"Will a Ring Finally Turn LeBron Into Michael Jordan of Marketing?"

From Advertising Age

Review by Mandy Adkins in KIN 501

In the article “Will a Ring Finally Turn LeBron Into Michael Jordan of Marketing?” by Rich Thomaselli (2012), the author explains how LeBron James winning his first NBA title has earned him great exposure in the marketing world. 

After LeBron lead the Miami Heat to a 15 point win over Oklahoma City Nike quickly put out a sixty second commercial showing a jeweler creating a championship ring for LeBron. The previous two years have been tough for Lebron due to his decision to leave Cleveland as a free agent to join Miami, as well as his poor performance in the 2011 finals. The decision to leave Cleveland paired with the unimpressive first year with Miami resulted in a low number of endorsements for the celebrity player who people believed would become the next Michael Jordan (on the court and in terms of excessive endorsement deals).

Fortunately for LeBron this year was a successful one. He was named Most Valuable Player and is now viewed as a winner, which is a desirable trait for any company looking for someone to endorse their product. This past year LeBron was making $30 million in endorsement deals. His major endorsements included McDonalds, Sprite, Vitamin Water, and Sheets Energy strips. However, he only appeared in ads during the NBA finals for State Farm and Nike. At the time the article was written, the belief was that other marketing partners of LeBron’s were holding off and putting more effort into marketing during the upcoming Olympics. Another belief was that marketing partners were hesitant to go all in during the finals due to the risk of LeBron losing a second consecutive NBA Championship.

Now that the final game has been won and LeBron is a ‘winner’, companies have a lot more opportunity for how they decide to brand LeBron. Sports marketing experts believe that LeBron could make an additional 30% to 40% on top of his current $30 million dollars in endorsements. LeBron also has great potential to gain increased exposure in the international market place. His Miami Heat jersey was the number three seller outside of the United States at the time the article was written.

All in all, LeBron’s NBA Championship win has cast him into the top levels of the marketing and endorsement world, creating an avenue for him to potentially become the Michael Jordan of marketing.

A critique of the article is that the author discusses LeBron becoming the next ‘Michael Jordan of marketing’ (even in going as far as making this the title), but does not discuss any details regarding Michael Jordan in the world of marketing. Clearly Michael Jordan is a very well known individual, but not everyone is knowledgeable on just how big Michael Jordan is in terms of NBA basketball and marketing products. The way the article is written assumes that everyone reading it knows what is meant by ‘LeBron becoming the next Michael Jordan’.

The concept of the sixty second commercial spot that was put out shortly after LeBron won the NBA final game was an excellent marketing move and increased the awareness of LeBron as finally a winner. I agree with the critics that this win has given him the potential to excel in terms of endorsements and product marketing.