Hoops by Loop

Hoops by Loop is a spec integrated campaign developed in response to the Young Shits August 2026 brief, which challenged creatives to identify an unexpected audience and bring them into the world of the NBA in a meaningful, authentic way. I focused on “Sound Seekers”—ASMR and sensory-content audiences, including some sound-sensitive and neurodivergent attendees, who are drawn to intimate, detailed and controlled sound experiences. Rather than asking these fans to adapt to an arena environment built around volume and constant stimulation, I wanted to explore how the NBA experience itself could give them more control while keeping them connected to the game.

The idea began with a simple tension: people attend NBA games to feel closer to the action, yet the noise surrounding the game can sometimes make that action feel further away. Beneath the crowd, music and commentary is another layer of basketball—the bounce of the ball, the squeak of sneakers, the catch and the swish. Those small, rhythmic sounds already make basketball a deeply sensory experience; they are simply often buried beneath everything else happening in the arena.

That led me to Loop, a brand built around giving people greater control over sound. The partnership worked functionally, but it also created an opportunity for a playful rebrand: Loop becomes Hoops. The circular form of the earplugs naturally echoed the basketball hoop, allowing the product, visual identity and campaign name to grow from the same idea. Hoops by Loop x NBA became a way to preserve the energy of live basketball while bringing the sounds of the court into focus.

The campaign launches with a First-Game Giveaway at every team’s home opener. Fans receive a complimentary limited-edition pair of Hoops in NBA red, blue and white, packaged in a basketball-textured case. Oversized earplug sculptures create accessible photo moments in the concourse, while the product itself allows fans to reduce overwhelming arena noise without having to leave their seats or separate themselves from the people they came with.

From there, The Sound Court turns the campaign insight into an interactive arena experience. During the first month of the season, fans can step onto a half-court in participating arena concourses and dribble, pass and shoot while spatial microphones capture every bounce, squeak, catch and swish. The floor responds with illuminated sound waves, and participants can listen back through headphones to hear the physical details of basketball isolated from the surrounding arena noise.

The Loop Lounge provides a free, bookable glass-fronted space overlooking the court for fans who want a more controlled way to experience the game. Rather than functioning as a traditional quiet room that requires fans to step away from the action, the lounge keeps them visually connected to the court while giving them greater control over what they hear. Using contact microphones already installed beneath NBA courts, the experience captures the vibrations of dribbles, footsteps, sneaker squeaks and ball impact. Individual headsets isolate these intimate court sounds from the surrounding crowd, music and commentary, creating an ASMR-inspired listening experience that brings fans closer to the physical details of basketball without removing them from the game.

The campaign extends to social through two sound-first executions. The Drop builds anticipation for the limited-edition Hoops release and first-game giveaway, while NBA ASMR with the League’s biggest stars follows fan-voted players through mic’d-up private practices, pairing close-up visuals with the satisfying sounds of every bounce, squeak, catch and swish. Together, the social content gives people a taste of the campaign’s sensory experience before they ever enter an arena.

At its core, Hoops by Loop reframes accessibility as part of the fan experience rather than something separate from it—using sound, play and a simple piece of wordplay to bring more people closer to the court.