07/13/2010 09:54:35 AM 
(1) 
(1) Just like these agents in Entourage.
It's an easy thing to do, in an age where breakthrough is everything, look for a broadcasting first and the ability to get millions of eyeballs (just over 9 million to be exact) on your athlete, is a very tempting proposition. The problem with this school of thought, is that it's purely based on the awareness argument-"If we do this, we will get noticed".
So much of US marketing believes in this theory and its potentially damaging, here's why. People don't care half as much about your brand as you do and if your self-importance shows through they switch off and start slamming you and your over-inflated ego. LeBron's marketing men might have been slightly concerned about this potential problem, hence their decision to use the Boys and Girls Club to try and get some balance, but that could do little to rectify the problem.
New York Magazine summed the problem up perfectly.
"That trust felt broken tonight. Not because LeBron James went to the Heat, even though he referred to his destination as "South Beach," not "the Miami Heat and their fans." Not because LeBron James didn't go to the Knicks, even though of all the cities he mentioned enjoying during this free agent "courtship," New York was the one he omitted. Not even because LeBron was so, so cruel to Cleveland, not once thanking the fans who made him into what he was, the fans who have to wonder if their absurd investment in their sports franchises will ever be rewarded. No, tonight, it felt like everyone involved — LeBron, ESPN, Bing, the University of Phoenix, Stuart Scott, the man who once chastised fans for having the audacity to boo. Jim freaking Gray — treated the millions of people watching like stupid, mindless consumers, empty lemmings ready to follow Sport into the abyss. Here, here are the Boys & Girls Club props. Here, here is your search engine. Here, here is your online college, Here, here is your Athletic Hero. Eat. Eat. Consume. You like it. You love it. You'll always come back for more."
Breakthrough is everything these days and the temptation to push and stretch the limits to achieve this is all too real. However, we've all got to take responsibility and try to work out ahead of time what our effort will do to the perception of the brand, not just its awareness.
LeBron's marketing men need to get their hands on some data on current American attitudes and discover that humbleness and humility are "in", if they had done that ahead of time, they might not be looking at the PR disaster they now face.
The secret for all brands moving forward is find interesting ways to get noticed, but to do it like you never expected it happen, don't force it or try to control it, the crowd will decide if it's cool and then reward you for it.
Posted by Ed Cotton
It appears you don't have Flash installed.
Ed, you've touched on two really great points. One, "personal branding" is risible. People aren?t experiences. We experience. People aren?t work. We work. And people aren?t results. People aren?t products. People aren?t services. We make, and yes, brand those things. Branding people destroys trust. Especially in our social and connected world. Second, the single most important question to ask and answer when building and managing a brand is "Why does it matter?" It doesn't matter two wits that LeBron is great. It matters that he'll do great things for us (fans, buyers of shoes, whatever). Your statement "If we do this, we will get noticed" puts the teeth right on the bone. Getting noticed isn't enough. Not even close. Great post. Best wrap up of the LeBron situation I've seen. (By the way, am I the only who?s wife is flummoxed that I even care about this? I try to explain the voyeuristic appeal based on brand/pr/communications, but I think she remains slightly disgusted with me. :) )