The King is gone - Branding lessons learned by the LeBron fiasco
Image by Nike
Like most of the universe, I was glued to the LeBron James announcement that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. The decision to move to South Beach was about the only thing that didn't bother me about how the situation was handled. In my opinion, the spectacle of the entire process culminating with the 1 hour Bachelor-esque production last night has permanently damaged the LeBron brand. I think there are lessons to be learned here that can be applied to all marketing and public relations decisions. So what went wrong?
Know your audience - LeBron's camp completely misunderstood how fans and media would react to the proceedings of the announcement. Obviously, Cleveland was going to be upset to some extent, but I think it runs much deeper than just Cleveland or the other spurred cities. I think in Team LeBrons' minds the fact they had teams crawling over each other to get LeBron and an hour on ESPN to do the announcement was a public relations goldmine. They had a huge captive audience watching their guy on TV, that's good, right? Nope.
Because LeBron represents more than just a basketball player he has to consider his image in whatever decisions he makes. His image is the most valuable aspect of him as a brand. His stringing along franchises and self-aggrandizing via his TV show are going to taint that image significantly. The whole process makes LeBron look like he just wanted all the attention. There was no humility or even humanity to the process or the announcement. Just came off as cold and calculating. Again, his decision to go to Miami is not a big deal but the way he did it makes him look like a villain. Its hard to say for sure but do you think Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird or even Kobe Bryant would do it this way? Hell no. They understand that public perception is a big deal.
Just call up whomever you are signing with, let them announce it. Do some interviews afterwards. Put some full page ads in the papers to the cities you didn't chose thanking them for their interest and explaining your decision and move on. Why make this into a circus that paints you as an mega-narcissist?
I would wager most sports fans that were watching were turned off by the whole thing and now look at LeBron in a negative light. The common disdain for professional athletes is that they don't care about the fans, the game, the city, etc and only about themselves. This just reinforces that attitude. Yes, we were all watching. But just because we were all watching, doesn't mean we like what we saw. Punching Cleveland in the gut on national television alienates more than Cleveland fans, trust me.
Show humility - The general population likes to see its superstars and corporations show some sense of humility or even remorse when situations arise.There is likely some psychological reasoning that these stars/corporations owe their good fortune to the little people (such as customers and fans). I don't necessarily think athletes owe anybody anything, after all this is a business, but to do something like this without thinking it would be a problem is naive at best, insanely stupid at worst. While this event wasn't to combat a crisis (a la Tiger Woods), appearing on TV with a painfully inept Jim Gray to announce the decision is the work of someone who thinks they are above the sport. There was nothing humble about it.
Brand consistency - I lied. The decision to go to Miami does bother me, but not because of the location or the change of scenery, but what it says about LeBron. Essentially, he is deferring. Since his debut in the league, LeBron was 'the chosen one'. The player that was going to be the next Magic, the next Jordan, the next great. Championships definitely elevate a player into the conversation of greatness, but I also think how someone does it needs to be factored in.
Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant would have never made this decision because they have the desire to be the Alpha Dog, to take the challenge to become a champion. Going to Miami is the easy way out. Instead of building from the ground up and working towards a championship through grit and determination, he joins 2 other superb players. If they win a championship, critics and fans will point out that it wasn't LeBron's team that did it, but rather a 'purchased' championship. That distinction ultimately tarnishes his image as a champion and as a competitor, instead painting him as a piece of a championship not the architect. I don't think the way LeBron has been marketed since day one is consistent with his decision to go to Miami. It's going to feel manufactured. On the other hand, if they don't win, he'll be looked upon as a huge failure.
What went right? I think his wanting championships is fine, he expressed that many times. I sincerely think he does want to win. Fans understand the desire to win, wherever that happens to be. Again its the process and spectacle that is at fault, not the decision (though I think Chicago would have been the best option).
How not to handle a situation - So if LeBron handled the situation poorly, the Cleveland Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert, takes it to a whole new level. That is a PR nightmare. Read it here. Its a complete disaster. While he may feel betrayed and hurt by all of this, he needs to take the high road. He comes off looking like a jilted lover instead of a business leader. Plus, his image is going to be forever tainted which will inhibit getting free agents to sign in the future. What player wants to be ripped like that every time they decide to leave for greener pastures? This is America right? We are free to work where we want. He needs to respect that and move on. Publicly spewing venom isn't going to help anyone.
Just think....only 5 more years til we can do this all over again!
Comments
Interesting: and Jim is this the first time ESPN has given an hour to a guy who was about to announce his pick?
Dan - ESPN does have announcement broadcasts from time to time as recruits pick colleges, but nothing to this scale. Most of them are a lot more subdued and not in primetime with 25% of the country watching. From a viewership perspective, this was a homerun. ESPN had massive ratings. A ton of people watched but from a public perception of LeBron I think it was a trainwreck.
Well said, Jim! This whole episode has been such a bummer...disillusions me the same way Tiger's crap has, even though the circumstances are different. In both cases, I thought these supremely gifted athletes had some core character that transcended hype and celebrity. But they both turned out to just be young guys who couldn't resist the siren song. Don't know why I'm surprised. And hell, by watching and caring so much about the gossip and spectacle, I guess I'm partly to blame.
Great job on this, however it wasn't that he left Cleveland it was the way he did it. What did Cleveland do to make him leave them in the cold? Why did he leave this team paralized from making any trades or getting any players? What a joke this whole thing was.
I have been listening and watching and trying to figure it out. Dragging all the teams along! I thought we have the Harlem Globe Trotters to watch for fun. I want to watch hard playing basketball. Good almost even teams battle it out. I love the close games win or lose. I think these clowns should watch out for what is behind them. Good players, great players are working hard and are right behind them. That's what I always told my kids when they were playing.
LeBron looks bad, but I think Dan Gilbert looks worse from a PR perspective. You're right, he should have taken the high road -- he had time to prepare for one of just two outcomes, yet his letter comes across as unhinged, frankly a little hypocritical: karlsakas.com
Loved the blog, Jim.
It looks like they took Dan Gilbert's linked article/letter down.
Too bad, I love reading venomous rants.
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