Jan 18, 2008
C(B)GC I Like
That's Chris Bosh-Generated Content.
Bosh, for those of you who don't closely follow the NBA, is a forward for the Toronto Raptors and something of a rising star. The NBA All-Star team is chosen by fan balloting, hence the video.
Bosh has cleverly realized that people are brands and that Your Brand Is Not My Friend™ does not apply to sports and entertainment figures-- these are brands that fans very much want to be friends with.
He's also figured out that the most successful sports figure brands are those with distinct personalities: Steve Nash, the cerebral point guard; Peyton and Eli Manning, the slightly goofball nice guy brothers; Derek Jeter, the playboy.
Bosh claims he spent $20 to create this video - the cost of the cowboy hat. It's clever, funny, and reveals a side to him that most fans never see. With close to 400,000 hits on YouTube to date, it seems like a very wise investment on his part. One that may eventually lead to an even more lucrative endorsement contract.
wait, i thought you had to have some talent and ability to get a lucrative sports endorsement. you're telling me all i need is hits on youtube? hell that just made life a lot easier...honey, bring that cigarette lighter closer to my butt? next stop NBA.
ReplyDeleteseriously though, that's a stretch, toad. i don't care how many hits you get on youtube, and how many teenage hearts are in the bleachers crying for your admittance to team XXX because of their friendship with you, you gots to have game.
if he does get a better deal, it won't be because of all the letters pouring in from contented youtube viewers.
which, i hasten to add, is something clients and agencies should really consider before giving that route further thought.
Well umm, actually, I have no quarrels with what you're saying LD.
ReplyDeleteBosh is a talented player with a large fan base. All I was saying is that he's figured out that he's a brand and that the video he did helped flesh out yet another side of that brand, and that it could help to make him more popular than say, another talented forward like Kevin Garnet, to whom he's been compared.
But no way will it help him get more playing time with the Raptors or an undeserved spot on the All-Star team.
Steve Nash - a two-time MVP- has done something in the same vein- releasing his own Nike-branded video on YT that shows another side of him- skateboarding in NYC, playing soccer, etc.,- that appeals to his hard core fans. It's just another way to expand Brand Nash.
personally, i think the "i am a brand" thing should go away. get back to the personality of the sport and the player.
ReplyDeleteyou almost expect to see a ™ or ® or © after their names on screen with a mumbled "any resemblance to..." legal VO in the background.
but then again i feel we try to brand everything overly much as if that's the magic bullet to consumer increase. sure branding is important, but not as important as we make it out to be, IMHO.