The Korean food giant is moving beyond jersey logos, embedding its brand in immersive Lakers game streams to tap into next-generation sports viewing and emotional engagement.
In a strategic push to transform global brand visibility, CJ CheilJedang is betting that the future of sports marketing lies not just on the uniform, but inside the screen. The South Korean conglomerate is linking its flagship food brand Bibigo with immersive live broadcasts of the Los Angeles Lakers on Apple Vision Pro, signaling a shift from passive sponsorship to integrated experiential marketing.
The initiative places Bibigo at the center of Apple’s nascent immersive content ecosystem, offering access to NBA fans through a premium viewing platform that aims to replicate the courtside experience. According to Charter Communications’ Spectrum division, selected Lakers games will stream beginning Jan. 9 in a format designed exclusively for the Vision Pro headset, featuring multi-camera angles, spatial audio and real-time 3D graphics.
For Bibigo—already a global partner of the Lakers with its logo displayed on the team’s jersey—the move represents an expansion from static branding into dynamic content. “This isn’t about putting a logo where people see it; it’s about putting the brand where people feel it,” said a marketing executive familiar with the strategy. “Immersive tech turns viewers into participants, and that’s where emotional connections are built.”
The technical specs underscore the ambition. Streams will deliver ultra-high-definition video at up to 150 Mbps, with seven independent camera angles and audio that captures everything from sneaker squeaks to bench chatter. Coverage will continue through timeouts and halftime, offering behind-the-scenes access that traditional broadcasts omit.
The service will first launch in Southern California, Hawaii and parts of Nevada before rolling out across the U.S. Replays and highlights will be available from Jan. 11 in key international markets including South Korea, Japan and Singapore—regions where the NBA and the Lakers maintain fervent fan bases.
Analysts see the investment as a calculated effort to elevate Bibigo’s profile in the crowded U.S. food market and beyond. “Simply being on a jersey is table stakes now,” said Lee Mi-kyung, a brand strategist at Seoul-based firm Impact Plus. “What CJ is doing is claiming a role within the content itself. In an immersive environment, the brand becomes part of the memory of the game, not just a visual cue.”
CJ CheilJedang has viewed its Lakers partnership as a cornerstone of its North American growth strategy since 2021. The alliance has provided visibility, but the leap into immersive broadcasting aims to foster deeper engagement, particularly among younger, tech-oriented consumers who represent the next wave of buying power.
The Lakers, with their global legacy and star-powered history, offer a potent platform for such experimentation. For Bibigo, the goal is to be associated not merely with basketball, but with innovation—a positioning that could pay dividends as extended reality hardware becomes more mainstream.
“The NBA has always been early to adopt media innovations, from cable TV to social media,” noted sports business analyst David Carter. “Brands that get in on the ground floor of these shifts don’t just buy reach; they build relevance. CJ is effectively future-proofing its marketing playbook.”
As the lines between sports, technology and lifestyle continue to blur, CJ’s playbook suggests a broader lesson: in the race for consumer attention, the best seat in the house may soon be inside the headset.
