Branding

Hey everyone,

I just want to take a little time to talk about our three Twitter campaigns and the branding that each of them are attached to. What even is a brand, you might ask. While you can think of it as a sort of trademark, its' main purpose it really to distinguish an individual, product, company or organization apart from the rest of their respective playing field.

The easiest and most obvious example to start with is the Chicago Bulls. In the 70s and 80s, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, were essentially annual fixtures in the NBA Finals. Basketball fans from not only the United States, but all over the world were split between the two archrivals. When two individuals would talk basketball, the question wasn't "which team do you support?” it was, "Lakers or Celtics?" Whereas the Boston Celtics, with their Irish themed logo branded themselves as the popular choice among blue-collar, Catholic fans at home and abroad in countries such as Ireland and Britain, the Lakers and their Muslim star player Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, were the overwhelming favorite in the Middle East. The Celtics spread their image through its’ Irish heritage, while one way the Lakers were able to do it was through an individual player; two great examples of branding. One thing for certain however, was the fact that their success on the court led these two teams to be dominant organizations of their era. That all changed with the arrival of a guy named Michael Jordan. When "His Airness" came to Chicago, he immediately elevated the Bulls from a once mediocre franchise, to a globally iconic team. His style of play aroused fans from all over to tune in to Chicago Bulls and six NBA championships also helped. Basically, MJ was the Chicago Bulls, as the Chicago Bulls were MJ. Just as Jordan shoes became the holy grail of sneakers for every basketball fan and player around the world, so too became the Chicago Bulls logo. Due to Michael Jordan and Bulls' success in the 90s, the Bulls logo could be seen on t-shirts, caps and jackets all around the world; from the streets of Chicago to villages in Africa. Not only did Michael Jordan have an impact on the basketball aspect of the Chicago Bulls, his brand name also gave the Bulls a financial reward as well. When Bulls owner purchased the team in 1986, they were worth a mere 16 million dollars. Thanks to Michael Jordan they are now worth close to 1 billion. The Chicago Bulls wouldn't even be close to where they stand today if it wasn't for Jordan’s brand, and they know it too. What MJ's image did for the team is a prime example of how powerful a brand can be. 

The other two individuals that I have been keeping up with, Nick Friedell and Jason Patt also have a certain brand attached to them, but it is pretty straightforward. What distinguishes Nick Friedell from Jason Patt is also what distinguishes Jason Patt from Nick Friedell. Sound weird? Let me explain. Nick Friedell's writings are branded on being more professional as he is pegged as an "expert" on the Bulls. After all, he does write for the paramount sports network, ESPN. Yet if you ask anyone who knows the two, they wouldn't say that Friedell is any more of an expert than Patt. Patt is branded as a "Twitter guy", someone who gives a fan's perspective, but wouldn't be called upon to give expertise on a TV or Radio station. I guess you could say that he has less of a brand name than Friedell, but he nonetheless is unique because he is a fan writing for the fans, whereas Friedell is an employee writing for a company who edits his work and distributes it to other companies and yada, yada, yada. 

All three of our twitter campaigns specialize in different aspects of basketball. It is how and what they specialize in that gives them their branding. So far, I've enjoyed seeing a wide array of brands that pertain to the Bulls. Let's see how they develop as the season goes on.

Matt