Strategic Brand Consultancy
Basketball and branding
Donald Sterling, the disgraced owner of the Los Angeles Clippers has decided to sell his team, and Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft placed a bid of $2 billion to purchase it. Since the NBA approved his proposal, now many people are wondering the same thing: Should Balmer rename the LA Clippers? Do they …
Previously, we analyzed the Toronto Raptors as an organization, focusing on the causes of its perpetual mediocrity. We mentioned that there is a systemic problem that’s been bothering the Raptors since its inception. Our first analysis focused on the Shifting the Burden archetype. Today, we are going to focus on another Systems Archetype: Escalation. A …
Continue reading "Systemic Solutions for Toronto Raptors – Part 2"
Under the management of Bryan Colangelo, Toronto Raptors has been getting progressively worse. That is a fact. We should not let that, however, overshadow the fact that this two-decade-old organization never had a successful GM since its inception (except Glen Grunwald.) Many bigwigs came and went, but the narrative of the Raptors stayed the same: …
Continue reading "Systemic Solutions for Toronto Raptors – Part 1"
Los Angeles Lakers is one of the greatest franchises in the history of modern sports. They won the NBA championship 16 times and missed the play-offs just five times! I have always admired the "championship-or-bust" mentality of this organization. After a couple of “relatively” unsuccessful seasons, the Lakers decided to assemble a “super team.” They signed …
Two years ago, I wrote an article about the Raptors’ brand strategy or lack thereof. Recently, I asked the Raptors Republic community what has changed over the last two years. The topic generated decent interest and started an excellent dialogue, so I decided to edit my comments and share them with you. It is about …
This is the third and the last instalment of our LeBron James, myths and archetypes series.Previously, we talked about the significance of the relationship of James and Wade, James' story,his recovering popularity, and how he compares to Jordan. Let's roll out! About James and Kobe So far Kobe has won 5 rings. If you look …
Continue reading "What does LeBron James’ first ring signify? Part 3"
Previously, I shared some of my thoughts on LeBron James, mythology and archetypal psychology. Let's continue from where we left off. This is the second instalment of a three-article series. About James’ recovering popularity I genuinely believe that LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of his generation. That has been obvious the last couple …
Continue reading "What does LeBron James’ first ring signify? Part 2"
As expected, LeBron James has finally won his first championship. I’d like to share my thought on the mythological and archetypal significance of his first ring. This is the first installment of a three article series. Let’s go! About James-Wade relationship The major problem with the Heat last year was that both James and Wade …
Continue reading "What does LeBron James’ first ring signify? Part 1"
NBA lockout is about to end. The hot topic of discussion is what's the damage to Brand Jordan? Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all times. But his skills and will are not enough to explain how he became the magnetic person that he is. During his Hall of Fame induction speech, …
A lot has been written and said about LeBron James and his famous decision to sign with the Miami Heat. So why address this topic now? Hasn’t everything been said about “the decision?” My answer is “no”, because nobody looked at this issue from brand strategy perspective. So let’s put our branding goggles and see …