Kori Ellis
12-07-2004, 10:55 AM
Bad image could cost NBA big bucks
By DEBBIE ARRINGTON
December 7, 2004
http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/basketball/article/0,2541,TCP_1190_3381042,00.html
If image is everything, the NBA might need a change of face. Goodbye, bad boys. Hello, Mr. Nice Guys.
In the continuing fallout after the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons brouhaha, marketing experts foresee some necessary transitions that will smooth the strained relationship between the league and its fans.
Such moves are not only crucial to keeping ticket buyers happy, but to maintain sponsors since it's the advertisers who make the $3.5 billion NBA world go 'round.
"The reach of this incident has been unbelievable," said Robert Tuchman, president of marketing powerhouse TSE Sports & Entertainment. "It's everywhere, from the talk shows to 'Meet the Press.' I've never seen something like this happen to this degree."
Tuchman's company represents more than 100 Fortune 500 companies, including several who regularly use NBA talent as endorsers and advertise on league games. Among his high-profile clients are Anheuser-Busch, Gatorade, Coors, Miller Brewing, Red Bull, General Motors, Ford, Toyota and American Express.
Many sponsors are thinking of switching to retired stars such as Larry Bird, Bill Walton or Michael Jordan to keep the NBA link but distance themselves from current controversies.
"We are seeing more and more former NBA Hall of Fame players in demand for athlete appearances and sponsorships because they have clean images and are associated with the glory days of the NBA," Tuchman said. "Corporations are investing in these athletes, allowing them to become the face and voice of their product. They want to ensure that the image they are investing in is the one that they want to portray to the public.
"It's a knee-jerk reaction, but it's the smart play right now," he added.
Although the Nov. 19 incident involved just two teams, the whole league got a black eye.
"They've got work to do," said Peter Roby, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston. "All the teams have to reach out to their communities. It's going to have to be something more sustained than a few public appearances. Just as important, the players have got to get together and decide how they'll help heal the wounds."
While doling out tough punishment (suspensions of nine players for a combined 143 games and $11 million in lost salary), NBA Commissioner David Stern earned universal plaudits from sponsors and marketing experts for his swift actions.
Just as important as the no-nonsense suspensions were Stern's follow-up phone calls and reassuring e-mails to major advertisers.
The NBA's roster of sponsors includes several heavy hitters, such as General Motors, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Nike, Anheuser-Busch and AOL. They support Stern's swift actions and, for the moment, will stick with the league.
"No sponsor can condone the irresponsible actions by these individuals that took place on (Nov. 19), but we were pleased to see the NBA take action," Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch's vice president of global media and sports marketing, said in a prepared statement supporting Stern. "We can't let the actions of an irresponsible few cloud the fact that the vast majority of players and fans are responsible."
Nationally, sponsors have been burned in the past by players who once looked like ideal spokesmen but whose images have been significantly tarnished. Some companies are still paying players they have no intention of using as endorsers of their products.
For example, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant reportedly will receive more than $12 million this year from McDonald's, Nike, Sprite and other advertisers, although his image has been dropped from their commercials. Although Bryant no longer faces rape charges in Colorado, he's still a personality non grata.
Players collect anywhere from $25,000 for appearance fees to more than $100 million for multiyear endorsements, with LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal the highest-paid. Expect to see more and stricter morals clauses in future contracts.
"If that language wasn't already there, it is now," Tuchman said.
Sponsors might switch their allegiances from individuals to whole teams. According to marketers, the teams with the best overall images are the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle SuperSonics and Kings.
"Sacramento obviously is a team with a pretty good image," Tuchman said. "They have some good opportunities to market themselves as a team."
The Kings already do that with great success. Their formula: Focus on the fans.
"Since the Maloof family came on board, they've really built the Kings brand on our experience that makes fans part of the team and vice versa," Brown said. "They're so interconnected; that really makes the Arco Arena experience for fans very special."
Maloof Sports and Entertainment also concentrates on community service, a necessary factor in building a strong local bond. Its efforts earned the company the Pro Team Award last year from the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame for the best community service program of any team in professional sports, Brown said.
But one more incident anywhere in the NBA could be enough to put national sponsors and fans over the edge.
"This (fight) wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back, but it was close," Tuchman said. "We won't know the full extent of the damage for some time. It could take six, seven months for things to get back to normal. By then, it will be the playoffs.
"But there won't be many companies that pull off the NBA," he added. "The league has become way too powerful a marketing vehicle. And the players are way too powerful, too."
Some indicators are that fans will still support their teams, regardless of any pending arrests. The Indiana Pacers - minus Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and other suspended players - have actually seen their attendance increase for the four home games since the incident.
In a post-fight marketing survey by Blue Fusion, 70 percent of teens said they would still buy jerseys of Artest and Detroit's Ben Wallace, who delivered the first shove in the melee.
But to keep such an incident from happening again, the everyday fans and millionaire players need to relocate their common bond.
"Part of this reflects the growing chasm between fans and athletes because of economics," Roby explained. "Players used to live in the same communities as fans. Their kids went to the same schools. They shopped at the same supermarkets. Now, neither player nor fan can relate to each other. Players have become viewed as commodities."
Many players' bad-boy, hip-hop image - so embraced by the media and advertisers - further widened the cultural divide.
"I know I was guilty of that same stuff at Reebok," said Roby, who worked for the shoe company for 10 years before joining Northeastern's sports center. "We celebrated Allen Iverson as a cultural icon."
The best thing players can do right now: Be nice. Reach out to fans before and after games. Shake hands. Sign autographs for free. Show folks that players really are people, too.
Said Roby: "Players need to take that responsibility. Relationships take work, and they've really got a lot of work to do."
By DEBBIE ARRINGTON
December 7, 2004
http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/basketball/article/0,2541,TCP_1190_3381042,00.html
If image is everything, the NBA might need a change of face. Goodbye, bad boys. Hello, Mr. Nice Guys.
In the continuing fallout after the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons brouhaha, marketing experts foresee some necessary transitions that will smooth the strained relationship between the league and its fans.
Such moves are not only crucial to keeping ticket buyers happy, but to maintain sponsors since it's the advertisers who make the $3.5 billion NBA world go 'round.
"The reach of this incident has been unbelievable," said Robert Tuchman, president of marketing powerhouse TSE Sports & Entertainment. "It's everywhere, from the talk shows to 'Meet the Press.' I've never seen something like this happen to this degree."
Tuchman's company represents more than 100 Fortune 500 companies, including several who regularly use NBA talent as endorsers and advertise on league games. Among his high-profile clients are Anheuser-Busch, Gatorade, Coors, Miller Brewing, Red Bull, General Motors, Ford, Toyota and American Express.
Many sponsors are thinking of switching to retired stars such as Larry Bird, Bill Walton or Michael Jordan to keep the NBA link but distance themselves from current controversies.
"We are seeing more and more former NBA Hall of Fame players in demand for athlete appearances and sponsorships because they have clean images and are associated with the glory days of the NBA," Tuchman said. "Corporations are investing in these athletes, allowing them to become the face and voice of their product. They want to ensure that the image they are investing in is the one that they want to portray to the public.
"It's a knee-jerk reaction, but it's the smart play right now," he added.
Although the Nov. 19 incident involved just two teams, the whole league got a black eye.
"They've got work to do," said Peter Roby, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston. "All the teams have to reach out to their communities. It's going to have to be something more sustained than a few public appearances. Just as important, the players have got to get together and decide how they'll help heal the wounds."
While doling out tough punishment (suspensions of nine players for a combined 143 games and $11 million in lost salary), NBA Commissioner David Stern earned universal plaudits from sponsors and marketing experts for his swift actions.
Just as important as the no-nonsense suspensions were Stern's follow-up phone calls and reassuring e-mails to major advertisers.
The NBA's roster of sponsors includes several heavy hitters, such as General Motors, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Nike, Anheuser-Busch and AOL. They support Stern's swift actions and, for the moment, will stick with the league.
"No sponsor can condone the irresponsible actions by these individuals that took place on (Nov. 19), but we were pleased to see the NBA take action," Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch's vice president of global media and sports marketing, said in a prepared statement supporting Stern. "We can't let the actions of an irresponsible few cloud the fact that the vast majority of players and fans are responsible."
Nationally, sponsors have been burned in the past by players who once looked like ideal spokesmen but whose images have been significantly tarnished. Some companies are still paying players they have no intention of using as endorsers of their products.
For example, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant reportedly will receive more than $12 million this year from McDonald's, Nike, Sprite and other advertisers, although his image has been dropped from their commercials. Although Bryant no longer faces rape charges in Colorado, he's still a personality non grata.
Players collect anywhere from $25,000 for appearance fees to more than $100 million for multiyear endorsements, with LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal the highest-paid. Expect to see more and stricter morals clauses in future contracts.
"If that language wasn't already there, it is now," Tuchman said.
Sponsors might switch their allegiances from individuals to whole teams. According to marketers, the teams with the best overall images are the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle SuperSonics and Kings.
"Sacramento obviously is a team with a pretty good image," Tuchman said. "They have some good opportunities to market themselves as a team."
The Kings already do that with great success. Their formula: Focus on the fans.
"Since the Maloof family came on board, they've really built the Kings brand on our experience that makes fans part of the team and vice versa," Brown said. "They're so interconnected; that really makes the Arco Arena experience for fans very special."
Maloof Sports and Entertainment also concentrates on community service, a necessary factor in building a strong local bond. Its efforts earned the company the Pro Team Award last year from the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame for the best community service program of any team in professional sports, Brown said.
But one more incident anywhere in the NBA could be enough to put national sponsors and fans over the edge.
"This (fight) wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back, but it was close," Tuchman said. "We won't know the full extent of the damage for some time. It could take six, seven months for things to get back to normal. By then, it will be the playoffs.
"But there won't be many companies that pull off the NBA," he added. "The league has become way too powerful a marketing vehicle. And the players are way too powerful, too."
Some indicators are that fans will still support their teams, regardless of any pending arrests. The Indiana Pacers - minus Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and other suspended players - have actually seen their attendance increase for the four home games since the incident.
In a post-fight marketing survey by Blue Fusion, 70 percent of teens said they would still buy jerseys of Artest and Detroit's Ben Wallace, who delivered the first shove in the melee.
But to keep such an incident from happening again, the everyday fans and millionaire players need to relocate their common bond.
"Part of this reflects the growing chasm between fans and athletes because of economics," Roby explained. "Players used to live in the same communities as fans. Their kids went to the same schools. They shopped at the same supermarkets. Now, neither player nor fan can relate to each other. Players have become viewed as commodities."
Many players' bad-boy, hip-hop image - so embraced by the media and advertisers - further widened the cultural divide.
"I know I was guilty of that same stuff at Reebok," said Roby, who worked for the shoe company for 10 years before joining Northeastern's sports center. "We celebrated Allen Iverson as a cultural icon."
The best thing players can do right now: Be nice. Reach out to fans before and after games. Shake hands. Sign autographs for free. Show folks that players really are people, too.
Said Roby: "Players need to take that responsibility. Relationships take work, and they've really got a lot of work to do."