VZCZCXRO0348
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1632/01 2410550
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280550Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9909
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2963
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 3002
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5338
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2425
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4857
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3419
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 2254

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001632 
 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/PD - RFerguson-Augustus, ECA - GAmeri, 
NBishop, ECA/PE/C/WHA-EAP - RHarvey 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO SCUL ID
SUBJECT: NBA, EMBASSY JAKARTA REALIZE INDONESIA'S HOOP DREAMS 
 
JAKARTA 00001632  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Using the first-ever visit of a National Basketball 
Association (NBA) player to Indonesia as a platform, Embassy Jakarta 
reached Indonesian audiences with a combination of sports diplomacy 
and commercial advocacy.  A gala reception at the Ambassador's 
residence and a basketball clinic on the Embassy courtyard brought 
together diverse Indonesian audiences, including athletes 
(particularly young athletes), musicians, entrepreneurs, and 
basketball aficionados.  The events garnered tremendous positive 
media coverage -- both domestically and internationally -- and 
highlighted one of America's most popular cultural exports -- 
basketball -- to both key opinion makers and to the general public. 
High-profile events such as these have improved U.S. favorable 
ratings in Indonesia, as demonstrated by a recent BBC World Service 
poll showing an increase in favorable numbers from 21% to 32%.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) U.S. Embassy Jakarta combined sports diplomacy with Foreign 
Commercial Service (FCS) outreach in cooperation with the NBA on 
August 25 and 26, 2008.  The events were made possible by the visit 
of Indiana Pacers' star Danny Granger and several NBA 
representatives to Indonesia at the invitation of a high-school 
basketball league in Surabaya.  With the support of Embassy 
Jakarta's FCS and the Public Affairs Section, Post was able to 
capitalize on the NBA's first official foray into Indonesia. 
 
FCS CONNECTS WITH NBA 
 
¶3. (U) In preparation for their inaugural visit, the Embassy's FCS 
formally signed the NBA as an export client, which enabled FCS to go 
out to the business community and look for ways to help the NBA meet 
potential buyers, partners, and research the local market.  The NBA 
is a powerful U.S. brand and, consequently, several additional 
corporate sponsors offered to help with various aspects of the two 
events.  These companies included Nike, Spalding, and DHL, who all 
provided sports gear and other promotional items, and even Krispy 
Kreme, which supplied donuts decorated to look like basketballs for 
the event at the Ambassador's residence. 
 
HIP-HOP & BASKETBALL ROCK AMBASSADOR'S RESIDENCE 
 
¶4. (U) Ambassador Hume hosted a reception at his residence on 
Monday, August 25, that reached a much younger audience interested 
in sports and music, and brought the NBA together with key 
businesspeople and potential Indonesian sponsors.  The guest list 
included basketball players and coaches, hip-hop musicians and 
producers, young entrepreneurs and business leaders, celebrities, 
and representatives from print and broadcast media, including 
influential sports writers and sportscasters.  More than 200 guests 
attended, most of them much younger than the usual guests to an 
Ambassadorial reception. 
 
¶5. (U) Highlights of the event included basketball-themed posters 
and banners, large-screen televisions playing video footage of the 
NBA "100 best shots," an attention-grabbing performance by local 
hip-hop musicians and a free-throw contest on the Ambassador's lawn, 
with the winning guests awarded Nike and NBA-donated gear signed by 
Granger.  In addition to the print and society press, Jak-TV, the 
television station with NBA broadcasting rights for Indonesia, had 
three crews at the event and produced an exclusive, hour-long 
special, which is expected to air during prime-time on August 31 and 
September 6. 
 
 
NBA CARES ORPHAN EVENT 
 
¶6. (U) On August 26, Granger and former NBA player Marty Conlon ran 
a "skills clinic" in the Embassy courtyard for 30 orphans, half boys 
and half girls, from two orphanages in Jakarta -- one Catholic and 
one Muslim.  Granger and Conlon were joined by IVLP alumnus Fictor 
Roring, the head coach for the Indonesia Basketball League's number 
one team.  The clinic was covered by dozens of media outlets, 
including eight Indonesian national TV stations and several 
international outlets, including CNN. Wire service pictures of 
American basketball star Danny Granger coaching orphans ran on the 
front page of papers all over Indonesia and were also picked up from 
Belgium to China. 
 
LONGTERM TEAMWORK 
 
JAKARTA 00001632  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) FCS sees its signing of the NBA as an effective model to 
promote business interests and develop international partners and 
buyers of U.S. entertainment services.  The NBA provides FCS with a 
new export client, able to advance intellectual property as a brand 
and simultaneously team with State to showcase U.S. Corporate Social 
responsibility (CSR) and transformational diplomacy with 
disadvantaged youth.  FCS Jakarta will highlight the event in 
Commerce communications and prepare a short video describing the 
role of FCS as a bridge to assist the Embassy in using CSR and the 
public diplomacy power of entertainment/sports companies while 
delivering commercial services for business development. 
 
¶8. (U) CONCLUSION: This program cut across a number of Post's MSP 
goals and worldwide PD objectives.  It increased mutual 
understanding and respect, promoted shared values, countered 
extremism among at-risk youth, and reached the huge youth market in 
a way that many of our more traditional programs cannot.  In 
addition, the Embassy was able to help FCS' goal to promote an 
American company, attract sponsors, and build the NBA's brand as 
they did not have the local expertise or support to do so on their 
own.  The massive positive media coverage served as a 
force-multiplier for this message, with images of the nearly 
seven-foot American NBA star teaching young orphan girls wearing 
traditional Islamic garb transmitted worldwide as a symbol of U.S. 
outreach to the Muslim world.  Moreover, the Embassy assisted this 
American company promote a uniquely American cultural product to 
reach a new, growing market in the world's fourth largest country. 
 
HUME