What happened to the bad guys?!
The Miami Heat have lost. 27 W’s in a row, though. The 2nd longest regular season winning streak of all time. It doesn’t mean anything unless they win the title (which they will) but it sure would be a nice sidenote to this season to go along with the NBA Championship hardware.
But something happened during this streak and it changed the Miami Heat.
What is that?
The bad guys are gone. The Miami Heat are now even more marketable than they were because they have more fans than ever before. Which if you go back in time to this little FIASCO that they put on to introduce the team that is a epic leap. People wanted to BURY these guys after that stunt.
Now they not only had the biggest story in the NBA over the past two months, but in my opinion they are now the most liked they have been since they formed. And gaining more and more friends (probably not in Cleveland) by the day!
Let’s dive into why and what it means!
The Big 3’s growth
Remember when Heat fans and the players themselves were confused about who was going to run the show? Dwayne one night, LBJ the next, who else could score beyond the big 3?
This team has found its identity. Lebron is the front runner, D Wade and Bosh are perennial All Stars, and they are now surrounded with team first 3 point shooters, defenders, and overall great locker room and chemistry guys (Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, Ray Allen, Shane Battier, The Bird Man Chris Anderson.)
The Big 3 has grown into their roles and the team now has an identity and not just talent. Why is this important? In marketing you need to have a brand, an identity, a mission statement to hang your hat on at the end of the day. The Miami Heat have finally found that. Even last when they won the title it was still a little unclear.
This year’s team loves playing with each other. They love being around each other. They loved that streak because they expected to win every single night. Their Harlem Shake video is living proof that this holds merit.
As a result of this when you find yourself you become marketable to the public, people buy in and believe because you stand for something. At first the Miami Heat were just three guys who formed a super power evil alliance (yes people said that.) Now the Miami Heat are the defending NBA champions who play hard every single night, laugh with each other on the bench, are true team guys, and badly want to be remembered as a dynasty. That’s a much more marketable business model than the original evil alliance.
Why else?
As the streak went on people began to jump on the bandwagon. All of the sudden they wanted to be a part of something special: to see a team break a streak that has been around for decades.
People began to respect the Miami Heat and the way they carried themselves through this and they, whether they will believe it or not, started to actually like the team they used to love to hate. And let’s be honest, winners are marketable. This streak now puts a stamp on the team of: “Why not root for us? There’s still room on the bandwagon and we know you didn’t like us at first. But now we are a team, we are the best, and we are going to be great for a while.”
The Miami Heat have transformed right before our eyes and their fans have transformed right before their eyes.
The Future?
There will still be plenty of haters out there and people from Cleveland who want Lebron to never win another game. But they have transformed themselves from the most hated team on the planet to a media darling. And this streak truly put the stamp on their marketability as a likeable, fun loving, and talented squad.
- They gained fans during this streak that will hold over.
- They can now market themselves as the holders of the second longest winning streak in NBA history and that’s something special.
- They are the defending NBA Champions and appear headed for a repeat.
It has completely changed their public persona. Like I said, yes they are still going to have plenty of people who don’t like them, but overall they have gained hordes of fans. And as someone who is a fan of the NBA, a big fan, from purely a basketball love they are a pleasure to watch. I love Kevin Durant and what he and the OKC Thunder stand for but if they are in the finals again this year a lot fewer people will be spitting absolute venom at Lebron than last year.
And that’s marketability. If they sustain this image and persona they may just become everyone’s favorite NBA Team. (Did I just shake the whole city of Cleveland into a complete sports uproar!?) But in all seriousness they have changed. They are much more marketable to the average and new NBA fan, and it’s a result of the change in their chemistry and what they accomplished and showed the public both on and off the court during their 27 game win streak!
Thanks for reading everyone! Have a great day, we appreciate all the support and thoughts. I’m sure you have some thoughts, leave your comments below, tweet us @SportsNetworker, or email me at mike@marketingfunwithmike.com
And if you haven’t grabbed a copy of the tastiest book of 2012 then grab yourself a copy right HERE of Hot Dogs, A Little Marketing, and A Lot of Fun by yours truly, Mike Rudd!
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