The Atlanta Hawks were swept in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are now heading to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007. But don’t be too quick to credit the extraordinary talent of LeBron James for the decisive victory. Rather, put the blame squarely on the Offensive Karma ignited by Hawks owner Bruce Levenson and Hawks general manager Danny Ferry. Thanks to Messrs. Levenson and Ferry, the Hawks couldn’t have beaten LeBron James—or even Kevin James.
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, leaving one to wonder if the Hawks should simply concede the series now. After all, the Offensive Karma sparked by Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson and Hawks general manager Danny Ferry virtually guarantees the team will not win a championship this year. More importantly, nobody wants to watch an NBA Finals featuring the Hawks.
As the NBA season recently marked its All-Star break, the Atlanta Hawks hold a commanding lead in the Southeast Division. Alas, it’s almost guaranteed that the team will not hoist a championship trophy this year—thanks to the Offensive Karma sparked by Bruce Levenson and Danny Ferry. The only way the Hawks could upset the prediction for failure would require other contending teams to outdo the cultural cluelessness—or if the Atlanta franchise hired a Black advertising agency to woo its predominately Black audience. Hey, it makes sense given the fact that Blacks comprise 54 percent of Atlanta’s population.
Adweek reported on the NBA MLK commercial from new NBA AOR Translation. For an MLK advertisement, it’s okay—but not significantly different or better than the standard MLK-Black History Month fare, including last year’s Dream Big commercial starring Miami Heat Forward-Center Chris Bosh. Plus, it’s odd to see clips featuring NBA legend Michael Jordan in this context, as he’s always been neutral on political issues involving equality and civil rights. Of course, it doesn’t help that the progress depicted in the spot is tainted by modern-day cultural cluelessness from Donald Sterling, Bruce Levenson and Danny Ferry. Now, coming up with an MLK-BHM concept incorporating those Three Stooges would demonstrate breakthrough thinking.
Ad of the Day: NBA Celebrates Its History With Audio of Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
Spot is artful and inspiring, but will have its critics
By Andrew McMains
In its first work for the NBA, new lead creative agency Translation uses the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words to powerful effect.
Excerpts from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech serve as the backdrop for images of inclusiveness, as the league celebrates its history of firsts when it comes to breaking down racial and other barriers. Those images begin with Charlie Cooper, the first black NBA player, and end with a “We Are One” sign—a reference to how fans and players responded to racist remarks from former Clippers owner Donald Sterling last year.
In between are still photos and video of the likes of Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Yao Ming and Jason Collins, the first openly gay NBA player.
The ad breaks online today and will extend to TV during the NBA’s slate of games on Monday—Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It’s part of a broader campaign that continues into Black History Month in February and features a mentorship program for students; video vignettes about why Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams is passionate about African American history; and an NBA Inside Stuff piece about a Tuskegee Airman who was the grandfather of Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris.
So, kudos to the league for going well beyond just creating an ad.
That said, while many will find the ad artful and inspiring, don’t expect it to be universally loved. Any commercial use of King’s words—however well intentioned and well timed—is bound to draw criticism. Telecommunications company Alcatel learned this hard lesson in 2001, when it unveiled an ad from Arnold that depicted King making his famous 1963 speech but without the crowd of 250,000 that had amassed to hear it. The brand message was, “Before you can inspire, before you can touch, you must first connect.” Critics, however, recoiled at the blending of history and commerce.
By contrast, the NBA ad—while obviously designed, at least in part, to sell more tickets—feels commemorative and will run on TV for just five weeks. The league obviously got approval from King’s estate to use the audio. And it’s backing up the message of the ad with programs and actions to help the black community.
Nevertheless, some will still find fault with any commercial use of King. Even an ad as graceful as this one.
Advertising Age reported on fresh marketing and advertising being developed for the NBA under recently-hired CMO Pam El. A new campaign features the tagline, “Everybody Up.” Fairly certain everybody does not include Donald Sterling, Bruce Levenson or Danny Ferry.
The NBA’s Marketing Will Get More Aggressive Under New CMO
A New Campaign Is Supported by Broad-Based Media Buy
By E.J. Schultz
The National Basketball Association, which recently inked a lucrative media rights deal, will increase its marketing budget as it looks to lure more casual fans, according to the league’s new chief marketing officer.
Some of the new spending will back the league’s season-long campaign, which debuts Saturday and will run on a broader set of networks than in years past, said CMO Pam El, who joined the NBA in August after stints at insurance companies State Farm and Nationwide. “We are going to be much more aggressive with our marketing. We want to go after a larger fan base,” she said in an interview.
While she declined to reveal spending figures, she said the new campaign, called “Everybody Up,” will run on news and entertainment networks such as BET, CNN, TBS and VH1 “just to name a few.”
The first ad of the campaign is called “Roll Call” and will first air on Saturday during the Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers preseason game that will be played in Rio de Janeiro and air on ESPNews. The ad is by Goodby Silverstein & Partners and features narration by hip hop artist Common.
Previously, the league had mostly confined its early-season campaign to ESPN and TNT, which both carry NBA games, Ms. El said. The league will still air ads on the two networks, but “we are going to branch outside of that media to reach not only the avid fan, but also our casual fan,” she said.
In 2013, the NBA spent $93.6 million on measured media, a figure that includes ads promoting the NBA TV cable channel, as well as plugging the WNBA, according to Kantar Media.
Ms. El’s hiring represents the first time the league has a CMO title since the 1990s. More recently, the league’s top marketing position was filled by Jamie Gallo, who held the title of exec VP-marketing, before he left the NBA in January. “The fact that the league has decided to hire a CMO is a sign of how much more aggressive we want to become as a marketing entity,” Ms. El said.
The league will have plenty of money to spend after its new media rights deal kicks in beginning in the 2016-2017 season. The pact with Walt Disney Co. (ESPN and ABC) and Turner Broadcasting System (TNT) more than doubles the NBA’s current deal and is worth $24 billion over nine years, according to various media reports.
Some analysts have speculated that TV viewers could eventually cover some of the costs through higher cable bills. So it makes sense for the league to try and broaden its fan base via new marketing, said D.J. Koeller, an associate VP at Intersport, a Chicago-based sports and entertainment marketing company.
It’s critical for the NBA to bring the casual fans into the fold “because eventually they may be the ones footing the bill,” Mr. Koeller said. “You want to make sure that everybody has embraced the product if ultimately there is going to be a cost associated with it.”
The “Roll Call” ad includes footage of fans, players, coaches and cheerleaders, while weaving in scenes from foreign markets such as London, China and Mexico City.
“The idea of this spot is that teams win championships, individuals don’t,” Ms. El said. “We are proposing that the team is a combination of the players and the coaches, but also the staff and employees and the fans and the families—and that all of those folks actually contribute to the NBA experience.” The international flavor is meant to emphasize that the “global NBA community is much broader than just the 30 teams here in the U.S. (and Canada),” she added.
A Spanish-language ad by Bromley is in development.
The campaign comes as the NBA is in the early stages of a creative agency review, as Ad Age recently reported. Ms. El declined to comment on the process other than to say Goodby has “done a tremendous job” with the new campaign.
Media planning and buying for the new campaign was handled by Media Storm, which is part of the Water Cooler Group network that is co-led by former Mindshare exec Antony Young. The NBA, which had previously handled media internally, began working with the network last year during the NBA Finals, according to a spokesman.
From Italy, this campaign promoting an Italian basketball club scores plenty of racist stereotypes. Were Donald Sterling, Bruce Levenson and Danny Ferry involved?
Came across the 2012-2013 advertisement for Atlanta Hawks Cheerleaders depicted above and couldn’t help but think of Bruce Levenson’s 2012 memo, wherein the recently resigned owner noted “the cheerleaders are black” before stating, “I have been open with our executive team about these concerns. I have told them I want some white cheerleaders…”
Was the ad actually part of a diversity recruitment campaign designed to find the White women Levenson demanded?
Wanted to comment further on the racist memo sent by Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson, as well as the punishment delivered to Hawks general manager Danny Ferry for his cultural cluelessness.
First, the Hawks’ chances of winning the NBA Championship in 2015 are less than zero—and not because LeBron James and Kevin Love are now in Cleveland. No, the team will not nab a trophy for the same reason the Los Angeles Clippers didn’t reach the Finals in 2014: Offensive Karma.
In 2011, MultiCultClassics identified Offensive Karma as a key driver to a team’s downfall. Offensive Karma is defined by a team’s display of offensiveness in the form of words or actions rooted in bigotry, discrimination and ignorance—which then leads to the team’s ultimate demise in the championship tourney. Donald Sterling sealed the Clippers’ fate last season. Bruce Levenson and Danny Ferry executed a pickaninny-and-roll to doom the Hawks for the upcoming season.
Not sure why Ferry is only being disciplined for dissing Luol Deng. After all, Ferry was the recipient of Levenson’s 2012 memo, and he apparently kept it secret for years. It’s safe to presume Ferry responded to Levenson, as one does not usually ignore your owner-boss. For Ferry’s sake, let’s hope he didn’t reply with a text, email or some other retrievable form that could hurt him.
That aside, the next big question involves the future advertising and marketing of the Atlanta Hawks. The Clippers hired a new AOR, allegedly to create fresh branding to distance the team from the PR damage exacted by Sterling. Will the Hawks draw up a similar game plan? If so, it’s time to consider MultiCultClassics’ suggestion to bring in a minority advertising agency.
According to a lazy Google search, the Hawks are currently being serviced by a company named CSE, which specializes in sports marketing. But how well was this place performing if Levenson felt the need to conduct his own research and analysis on the fans?
In the Hawks’ case, it makes even more sense to draft a minority shop—and preferably a Black firm. If Levenson was correct in his memo, the team has a huge Black audience; hence, the Hawks could benefit from recruiting adpeople who hold expertise in connecting with Blacks. Plus, everyone knows Blacks love basketball.
Hawks GM Danny Ferry’s comments about Luol Deng led to owner’s ouster
By Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Hawks general manager Danny Ferry’s comments that were deemed offensive and racist by team CEO Steve Koonin were made about veteran NBA forward Luol Deng, a person familiar with the details told USA TODAY Sports. Those comments sparked an investigation that ultimately led majority owner Bruce Levenson to say he’s selling his stake in the team.
The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive nature of the situation.
Reading from a player profile report compiled from input by multiple internal and external sources, Ferry said Deng, “is still a young guy overall. He is a good guy overall. But he is not perfect. He’s got some African in him. And I don’t say that in a bad way,” according to the person.
Ferry will be punished by the Hawks, too, according to the person familiar with the situation. Ferry could have avoided the situation by editing or not reading that comment about Deng.
Deng, who from Sudan, is considered one of the hardest workers in the NBA and one of the league’s good guys. In April, he was given the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. He is a two-time All-Star and spent the first nine-plus years of his career with the Chicago Bulls. He was traded to Cleveland last season and signed with the Miami Heat this summer.
Ferry apologized to Deng’s agent, Ron Shade, according to Yahoo Sports.
Ferry’s comments were made during a basketball operations meeting to discuss free agents and a team owner flagged the comment. Ferry’s words triggered the internal investigation which unearthed Levenson’s 2012 e-mail in which he made multiple racially insensitive comments about Hawks fans.
Levenson said Sunday he will sell his controlling interest in the Hawks. In an apologetic news release, Levenson said, “If you’re angry about what I wrote, you should be. I’m angry at myself, too. It was inflammatory nonsense. We all may have subtle biases and preconceptions when it comes to race, but my role as a leader is to challenge them, not to validate or accommodate those who might hold them.
“I have said repeatedly that the NBA should have zero tolerance for racism, and I strongly believe that to be true. That is why I voluntarily reported my inappropriate e-mail to the NBA.”
Acting NBPA executive director Ron Klempner released a statement regarding the issue with the Hawks Monday.
“We’ve had continuing discussions with the league office about the incidents of disturbing statements attributed to representatives of the Atlanta Hawks’ franchise. We recognize that there is an ongoing investigation regarding the circumstances, and we will continue to monitor these events and take any action we deem appropriate.”
Bruce Levenson will sell Atlanta Hawks after releasing racist e-mail
By Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Hawks controlling owner Bruce Levenson has self-reported to the NBA that he sent a racist e-mail in August 2012 and will sell his interest in the team.
Levenson reported the e-mail to the NBA in July, almost two years after it was sent but while the league was deep in litigation over the now-completed sale of the Los Angeles Clippers. The investigation was ongoing when Levenson decided to leave the team.
The e-mail, to Hawks President Danny Ferry, details Levenson’s belief that the Hawks’ fan base was too heavily African-American. (Scroll down for full text of the e-mail.)
“I wrote an e-mail two years ago that was inappropriate and offensive,” Levenson said in a Hawks news release Sunday morning. “I trivialized our fans by making clichéd assumptions about their interests (i.e., hip hop vs. country, white vs. black cheerleaders, etc.) and by stereotyping their perceptions of one another (i.e., that white fans might be afraid of our black fans). By focusing on race, I also sent the unintentional and hurtful message that our white fans are more valuable than our black fans.”
Levenson was one of the strongest critics among owners of Donald Sterling, the Clippers owner who was recorded making racist comments and quickly banned for life from the league.
Levenson is stepping down, effective immediately. Hawks CEO Steve Koonin, who joined the team in April after leading Turner Entertainment, will take over team operations.
The NBA will look for a buyer now. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer set a high bar in purchasing the Clippers for $2 billion from the Sterling family, but the Hawks likely won’t draw that level of interest.
“Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Levenson notified me last evening that he had decided to sell his controlling interest in the Atlanta Hawks,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in an NBA news release. “As Mr. Levenson acknowledged, the views he expressed are entirely unacceptable and are in stark contrast to the core principles of the National Basketball Association. He shared with me how truly remorseful he is for using those hurtful words and how apologetic he is to the entire NBA family — fans, players, team employees, business partners and fellow team owners — for having diverted attention away from our game.”
Levenson has been the Hawks’ governor and controlling owner since 2004.
FULL TEXT OF THE E-MAIL (via the Hawks):
From: Bruce Levenson
Sent: 8/25/2012 11:47:02 PM
Subject: Re: Business/Game ops
1. from day one i have been impressed with the friendliness and professionalism of the arena staff—food vendors, ushers, ticket takers, etc. in our early years when i would bring folks from dc they were blown away by the contrast between abe pollin’s arena and philips. some of this is attributable to southern hospital and manners but bob and his staff do a good job of training. To this day, I can not get the ushers to call me Bruce yet they insist on me calling them by their first names.
2. the non-premium area food is better than most arenas, though that is not saying much. i think there is room for improvement and creativity. Levy is our food vendor so we don’t have much control but they have been good partners. i have wished we had some inconic offereing like boog’s barbeque at the baseball stadium in balt.
3. our new restaurant, red, just opened so too early for me to give you my thoughts.
4. Regarding game ops, i need to start with some background. for the first couple of years we owned the team, i didn’t much focus on game ops. then one day a light bulb went off. when digging into why our season ticket base is so small, i was told it is because we can’t get 35-55 white males and corporations to buy season tixs and they are the primary demo for season tickets around the league. when i pushed further, folks generally shrugged their shoulders. then i start looking around our arena during games and notice the following:
• it’s 70 pct black
• the cheerleaders are black
• the music is hip hop
• at the bars it’s 90 pct black
• there are few fathers and sons at the games
• we are doing after game concerts to attract more fans and the concerts are either hip hop or gospel.
Then i start looking around at other arenas. It is completely different. Even DC with its affluent black community never has more than 15 pct black audience.
Before we bought the hawks and for those couple years immediately after in an effort to make the arena look full (at the nba’s urging) thousands and thousands of tickets were being giving away, predominantly in the black community, adding to the overwhelming black audience.
My theory is that the black crowd scared away the whites and there are simply not enough affluent black fans to build a signficant season ticket base. Please dont get me wrong. There was nothing threatening going on in the arean back then. i never felt uncomfortable, but i think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority. On fan sites i would read comments about how dangerous it is around philips yet in our 9 years, i don’t know of a mugging or even a pick pocket incident. This was just racist garbage. When I hear some people saying the arena is in the wrong place I think it is code for there are too many blacks at the games.
I have been open with our executive team about these concerns. I have told them I want some white cheerleaders and while i don’t care what the color of the artist is, i want the music to be music familiar to a 40 year old white guy if that’s our season tixs demo. i have also balked when every fan picked out of crowd to shoot shots in some time out contest is black. I have even bitched that the kiss cam is too black.
Gradually things have changed. My unscientific guess is that our crowd is 40 pct black now, still four to five times all other teams. And my further guess is that 40 pct still feels like 70 pet to some whites at our games. Our bars are still overwhelmingly black.
This is obviously a sensitive topic, but sadly i think it is far and way the number one reason our season ticket base is so low.
And many of our black fans don’t have the spendable income which explains why our f&b and merchandise sales are so low. At all white thrasher games sales were nearly triple what they are at hawks games (the extra intermission explains some of that but not all).
Regardless of what time a game starts, we have the latest arriving crowd in the league. It often looks and sounds empty when the team takes the floor.
In the past two years, we have created a section of rowdy college students that has been a big plus. And we do a lot of very clever stuff during time outs to entertain the crowd. Our kiss cam is better done than any in the league.
We have all the same halftime acts that other arenas have but i question whether they make sense. people are on their cell phones during half time. i wonder if flashing on the scoreboard “$2 off on hot dogs during halftime tonight” just as the half ends would be a better use of our halftime dollars and make the fans happier.
We do all the usual giveways and the fans are usually their loudest when our spirit crew takes the floor to give away t-shirts. It pisses me off that they will yell louder for a t-shirt then for our players.
Our player intro is flat. We manufacture a lot of noise but because of the late arriving crowd and the fact that a lot of blacks dont seem to go as crazy cheering (another one of my theories) as whites, it is not great. Even when we have just returned from winnng four straight on the road, i am one of the few people in the arena standing and cheering when our team takes the floor. Bob has kicked around ideas like having the starters coming down aisles rather than off the bench during intros. Sounds cool but may highlight all the empty seats at the start of games.
Not enough of our fans wear hawks jerseys to games. i have just begun to push for ideas like discount food lines for folks wearing jerseys, special entrances, etc. I think we need a committed and perhaps incentivized fan club. We need to realize atl is simply different than every other city. Just adopting nba best practices is not enough. we have to create our own.
I am rambling and could probably go on forever. If you have any specific areas you would like my thoughts on, let me know.
Best,
Bruce
ps—I have cc’d todd and ed so they can chime in with additional or different thoughts.
Sent from my iPad
