The NWBA and Toyota – A Perfect Match

Background:
On January 2^nd, Toyota and The National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) announced a 2-year Partnership, through 2020. I became involved in the negotiations 10 weeks earlier. From the very moment that I became involved, I was incredibly excited. What I knew then was that Toyota had a huge global reach from a business perspective (revenue, number of employees, vehicles sold). They also had become an International Olympic and Paralympic Sponsor a few years earlier. I also knew, having worked in manufacturing companies for nearly 20 years, that Toyota was known for their culture of continuous improvement and respect for people. In fact, to this day other companies’ goal is to become more like Toyota.

Although their involvement in the Olympic & Paralympic movement was relatively young, they quickly became a leading IOC / IPC Partner in telling athlete stories. I was pumped, almost giddy, to go to Plano, TX (with Steve Serio) in early November to tell The NWBA story. Our goal was to share our point of view about the fit between Toyota and NWBA. Many hours of preparation went into the ‘pitch’, and I felt pleased by how that went. Leaving Plano, however, the one thing that stuck with me was the feeling that we were a fit for each other. The Toyota Team had a great balance of a proud history, very high expectations, and humility. They also made it clear that success to them wouldn’t be measured just by Paralympic podium success, but by having impact at a grassroots level. They were also clear that it would not be simple to do so, they were realistic.

Today:
Toyota North America is comprised of 30,000 employees in their various plants and R&D, along with approximately 1,500 dealers across the nation. The NWBA has 225 teams scattered across the USA. Finding a way to connect Toyota Dealers with our local programs and events will be a great enabler for the sport of wheelchair basketball. The NWBA Mission is very clear: Create access to sport for people with disabilities. With the scale of Toyota USA, and their marketing capability, our sport has the chance of becoming more visible than ever before. Through this increased visibility, we will have the chance to bring even more people into our sport.

Our Mission fits seamlessly with Toyota’s purpose of serving society by creating “Mobility For All!” The real impact of the NWBA isn’t getting people onto the court. Our Founder, Dr. Timothy Nugent knew that getting people with disabilities onto the court (or any other field of competition) would increase their chances of success in all other facets of their life. Tim knew that his athletes at The University of Illinois would have an exponentially greater quality of life because of their involvement in sport. My only wish is that this deal happened 3 and ½ years earlier, so Dr. Nugent (see photo below) could see it come to fruition.

Moving Forward:
I had a chance to speak to the Toyota Marketing organization about my story and the profound role wheelchair basketball has played in my life. My story is just one of many, however. Throughout our 70-year history and across our current membership, we have athletes with very different backgrounds, but all of whom have been enabled by this sport. The power of the Toyota Partnership with the NWBA will help get our athletes more exposure, along with the sport. My own view is that Wheelchair Basketball is a best kept secret. From the athleticism of our athletes to the role wheelchair basketball plays in our athletes’ lives, this sport will move people.

I just wrapped up another trip to Toyota USA HQ in Texas, in which all sports under their Olympic & Paralympic Marketing umbrella were present. I didn’t think going in that I could be more excited. Well, I got that wrong. Entering the lobby, I got to see a Toyota Sienna wrapped with the NWBA logo and flanked by a specially designed Per4max wheelchair wrapped in the Toyota logo. I’m not kidding … this gave me goose bumps. On Day 2, as I said they asked me to share my story. The way I ended that speech was by giving Ed Laukes, Group VP of Marketing for Toyota USA, a signed Team USA Jersey. I told all the Marketers in this training room that my goal is for the NWBA to become their organization. It is clear that Toyota wants to establish a connection with its Partners. Doing this well will take a lot of hard work, but it is going to be worth it in the end. I like our chances!

Bonus:
I got to build on relationships with some great people. AND, I got to see the new SUPRA that had just been announced at the Detroit Auto Show!!!