. – Chill zone, stadium for athletic conditioning training; a nearby forest with clean air. | Polish/Latvian is filmed in the stadium (forest and basketball courts visible in the back); – Locker rooms with ice baths; working in weight rooms; – Playing both inside and outside; – Chill zone, stadium, forest (drone shot?). |
| Polish / Latvian | – I can say that working here has definitely helped us to prepare for the Paris Olympics; – Staff, level of organizing and attention to the smallest of details is what makes this sports center stand out. | Polish/Latvian is filmed in front of the outdoor 3×3 court; – Their team playing; – Artistic shots of the sports center. |
| Closing statement | – If it ain’t broke – don’t fix it. – We’re already preparing for Los Angeles Olympics. – We are confident that working with VMU sports center is what will help us to work towards our goals and will be an important part of bringing home another olympic medal. | – Shots of Lithuania men’s national 3×3 team playing in the sports centre; – Shots of working out (weight room; running up the stairs of the stadium; ice bath shot?) – Closing shot of sports center from outside (evening? drone shots? (we have them from before)) |
Traits of a Good Sports Ad: 3×3 Basketball Facilities Edition
Now let’s break it down—step by step—using the ABCDE model for a good sports ad. This is our checklist, making sure every box is ticked so the final product grabs (and keeps) the attention of our potential customer.
A: Attention (Hook, Aesthetics, Pace)
HOOK – To grab the attention of our target audience (3×3 basketball federations), we open with a question: “What do Lithuania’s, Poland’s, and Latvia’s 3×3 teams all have in common?” While the viewer is thinking about it, we hit them with iconic moments from each team’s big performances—showing right away that we’re talking about leaders of the 3×3 basketball world.
For our audience, this isn’t news—it’s common knowledge in the 3×3 basketball world how strong these teams are. The unspoken message? If you want to win, follow their lead.
AESTHETICS – This is where I had to get creative. FIBA’s restrictions meant we couldn’t get high-quality in-game shots. But once the footage shifts to the sports center itself, the visual quality jumps. To match that energy on the audio side, I built a custom track with AI—a catchy tune layered with chanting fans and a pro-level sports broadcaster-style voiceover.
PACE – The structure is deliberate: hook their attention, deliver the key information with sports center visuals, and close with a slogan that makes it crystal clear—if you want to prepare like champions, Vytautas Magnus University Sports Center is where you go.
B: Branding (Brand Presence, Audio Reinforcements, Catchphrases)
BRAND PRESENCE – From the start, we position the sports center as the answer to what makes these national teams stand out. Every participant in the video mentions it by name. The ad closes with the brand front and center—shots of the logo on the building, trophies from teams who trained here, and a clear visual link between this place and winning.
AUDIO REINFORCEMENTS – This isn’t your standard “crowd roar and slow-mo” sports ad, so audio cues are used more selectively. But the background music and voice-over were treated as top-tier priorities—built to feel pro, tight, and memorable.
CATCHPHRASE – “Victories Are Just Beginning.” It ties into Vytautas Magnus University’s current slogan—one I wouldn’t personally choose, but it fits here. It nods to the idea that training at this sports center is where the winning starts… and maybe even stepping onto these courts is already a win in itself.
C: Connection (Storytelling, Characters, Message Alignment)
STORYTELLING – The narrative is simple and crystal clear: if you want to succeed on the 3×3 basketball stage, this is where you come. We frame the story around three successful national teams that have already chosen these facilities, showing the faces of elite 3×3 players, shots of trophies, and everything our target audience dreams of—becoming a winning 3×3 team. Even if certain parts of the facilities aren’t shown, the proof is there in the victories, the hardware, and the people who’ve already made this place their launchpad.
CHARACTERS – My original plan for speakers shifted when language barriers kicked in, but still – the fact remains that these people are from winning environments and make the right choices (and by the right choice I mean VMU sports center). And, just as importantly, the athletes themselves are shown—first in victorious moments, then in the training environment at our sports center, creating a full “before and during” arc.
MESSAGE ALIGNMENT – Our core values are Winning. Victories. Trophies. I built the ad to hammer those home—both in what’s said and what’s shown. From the slogan “Victories Are Just Beginning” to the constant reinforcement of victorious moments and trophy shots, the message is never in doubt: this is where champions are made.
D: Direction (Call-To-Action, Unique Selling Point)
CALL-TO-ACTION – Our target is 3×3 basketball federations, so the CTA is: “Start your road to victories here.”Because distribution is via direct contact, the CTA isn’t doing heavy lifting like in typical ads—it just needs to be clear and clickable. The goal is to open a call or facility visit, not chase cold clicks, so clarity beats cleverness.
UNIQUE SELLING POINT – We communicated the USP by listing the advantages and showing them on video. It wasn’t fancy—just direct proof. The pacing wasn’t perfect and some shots were rough, but the core message still landed.
E: Extras (Iconic Moments, Timing)
ICONIC MOMENTS – I couldn’t use Olympic footage (rules are rules), so I leaned on FIBA clips that still showed wins and recognizable moments from all three teams. We kept cuts short to stay legally safe. Emotion survived even without the five rings.
TIMING – Timing isn’t mission-critical here, but it helps. Lithuania’s 3×3 team is on top—recent European champions over Latvia. It’s a clean “why now” for decision-makers.
Adjustments
Shooting Day
If you’re working with professional actors and have a budget that goes into tens, hundreds of thousands or millions, there’s probably less adjustments, but for us – there were plenty of adjustments to be made.
First of, none of the Lithuanian 3×3 faces were able to speak in proper English, something I wasn’t anticipating, so the team’s manager Paulius stepped in and did all the phrases needed to be said. Also, though promised that the Polish and Latvian representatives will be informed about the filming – they weren’t, and we picked them on the go, asked them questions and just hoped they will deliver.
Fortunately, they did deliver and we ended up having most of the stuff we wanted to have said on camera. Also, though Lithuanian players weren’t willing to speak in English, they were okay with doing shots in the facilities, and thanks to Evaldas Džiaugys for doing just that.
Our final material was a bit different from what I anticipated, but there was still enough to use, cut and work with, so that we could make a final ad that was kinda close to what I expected.
Editing
The biggest headache was game footage. Olympic material is off-limits, and FIBA highlights have to be short. On top of that, no one provided high-quality archives, so I worked with what I could find online—and some of it was rough. To keep it watchable, I used tighter pacing, hard cuts, and brief inserts so low-res clips didn’t sit on screen long enough to break immersion. I also let on-screen text carry part of the message, so picture quality wasn’t the only vehicle for the USP.
Voice-over became a last-second pivot. The plan was to have coach Dainius Novickas voice it; that fell through quickly. With an almost zero budget, I used AI VO to land the lines and timing we needed. Not ideal, just honest.
Credit to the operator: with minimal hours, we still had drone passes, training sequences, and gameplay vignettes. That variety saved the rhythm in the cut and let me alternate between proof, place, and people without lingering on the weak spots.
Ad-Meter Results
Note: The Ad-Meter is based on research about What Makes a Good Video Ad.
| Category | Trait | Score (0–10) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attention | Hook | 7 | The hook works well, but the visuals are low quality, which makes the introduction less effective. |
| Aesthetics | 6 | The shots used from the tournaments are not visually impressive. | |
| Pace | 6 | The pacing is solid but could be slightly faster to enhance the energy. | |
| Branding | Brand Presence | 9 | The brand presence is introduced clearly and consistently throughout the video. |
| Audio Reinforcement | 7 | The background music is strong, but the AI voice-over lacks energy. | |
| Catchphrases (Taglines) | 8 | “Victories Are Just Beginning” aligns well with the theme and reinforces the brand’s message effectively. | |
| Connection | Storytelling | 9 | The storytelling is strong, introducing the teams, their success, and how it connects to the sports center, supported by team representatives. |
| Character | 8 | Representatives of all three elite teams are shown. It would have been stronger to include main players directly. | |
| Message Alignment | 9 | From the slogan “Victories Are Just Beginning” to constant reinforcement with victorious moments and trophy shots, the message is clear: this is where champions are made. | |
| Direction | Call-to-Action (CTA) | 8 | The CTA is communicated effectively to the target audience. |
| Unique Selling Point | 9 | The USP is well presented to the target audience, highlighting these as the best facilities for 3×3. | |
| Extras | Iconic Moments | 7 | The ad lacks truly iconic moments, such as highlights from the Olympics. |
| Timing | 8 | The timing is strong, aligning with Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland currently being elite 3×3 basketball teams. |
AD-METER SCORE: Good.
Total Points: 101/130
Final Score (Percentage): 78%
Summary of How to Create a Convincing Sports Ad: Promoting Elite 3×3 Basketball Facilities
It’s hard to rate myself on the ad-meter, but I gave myself 101/130 (78%), which makes this ad “good.” All in all, I wasn’t extremely happy with the result, tbh, and I see a lot of places to improve. Though I did the most I could with the limited resources I had, to make it much better a lot of things should’ve been done differently.
At the same time, I feel this is a good real-life example for anyone doing something similar. It shows how important it is to draw up your prep sheet, list out the ABCDE, and know exactly what you need in your ad. Despite it not turning out the way I expected, because I’d prepared these, I was still able to get plenty of useful material—and I already had ideas for what I could do with it. And when you’re leading the shoot, coming in with that homework done means you have the answers, not more questions—so it helps.
An even better move would’ve been to have a few more people on board with the plan to bounce ideas. In the end, even though I’m not fully happy with the results, it was fun working with Lithuania men’s national 3×3 team and I gained experience that will help in the future—especially if there’s a budget.
