“Every time you started creating content for them in French, people started responding,” Dukich said. “That made us realize we need to have a real plan to actually speak to these people in their own language and in their own culture.”
The global game
Last season, 125 of the NBA’s players—or nearly a quarter of its rosters—came from outside of the U.S.
Each day, the Bulls staff watches busloads of tourists pull up in front of the Michael Jordan statue just outside of the United Center from points all over the globe and take its picture. When a group in Poland told the Bulls they hosted an annual tournament that culminated in them watching a Bulls game at 3 a.m., Dukich said the team sent gear and memorabilia that resulted in the group’s now-yearly trip to the United Center for a game.
When Dukich visits family in Serbia and wears a Bulls hat, it’s instantly recognized.
While @LosBulls aims to shore up the Bulls brand both locally and abroad, it takes its cues less from other NBA teams than it does from organizations in global soccer’s English Premier League or Italy’s Serie A. When Dukich’s team spoke with officials from famed Italian club Juventus earlier this month, the contingent pointed out that the majority of the people who follow the Turin-based team don’t speak Italian—prompting the club to reach out in other languages.
With the U.S. fanbase evolving and technology shrinking the distance between NBA teams and their international fans, Dukich suggests platforms similar to @LosBulls may become a lot more common around the league.
“The Bulls in the ’90s were iconic, and everyone knows them, and that’s a big part of our history,” Dukich said. “But we want to build for the future as well, and this is how you do that.”