Superstar Marketing Icon Lebron James
Not sure how many of you guys watch the NBA, or any level of basketball for that matter be it high school or college, but last night on November 25, 2008, the world bore WITNESS to a true phenom…..not only because of his spectacular playing ability whom some say make him the next heir apparent to Michael Jordan, maybe better than Kobe…….but also because of the high grade marketing approach put behind this one man whom refers to himself as The Chosen One.
Lets keep in mind that this guy has the entire sports world talking about what he may or may not do in two years time instead of what he’s doing right now as he is eligible to become a free agent in 2010 and the entire league will then be trying to vie for his services. This is a man who definitely knows how to play into the hype of the situation, giving no real indication as to what he will do when 2010 comes along, whether he will stay where he is or go to another team. He has all the reporters hanging on his every word, just begging for a little bit of concrete confirmation.
He signed up with Nike to produce his shoes over the length of his career, and these are the guys that helped make Jordan a global icon with all their super savvy and cunning marketing along with the aid of their long time collaborating Ad Agency Weiden + Kennedy.
Due to the fact that he now has a new shoe coming out and he was coming to play last night in the biggest market in the world, they took every advantage of the opportunity to put their boy out there for EVERYONE to see if they weren’t going to see already, as they made a special batch of kix for the King, an all red concoction, nicknamed the Lebron VI “red apple” edition.
Me personally, I think they are kinda ugly and I coulda made a better shoe (wink for those that really know me), but anyway…the impact that these shoes left on the game is rather undeniable, as they stole the show rather than he did with his play as the Cavs blew the knicks out and the game was well in hand by halftime. The bench whipped the Knicks, not even the starters. A laughable game to say the least.
Nike painted the town red so to speak as they took out like a 100ft ad in midtown to promote the new Lebron shoe, and took care of all the hot dog vendors in town and asked them to give away free hot dogs on Nike’s tab of course, while wearing red aprons that bore white letters that said “WITNESS”.
I guess we really are all witnesses and can’t help but be anything but when you see marketing and promotions taken to this level. All aspiring marketers should take heed and see how this example of marketing could maybe help you in your business.
