Building A Brand For An NBA Superstar
A podcast chat with High Tea Hoops
Right now, I’m lucky enough to be working with a superstar athlete in the NBA to build his brand, kickstart his fandom and to explore how a basketball team can evolve into a multifaceted entertainment franchise.
I am learning a lot and having SO much fun in the process.
But this isn’t something that only this particular NBA player should be spending time and energy on, it’s of critical importance for all athletes (and celebrities).
In a recent study released by Morning Consult, it was revealed that just 53% of Gen Zers identify as sports fans, compared to 63% of all adults and 69% of millennials.
That’s scary.
It means that young people are dropping out of the sports complex, they’re less interested in watching live games, in following teams, in buying tickets or in supporting the growth of the leagues.
That’s a commercial disaster waiting to happen.
But there’s one saving grace - their love of individual athletes.
Rather than teams, they’re now gravitating towards individuals.
They want access to them as athletes and as people.
They want to know what they’re into, what they spend their time off-court doing, what games they play, what music they listen to, what sneakers they wear, what movies they’re watching…
And sports bodies like the NBA are waking up to this shift.
They understand that in order to bring young people into the game, they need to build the brands of the players, rather than the teams. They need to focus on fan-to-athlete connection, in order to peak the interest of these audiences.
And so, they’re hiring people like me to make it happen.
I recently sat down with the awesome duo behind High Tea Hoops to delve into all of this; what’s happening, why we need to pay attention, the young athletes who are doing it well, how I go about building an athlete brand and why, for them, investing in themselves above and beyond the game, could equal huge commercial opportunities over time.
Check it out: