ION, a TV network known for its crime and justice procedural programming, recently underwent a rebrand, that not only updated its color palette and key art, but also added a slate of women’s sports. What started with broadcasting WNBA games has grown to include the NWSL, accessible to fans without a paywall. To reintroduce ION as a robust entertainment network and continue building its community of sports fans, the brand staged a multipronged campaign that kicked off at Advertising Week New York last month with a panel that featured WNBA legend Sue Bird and executives from the WNBA and NWSL, as well as OOH that promoted its women’s sports programming.

Continuing the momentum, ION popped up in Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall in New York City on Oct. 24 with a Fan ConnectION activation made up of four different vignettes. Highlighting the WNBA, a photo op gave attendees the chance to step in front of a hardwood basketball court backdrop and position their hands under rotating basketballs anchored to the wall to create that iconic spinning-basketball-on-the-finger pose. Attendees could also test their basketball knowledge with trivia games and take photos with life-size images of WNBA stars Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

The next vignette was an NWSL-branded “Take Your Shot” soccer field. Enclosed in netting, the condensed field gave attendees enough space to kick a soccer ball into a goal, which was captured on a video that featured the participant’s chosen NWSL team. Fans who kicked the ball into the net received a video of a goal, while those who missed received a video of a goalkeeper save. In the morning, Sue Bird and former pro soccer star Megan Rapinoe visited the activation for fan meet-and-greets and a panel to discuss their career journeys and the explosive growth of women’s sports.

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“We wanted to make sure that the activation felt very lively and that we had video running everywhere since we’re a content network,” says Sherry Pitkofsky, vp-brand strategy and marketing at The E.W. Scripps Company, ION’s parent company. “What I loved about the Grand Central space was that we had a ton of branding throughout, like the big arcs on the wall and the boards around the entire rotunda.”