Sometimes we think about the going’s on and remark, “That’s one for the book” (whenever I get to update it). Then there are the past ten days or so where it’s much more like a whole chapter of learnings falls in place.
Some of it is part of “aha” moments, some comes from the unexpected, all of it is part of the journey with lots of notes to apply as we see fit.
Some notes from the past week, readings and various other things of note.
Is Ellie Becoming the New Gritty? I had heard about the rise of Ellie the Elephant, the mascot of the New York Liberty, and how its unusual appearance in Brooklyn of all places had sparked a bit of buzz. Then came the cover story in Sunday’s Style section of the New York Times. Comedian Fran Lebowitz chiming in on what an elephant is doing in Brooklyn; Ellie twerking on the court; the secrecy of who “Ellie” actually is? All very fun stuff for the Liberty as they look to gain more ground against the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals this week. But away from the court, can Ellie become to a growing areas of fandom what Gritty has achieved in Philadelphia and beyond? While some may say it’s part of a broad marketing plan and the exposure was seen in the Liberty crystal ball, the reality is that Ellie and the persona come from trying things and seeing what catches on. Once it catches on a bit and you see and hear and read the posts and the engagement, you find ways to expand the storytelling. It helps that you have an uber successful team that is getting notice for its talent, it helps that it is an unusual choice with a good storyline, and it helps that the WNBA overall is always looking beyond to cut through the clutter. Great job by the Liberty and the WNBA to find another way off the traditional side.
What’s In a Name? Well, if it’s a hat… Interesting read again from the NY Times over the weekend, where a baseball hat designer found lightning in a bottle by creating hats with simple authors names on them. The followers of these traditional authors chased down the hats to such a level that the site had to be shot down because of potential copyright infringement. It does raise a good question…does Kobe? Actually, own the name Kobe? Can I create a hat that says say “Pat Riley”? Names I would assume are in the public domain…there are lots of Pat Riley’s…but a simple name like “John Grisham” on the bill of a hat suddenly became a thing. It’s not “Coach Prime,” it could be “Deon.” Six months ago, that meant not much in Boulder, Colorado, today it has value. Who owns a generic name might be tough to prove, but a thought starter on what could have value that is not realized yet.
The value of just showing up: Mike Gao was a 6-11 center at Brandeis University who went to a networking event a Brooklyn Nets game at Barclay’s Center. As is the case in every professional sports event, there were a bunch of fan contests filling in the times out during games. Mike, who stood out a bit because of his size, got picked for a shootout on the court. Make the jumper on one and, go to the end and make another. Typical fan stuff which gets a buzz when the fan is able to drop a shot or two. So, what did Mike do? Dribbled down one end and canned a jumper, and then went the opposite way for a tomahawk dunk to thunderous applause and high fives.. Part of young Mike’s moment in time, right? Well, the story starts but doesn’t end there. The Nets, owned by Joe Tsai, have made content sharing on Chinese social media sites a priority, and Mike, being Chinese and dunking a basketball after walking out of the stands, seemed to have the goods to strike some social gold…and he did. The video has been viewed over 235 million times in China. Not bad. Wait there is more. That and some other experiences helped him get an internship w NBA China’s social team where he will be covering and sharing content from around the league this winter. All about showing up.
Protests and Reactions: Last Thursday as I left class in Hamilton Hall at Columbia I literally walked right into heated protests between groups of Palestinian and Israeli supporters. The protests ironically were taking place right in the middle of campus, between buildings named after two media disruptors…Alexander Hamilton (who among other things founded The New York Post), and Pulitzer Hall, the home of Columbia Journalism School named after THAT Pulitzer, media mogul Joseph Pulitzer. Watching the raw emotion unfold by both groups was jarring to see, but it was worthwhile to stand back and try and make sense of the senseless through the voices of those not listening to each other, but yelling to be heard.
That encounter last Thursday led to a series of observations over the past week to our business, and how the nuancing of public statements made by professional sports leagues, teams and athletes played out (Here is a bit of a summary). One thing that was altered as things occurred in real time in the Middle East was how phraseology evolved, and where those messages were originating. Some of the team messages for example were much more targeted in places like New York and Miami vs a city in the Midwest. Some messages reflected ownership more than others, some were more benign. One thing that was noteworthy was a North American stance vs. teams and leagues in other parts of the world. In North America, he statements around events deemed political, even terrorist attacks, seem to happen much more frequently and quicker than in other parts of the world, were perhaps opinions by teams (especially those owned by communities) may not be as robust. There were event several conversations about why teams or leagues make any statements at all. No matter what you say in many cases you are alienating another group. It is an interesting exercise to witness, and to see more importantly, if words lead to actions, as we have seen in recent years with “Take a Knee” and “Black Lives Matter.” Athletes as activists, informed activists, are much more the rule the past half decade or so, so the statements of teams and leagues have to come with lots of listening and inclusion.
Media Rights, Olympics and Such: We saw the Olympic inclusion announcement for the LA 2028 Games, and some may look askance at cricket inclusion for the Games in the United States. One thing not to be overlooked, the value of media rights for Olympic cricket. Worth reading this pieces about how including another stick and ball sport could bring millions to the Olympic coffers. Also some other pieces worth reading about media rights, from the return to free TV in some markets to where streaming may be going.
