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June 23, 2008
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Lingering Concerns Over Criminal Case Harm Kobe's Marketing

Bryant Still Feeling Marketing
Effects From Court Case
Sports marketers during the NBA Playoffs were "questioning whether [Lakers G Kobe] Bryant could counter lingering concerns among casual fans who ... remember the criminal case that engulfed him five years ago," according to Greg Johnson of the L.A. TIMES. Bryant "continues to suffer from public reaction to the criminal case," and Marketing Evaluations Exec VP Henry Schafer said, "Though he rates higher with hard-core sports fans, Bryant still doesn't come off very positively among general consumers." Schafer's research suggests that Bryant is "resonating with one demographic -- teenagers who love winners and buy lots of sports merchandise." Johnson noted Bryant's MVP T-shirt is the "best-selling MVP product ever offered" at the NBA Store in N.Y. and at NBAStore.com. Meanwhile, marketers ahead of the Beijing Games are "scrambling to understand the potential commercial appeal" of Celtics Fs Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and G Ray Allen. SportsMark Management Group CMO Keith Bruce said Pierce's "marketability is going to have an expiration date to it, so I'd argue that he needs to move quick to seize the opportunity" (L.A. TIMES, 6/22).

TWISTED TAGLINE: In Detroit, Chris McCosky notes Garnett in his "over-the-top emotional postgame interview with [ABC's] Michele Tafoya after the Celtics clinched" the NBA championship last week said "Anything's possible." Garnett has been part of adidas' "Impossible is nothing" campaign, and McCosky writes, "Instead of a spontaneous response, Garnett was filming a commercial. And, perhaps as some poetic justice, he flubbed his line" (DETROIT NEWS, 6/23).

INCENTIVE PROGRAM: In Boston, Dave Wedge reported the Massachusetts State Lottery (MSL) has launched an "all-out ticket bonanza, handing out hundreds of thousands in seats to high-demand sporting events, including giving more than a dozen [Massachusetts] bar and store owners freebies" to Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals Game Six last Tuesday. The MSL gave 14 agents a total of 28 tickets to the game, marking the "latest example of an ongoing ticket giveaway blitz." The MSL this year has "handed out more than $340,000 in sports tickets to agents." MSL Communications Dir Dan Rosenfeld said that the "'agent-incentive program' helps rake in millions and is a critical part of the agency's success." The perk is a "reward for top-selling stores and is used to encourage owners to push sports-related games" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/21).

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