Even in a challenged economy, the ability to find creative ways to grow and enhance your brand exists, and recent proof is again provided by the NBA and its teams. This week, Henry Abbott on ESPN.com gave the Trailblazers props for their annual fun all-star pitch for their guys (this time LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy) with a package of “stuff” sent to key media. While many teams and some select athletes have taken to the digital play to garner votes (here is the YouTube piece with the Nets’ Devin Harris playing off the shoe throwing incident with President Bush) the combination of digital and a good old- fashioned props pack to media is still a great play. Now in the digital world how many votes will Portland's pack bring i.? The answer is who know.it gives added fodder for beat writers to think about writing about these guys and the team when they may not remember to, it shows the athletes that the team is making the effort to support them in many ways, it gives the fans water cooler talk and it helps show business partners that the team is just not sitting still to promote even in a chellenged economy. As colleges and other leagues cut back on promotion, once again the NBA shows that the little investment in the “little things” goes a long way to build brand and confidence. Great example that others on all levels should emulate, as creativity doesn’t usually need a big dollar spend to be effective.
Some other good reads….Brian Gainor in his Partnership Activation blog takes a fun look at the expansion of the ever-popula.Lakers/Taco Bell free taco promo…Darren Rovell's cnbc blog has a good look at Kobe Bryant's signing with the chinces website sina.com…and the Boston Globe's Bob Ryan has a great piece on how Wake Forest's hoops program continues on with the legacy of late coach Skip Prosser intact…?
