the elevator pitch

talking to the top

LeBron James Gets Posterized By College Sophomore

Published July 8th, 2009 in News Hits, Sports and Public Relations | No Comments »

jordancrawford

In breaking news from last evening it seems that LeBron “King” James has made a bit of a bone-headed move. During a pick-up game of basketball at LeBron’s own Skills Camp, the King himself was made the jester when Xavier University sophomore (and Indiana transfer) Jordan Crawford threw down a highlight-reel dunk right in the face of Nike basketball. Although people were shocked at the possibility of a college sophomore throwing down something vicious on LeBron, the news actually stems from the aftermath. Apparently the entire play was caught on tape by a few cameras. Knowing this, LeBron apparently whispered something in the ear of a Nike representative at the camp and all of a sudden the tapes and images disappeared. Cameramen were asked to hand over their footage of the event and it seems as though it was all orchestrated by LeBron himself.

Lets be honest here, everyone gets dunked on – even The King. Had he just let the play stay public people would post the video on their blogs, talk about it for a few days then forget about it within a matter of weeks. Now, because LeBron apparently asked Nike officials to confiscate the footage, it looks as though the young King of the NBA is showing his age. This is all mere speculation, but if there is any truth to the matter, The King could be made out to be an immature brat looking to preserve his image by any means necessary…

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Marketing With the NBA Finals

Published June 8th, 2009 in PR News, Sports and Public Relations | No Comments »

Sporting events call for high global exposure. Each high-profile professional league, be it the Champions League, the UFC or in this case the NBA, looks for angles to play and ways to draw the audience beyond the actual event happening right before their eyes. As avid sports fans here at the Elevator Pitch, we’ve noticed some of the interesting tactics the NBA has been using throughout this year’s playoffs. In a joint effort with TNT, ESPN and ABC, the NBA has been on a basketball marketing rampage of late pushing everything from G (formerly known as Gatorade) to video games. This is a great way to show the potential of cross market promotion with regards to major events.

Here are some companies that are taking full advantage of the NBA Playoffs and how their campaigns are targeting the correct audiences:

G (Formerly Gatorade) went through a slight rebrand earlier this year. Instead of using the infamous Gatorade, the sports drink shortened their title simply to G. In doing so they decided to showcase all of the athletes / driven people they endorse and they’ve been using the NBA Playoffs as a place to show off their roster.

Nike – In a Jim Henson inspired concept, Nike created LeBron and Kobe puppets to strengthen their brand. These puppets have become so popular that they are making cameo appearances on Sportscenter. Nike not only knows their audience, they know how to communicate with them and what types of characters are the best fit to do so. If only LeBron made the finals…

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 – This was a bit of an interesting ad to run during the playoffs. It seems game developers Activision also know their audience quite well as they’ve been plugging a game that won’t even hit stores until November. The bottom line is that many NBA fans are at the very least aware of the game franchise, so exposing the latest through a highly watched event is a very keen move.

Video games, sports drinks and athletic shoes aside, the NBA Playoffs are tearing up the sports networks with the sheer drama already instilled. Leave it to companies like Nike, Activision and G to take advantage.

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Marketing the NBA Star as an Everyman

Published November 16th, 2008 in Innovations in PR, PR News, PR Stunts, Sports and Public Relations, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The number of NBA stars utilizing the likes of YouTube and other social media networks is constantly on the rise. This summer, more than a few perennial All-Stars stepped in front of the camera for reasons beyond basketball. With the NBA regular season well into its first month, The Elevator Pitch decided to let you in on how the likes of Steve Nash, Baron Davis and Chris Bosh spent their time away from the court.

Nash – a two-time NBA MVP, leader of the Phoenix Suns, pride of Victoria, British Columbia and now . . . Vitamin Water Poster Boy? According the following three clips, Kid Canada spent this summer grooming himself, signing Shaq’s shoes and sliding through grocery stores.

Steve Nash at the Vitamin Water photo shoot.

Nash visits Vitamin Water HQ.

Nash shares his off-season training regimen.

Davis, the newest face of the LA Clippers, was actually a film major during his brief tenure at UCLA so stepping behind and in front of the camera is nothing new. Baron’s summer saw him move from California to, well, a different part of California in hopes of bringing a new kind of love to Clipperland.

Baron Davis goes to dinner.

Bosh, the most talented basketball player not residing in the U.S., apparently trained for his gold-medal Olympic performance by using martial arts.

Chris Bosh shows off his Iron Claw.

By bringing their own personalities to the forefront, NBA stars like Nash, BD and CB4 are humanizing themselves, rather than promoting the lavish lifestyle associated with being a pro jock. From a marketing perspective, these tactics work brilliantly in not only promoting a product, but promoting a person. Not everyone can be a multi-talented cross-genre media monster (think Shaq – more specifically think Kazaam the Rapping Genie). So using them as Vitamin Water did, as humble, Everyman characters, is effective in creating a connection with the audience. Nice work, guys – now it’s back to business on the court.

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