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Once a Lakers town, always a Lakers town? An in-depth comparison of the branding and communications strategies of the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers
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Once a Lakers town, always a Lakers town? An in-depth comparison of the branding and communications strategies of the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers
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K a z m i | 1 ONCE A LAKERS TOWN, ALWAYS A LAKERS TOWN? AN IN-DEPTH COMPARISON OF THE BRANDING AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES OF THE LA CLIPPERS AND THE LA LAKERS by Zeshan Kazmi A White Paper Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS) August 2013 Copyright 2013 Zeshan Kazmi K a z m i | 2 Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Research ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Lakers vs. Clippers: By the Numbers ....................................................................................... 7 Location vs. Tradition ........................................................................................................................... 9 Los Angeles’ “Other Team:” .........................................................................................................................13 A Media Portrayal of the Clippers ........................................................................................ 13 Does Brand Equity=Performance? .................................................................................................15 Redefining the Clippers’ Brand Image ..........................................................................................19 Lakers’ Fans Mindset vs. Clippers’ Fans Mindset ..................................................................... 23 A City Divided .........................................................................................................................................26 Two Teams, One Arena .......................................................................................................................31 The Superstar Dynamic ..................................................................................................................... 37 The “Blake Griffin Effect” ........................................................................................................ 38 Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the New Look Clippers ........................................................ 43 Superstar Players and Brand Consistency .......................................................................... 46 Lakers Dominating the Digital Landscape ................................................................................. 56 Imagery and Branding ............................................................................................................. 59 Establishing a Consistent Voice ............................................................................................. 63 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 68 Once a Lakers Town, Always a Lakers Town? .................................................................... 68 Works Cited ........................................................................................................................................... 73 K a z m i | 3 List of Exhibits Exhibit A Word Cloud from Participant Survey ......................................................................... 5 Exhibit B Lakers/Clippers Accolade Comparison Chart……………………………………………...7 Exhibit C Backstage Lakers Promo Screenshot ......... ……………………………………………….12 Exhibit D LA Clippers Season Promo Screenshot ................................................................... 20 Exhibit E LA Clippers “Represent” campaign graphics and signage .................................. 21 Exhibit F Andrew Bergman Chicago Bulls Infographic ........................................................ 42 Exhibit G Andrew Bergman Boston Celtics Infographic ....................................................... 43 Exhibit H Andrew Bergman Los Angeles Lakers Infographic .............................................. 48 Exhibit I Lakers/Clippers Social Media Comparison Chart ................................................ 59 Exhibit J Lakers/Clippers Facebook Cover Photos ............................................................... 60 Exhibit K Clippers Facebook Timeline Photos Collage ......................................................... 61 Exhibit L Kobe Bryant Infographic ............................................................................................ 62 Exhibit M Lakers Facebook Timeline Photos Collage ............................................................ 62 Exhibit N LA Kings Twitter Screen Capture 1 ......................................................................... 64 Exhibit O LA Kings Twitter Screen Capture 2 .………………………………………………………….64 Exhibit P LA Lakers Website Screenshot- Jan 2013 .............................................................. 66 Exhibit Q LA Clippers Website Screenshot- Jan 2013 ........................................................... 67 List of Appendices Appendix A-1 Survey Question .............................................................................................. 86 Appendix A-2 Survey Answers .............................................................................................. 87 Appendix R-1 Jeff Moeller Interview Transcription ......................................................... 97 Appendix S-1 John Ireland Interview Transcription ...................................................... 101 K a z m i | 4 Introduction Sports are universally recognized as a source of entertainment. Whether it is cricket, rugby, football or basketball, individuals all over the world invest themselves and follow their favorite sports teams and athletes. Each sports franchise has a unique set of followers that enjoys the emotions, thrills and competitive nature of team play. In a February, 2012 Psychology Today article, Dr. Mark Banschick writes, “sports draw us in for the elegance, the competition, the history, our identification with great athleticism and the coming together of communities in a shared story” (Psychologytoday.com). As fans, we feel a connection with fellow citizens. We cheer, express admiration and feel triumphant at something we personally cannot do. To obtain a better understanding behind why we watch sports and follow our favorite sports teams, the author surveyed 100+ classmates and acquaintances in hopes that the findings would support the development of this white paper. As a Southern California native, the author grew up watching local sports teams that were representative of the region. However, the author’s admiration for the Los Angeles Lakers in particular was also based on the fact that the author’s father and family members were longtime fans of the Lakers. Supporting the Lakers has become a commonplace tradition in the author’s household, however, the author wanted to find if factors such as location or tradition were the sole reasons behind why others follow their sports teams, too. This thesis delves into the complexities of fandom: what psychological factors drive a fan to follow a losing team? How influential is a team’s branding? How important is it to hire superstars? Is there an equalizer when fans have two teams to choose from in their region? The thesis first examines the overarching notion of fandom, then hones in on two specific NBA franchises: K a z m i | 5 the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. Finally, the author offers insight into some successful PR strategies for attracting and retaining fans. Research To launch the thesis, the author conducted a survey consisting of one open-ended question, thus allowing a wide range of answers allowing the author to identify commonalities between each answer. The question was, “Please describe the factors that led you to become a fan of a sports team—in other words, how and why did you become a fan of the team you now follow?” After content analysis, in which each answer was recorded and read, the author created a word cloud using Wordle to better illustrate the key words that showed up in each answer. The word cloud in Exhibit A above shows the 100 most common words in the 119 survey responses. Exhibit A K a z m i | 6 Words such as “family,” “home” and “tradition” were the most apparent in the word cloud, and when further examining the context in which these words were used, the author found similarities in respondents’ comments regarding these answers. However, in regards to the thesis, close attention also was paid to any terminology in responses that pertained to location. Scattered though the word cloud are phrases such as “home,” “hometeam,” “hometown” and “California.” These author inferred that respondents’ use of these words were in the context of describing the regional factor that led individuals to follow their favorite teams; i.e. “they represent my home city,” “they are my home team,” and “I follow California teams.” In developing the hypothesis for this thesis, the author expected that geographic location would be a major factor in fan loyalty. In the National Basketball Association (NBA) alone, two teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, not only share the same city, but also the same arena. This dynamic proves especially interesting for those born in the early late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In the early 1990’s, a period as the Magic Johnson “Showtime” era ended for the Lakers, and they were considered a mediocre franchise up until the early 2000’s. With an overall record of 297 wins and 506 losses over the 1990-2000 period, the Los Angeles Clippers were also not very a strong franchise, but unlike the Lakers, they lacked a prior history of success or a winning tradition (“NBA Teams: Los Angeles Clippers Records Year by Year”). As noted in Exhibit A, geographic proximity is a primary factor why people follow a sports team, but how does one decide to follow a team when there are two in a region, or does he/she follow both? More specifically, how do the Lakers and Clippers, who play same in the same city, league and building, differentiate themselves? In developing this K a z m i | 7 thesis, the author will examine the Lakers and Clippers franchises up until the current 2012-2013 season, and the methodologies behind their communication and branding strategies. Since the Clippers and Lakers are essentially targeting fans from the same geographic region, the author will examine how they are competing head-to-head, especially from the Clippers perspective in trying to compete against the Lakers, who have historically been the more celebrated franchise in Los Angeles. The author also will seek to provide some insight about the factors that likely contribute to the success and as well as the complexity in managing the messaging, branding and overall prominence of each team’s brand. Finally, the author will examine the messaging opportunities that exist for a less prominent franchise like the Clippers, against a more renowned franchise like the Lakers. Lakers vs. Clippers: By the Numbers Exhibit B Los Angeles Lakers (Since 1948) Los Angeles Clippers (Since 1974) Winning Percentage 62% 37% Championship Titles 16 0 Playoff Appearances 57 7 Division Titles 32 0 Western Conference Titles 18 0 Hall of Fame Players 16 7 Retired Jerseys 7 0 ( “NBA Franchises; Lakers vs. Clippers ”) K a z m i | 8 When looking at exhibit B, it is no secret that the Lakers have enjoyed more success in its history as opposed to the Clippers, and when two teams represent one city, fans gravitate toward the franchise with a winning history -- the numbers prove it. In a 2012 teams’ valuations article published by Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Lakers was listed as the highest valued team in the NBA at $900 million, with $131 million of the franchise's value attributable to its brand. The Lakers also had the largest TV audience in the NBA, averaging 271,000 households in 2012, which was 73% higher than the next- most-watched team, the Chicago Bulls. Conversely, the Clippers ranked 21 of 28 teams listed, with an estimated franchise value of $328 million and $30 million of the franchise’s value attributable to its brand (Badenhausen). Furthermore, the average attendance per game for the Lakers at the Staples Center in the 2011-2012 season was 18,997 out of possible 19,060 seats. The Clippers, who share the same arena, averaged 16,343 attendees per game. The 2012 Lakers’ average ticket price was $93, where the Clippers’ average ticket price was $54. For two franchises that share the same city and arena, the fiscal differences are vast. Although the Clippers offer their fans a more affordable in person experience, the demand for Lakers tickets remains high. Historically, the Lakers brand has been associated with a winning tradition, superstar players, glamour and entertaining basketball – as evidenced by its flashy, fast- paced “Showtime” style. The Clippers, on the other hand, have traditionally been associated with losing, bad ownership and empty arenas. They even have been labeled LA’s “other” basketball team. As evident in Exhibit A, the word “Lakers” was cited often; approximately 26 times, in 14 responses. What is more interesting about this is that survey takers were never asked to discuss specifics or team names. Clearly, many respondents felt the need to K a z m i | 9 specify their team, which suggests they felt a sense of pride in noting that they were Lakers fans when responding to the survey. Other teams, such as the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and New York Yankees were also mentioned by respondents. The Clippers, however, were only cited twice. However, in one context an individual stated, “I root for the Clippers too, [since] they are from LA, and although they might not have as many championship banners [as the Lakers], they still represent the city of Los Angeles.” In another context, the Clippers were cited by a respondent who stated that she follows the team because her husband does, too. Given that the purpose behind the author’s survey was to pinpoint reasons people may follow sports teams, the author closely examined the context in which individuals cited the Lakers. Twelve of the 14 users who cited the Lakers in their survey said they followed the team because of a family member and because of location. As evident in the word cloud, the words “family” and “tradition” also were often cited. Responses like, “following the team is a family tradition” and “I began watching because of a family member” were ample throughout the survey responses. Among 117 respondents, the word “family” came up 46 times and the word “tradition” came up 22 times. The word “games” was used 37 times, particularly in the context of going to games or watching games with a family member. Location vs. Tradition Since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984 (they were previously located in Buffalo, NY from 1970-1978), they have only qualified for the NBA Playoffs five times (“NBA Teams: Los Angeles Clippers Records Year by Year”). Since the Lakers moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1961, they have qualified for the playoffs K a z m i | 10 all but four years, have won 11 NBA titles and appeared in the NBA finals a total of 25 times (“NBA Teams: Los Angeles Lakers Records Year by Year”). The Lakers brand has been associated with a winning tradition, especially during their time in Los Angeles. Even though the Lakers did not have strong records in the early and mid ‘90s, they did appear in the NBA Finals eight times and they won the NBA Championship five times in the ‘80s-- the same decade in which the Clippers moved to Los Angeles. As noted in Exhibit A, tradition and family play important roles in why individuals follow their respective teams. In the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Los Angeles Clippers scenario, the advantage that the Lakers have is that their winning culture has been witnessed by members of the Baby Boomer Generation, Generation X, Generation Y and even the current generation, Millennials. The Lakers have won an NBA title at least once every decade since the 1970’s and have made Finals appearances in every decade since the 1960’s (“NBA Teams: Los Angeles Lakers Records Year by Year”). Since the Los Angeles Lakers have a richer, more successful history in Los Angeles, the winning tradition that the Lakers brand exemplifies has been ingrained into the minds of Los Angeles natives from generation to generation, over several decades. While the survey indicated location plays a large role in why individuals follow their teams, when a divide is made between teams in the same city, the tradition factor may become more relevant. Tradition, which may be defined as “a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical,” also plays a large part in the branding of the Los Angeles Lakers (Merriam-Webster.com). Given the organization’s history with winning, glamour, exciting moments and superstar players, it becomes clear that these attributes are still used in promoting the team today. In February 2011, Time K a z m i | 11 Warner Cable signed a 20-year television deal with the Los Angeles Lakers that covered all preseason, regular-season and postseason games (Flint). Additionally, Time Warner launched Time Warner Sports Net, a reality channel dedicated to all things Lakers, including locker room access, team travel, practices and team meetings. In an interview printed in the Pollack PR Marketing blog, Lakers’ Executive Vice President of Operations, Jeanie Buss, said she believed the new broadcast agreement with Time Warner Cable “allowed the Lakers to connect more closely with fans because of the input the team had in its messaging and branding” (Pollackblog.com). In promoting the new channel, Time Warner and the Lakers released a series of commercials that were themed around the Lakers’ winning tradition and history. The “Backstage: Lakers” promo, which was launched in October 2012, focused on superstar Dwight Howard’s arrival to the Lakers via trade acquisition. The video shown below begins with Dwight Howard touring the Lakers practice facility with Lakers General Manager, Mitch Kupchak, a former Laker himself. While in Kupchak’s office, Howard exclaims, “This doesn’t even seem real right now.” Kupchak then points to the wall of the Lakers practice facility and tells Howard that he wants to show him something. Kupchak points to the retired jerseys of former Lakers Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson and James Worthy. Kupchak pauses, looks to Dwight and says, “I want your jersey up there in about ten years.” Dwight then leaves the office in awe of the Lakers championship trophies. The promo ends with a narrator saying, “There are stories yet to be told.” (“Backstage: Lakers" Promo – YouTube) Through their promotional efforts, the Lakers and Time Warner showcased the winning culture associated with Lakers franchise, as well as the NBA Hall of Fame athletes K a z m i | 12 who helped shape the team into the successful franchise that it is today. However, the highlight of this particular video promo lies in its messaging, which is based around Dwight Howard carrying the Lakers legacy forward. More important is the fact that Howard, already a six-time NBA All-Star and one of the game’s biggest superstars, is in awe of the fact that he is now playing for a franchise like the Lakers. There exists a perpetual theme of success, rich history and winning culture in the Lakers brand and this is likely felt not only by fans, but by the professional athletes who play the game. Exhibit C (Backstage Lakers Promo) In his book, Strategic Brand Management, Kevin Lane Keller cites the terms “point of difference” and “point of parity” in explaining brand positioning. He further explains “point of parity” as aspects of a product that are similar to the offerings of similar competitors. Of course the Lakers and Clippers share the same city, building and are essentially are showcasing the same form of entertainment, but there are also clear differences ingrained in each franchise. Keller defines “point of difference” as something that makes you “different from your competition.” The Lakers’ winning culture and tradition is and will most likely continue to be a point of difference in the team’s positioning against the Clippers. As of 2013, the branding aspects for the Lakers remain distinct from those of the Clippers, and unless the Lakers go winless for years for to come, they will likely always K a z m i | 13 have the edge on the Clippers in regard to branding themselves as a winning and star- studded franchise. The Clippers: Los Angeles’ “Other” NBA Team The Clippers franchise has endured its fair share of jokes since its move to Los Angeles in 1984. Losing seasons, bad ownership decisions and having to share a city with the second most winningest NBA franchise in history have not benefited the Clippers’ brand appeal. However, recent improvements, including No.1 draft pick, power-forward, Blake Griffin, acquisition of five-time All-Star point guard, Chris Paul, and savvy NBA veterans like Chauncey Billups, Jamal Crawford and Lamar Odom, the Clippers are beginning to take on a new and exciting identity of their own. Interestingly, as of December 26, 2012, the Los Angeles Clippers had the best record in the NBA, whereas the Lakers sat in ninth place in the Western Conference rankings. However, before examining this potentially new branding opportunity for the Clippers, other factors that have led the Clippers to being perceived as they are today will be explored. A Media Portrayal of the Clippers Although the success of any business follows the quality and service of its product, the Clippers may never be able to shake the label of being Los Angeles’ “other” team, regardless of how well they are doing. The labels that have been tied to the Clippers’ franchise have become a part of the fan culture in Los Angeles, and reinforced in the media. For example, upon the trade acquisition of All-Star point guard Chris Paul to the Clippers in (year), Paul made a guest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in December 2011. Although the Clippers were sitting atop the Pacific Conference at the time of Paul’s appearance, this did not stop host Kimmel from taking some shots at the Clippers franchise. Kimmel K a z m i | 14 introduced Paul as follows: "Like Beckham and Gretzky before him, our next guest has been summoned to breathe life into a lifeless LA sports franchise. As a result, his once miserable team sits atop the NBA's Pacific division (Arguello). Kimmel then proceeded to speak poorly of the Clippers, saying things like, "Had you heard of the Clippers before this?" More recently, on January 4, 2013, Kimmel made a guest appearance on the Mason and Ireland Show radio program, which is featured on 710AM ESPN, just hours before the Clippers took on the Lakers at Staples Center. When the hosts began talking about the Clippers’ success, Kimmel responded, “The one thing that I can always rely on is that the Clippers always screw things up” (“Mason and Ireland”). Similarly, when Conan O’Brien made his debut as host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” in 2009, he joked about the Clippers organization in his first monologue, saying, “This studio holds 380 people. It’s exactly like going to a Clippers game” (Heisler). Although the Clippers remain at the tail end of jokes for late-night comics and comedians, the way the team has been framed in the media by sports journalists in comparison to the Lakers is worth examining. A review of media commentary indicates a trend of certain terminology and tone used by sports journalists when describing the Clippers. For example, in a pre-season match up against the Lakers in 2013, in which the Clippers defeated the Lakers 97-91, reporter Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times states at one point in his article, “Of course, the Clippers had their share of highlight moments,” as if almost begrudgingly admitting that the Clippers did well, when in fact they were victorious (Turner). Similarly, in Yahoo Sports article, Marc Jones gave his analysis of the 2012-2013 Lakers vs. Clippers rivalry. In his article, Jones wrote: K a z m i | 15 “Despite the wishes of [Chris] Paul to facilitate a culture change and a winning pedigree among his teammates and the Clippers faithful, the (Lakers) purple and gold is so entrenched in L.A., that to uproot it would take a convincing season series win against the Lakers and an NBA title -- and probably more still”(Jones). In another Lakers/Clippers preview article for 2012-2013 season, Howard Ruben of the Bleacher Report wrote, “and so the Clippers may ultimately win a season series from the Lakers this year, but the rivalry and dominance remain with the purple and gold” (Ruben). On December 26, 2012, on the peak of the Clippers’ 14-game winning streak and best start in franchise history, Joseph Karbousky of Examiner.com wrote: “The 2012-13 NBA season was predicted to be a two team fight for the NBA Championship between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers. Apparently the ‘other’ team in L.A. doesn't listen to the so-called experts. The Los Angeles Clippers are no longer the joke of the league. In fact, if this team remains healthy, they could contend for the NBA title. Gulp, did I just really say that?”(Karbousky). In a “game of the week” preview column for the Los Angeles Times, sports columnist Ben Bolch gave his insight for the Clippers vs. Lakers game on January 4, 2013. Bolch wrote, “the Clippers don't own Los Angeles, but they have inquired about a season-long lease. The city's allegedly lesser NBA team also happens to be the one with the league's best winning percentage and a franchise-record 16-game winning streak” (Bolch). In USA Today’s 2012 NBA year-end power rankings, the Los Angeles Clippers were voted as the best team in the league, but the opening for the article read, “The time of reckoning is upon us. A new year is nigh, and the best team in the NBA is the Los Angeles Clippers. No, we don't know how this happened. But everyone agrees” (Adi). Brand Equity=Performance? Even amidst the 2012-13 success and new fortune of the Los Angeles Clippers, there exists a reluctance among influential media to believe a team like the Clippers could be K a z m i | 16 doing so well, given its ill-fated history. The poor past performance that has plagued the Clippers has created a brand image associated with losing, and despite its success, it appears that the media will continue to compare the Clippers to the Lakers, since they share the same market and because the Lakers have historically been the more successful franchise. Although there seems to be a shift occurring in the way the Clippers are being portrayed by the Los Angeles media, the labels attached to the franchise’s poor play in the past have yet to be shaken. Through the media, sports enthusiasts and fans are reminded of what the Clippers once were, even during the high points in the franchise’s history. This will likely continue to present difficulties to the Clippers in their effort to rebrand themselves. John Ireland, the current voice of the Lakers, has worked as a sports journalist in Los Angeles for more than 20 years. He has also worked for the Clippers in the mid 1990’s, and has covered the Lakers for more than 17 years. When asked what it will take for the media to change their perception of the Clippers, Ireland responded, “It’s simple. They have to stop losing and start winning” (Ireland). The term brand equity, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, means “the commercial value that derives from consumer perception of the brand name of a particular product or service, rather than from the product or service itself” (Oxfordictionaries.com). According to Kevin Lane Keller, author of Strategic Brand Management, “a basic premise of brand equity is that the power of a brand lies in the minds of consumers and what they have experienced and learned about the brand over time” (Keller). When we apply this premise to the Lakers and the Clippers, the advantage the Lakers have is that their brand equity is much higher than the Clippers’. If the Lakers endure a bad season or do not live up to expectations, they still benefit from having strong K a z m i | 17 brand equity, based on their performance in the past. They have been known and recognized as being one of the NBA’s elite and highly successful franchises, and will most likely continue to do so because they have a strong history of winning. Conversely, the Clippers’ brand equity is also strong, but it is associated with losing. Even though they had the best record in the NBA during the 2012-13 season, their losing history has been associated with the franchise for so long that it will likely take much longer to restructure their brand perception. The difficulty of being a basketball franchise like the Clippers is that they operate within the NBA, and not as their own entity. The guidelines of having an NBA franchise are much more complex. Just because the franchise endures losing seasons does not mean they can shut down operations like other businesses. The Clippers function as a sub-brand under the NBA power brand, and their poor performance has become a commonplace characteristic not only for the team itself, but for the NBA. Underdog teams like the Clippers have underperformed for so long that there is almost a perception that they will always be one of the NBA’s lower tier teams. Although the Clippers have not enjoyed the same success as the Lakers, their point of difference has proven to be successful when considered through a business perspective. They may not have been able to instill winning culture because of their inconsistent play, but the Clippers have consistently utilized a low-cost economic model. Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling pays low rent on the Staples Center, has one of the lowest payrolls in the league and no debt, thus enabling the team to earn a profit even though the team’s ticket prices are half the cost of Lakers tickets (Badenhausen). From his experience in covering both teams, John Ireland believes one of the primary reasons the Clippers moved to Los Angeles was because the Clippers’ upper management knew not everyone could afford a K a z m i | 18 ticket to a Lakers game, and there was an opportunity to target the lower income demographic (Ireland). Low price can serve as an opportunity for differentiating branding and for attaining fan support. At a Clippers game, attendees can sit in the higher levels of Staples Center (section 300) for $15-20, or they can spend $150 to sit in mid-level (section 100) or lower level seats. The Lakers, meanwhile, charge $30-40 for the same upper levels and, and around $300 for the same lower level seats (Ticketmaster.com). In some regards, ticket pricing can be a factor in determining team loyalty. Some may see the Lakers’ high prices as a reason to support the Clippers, as they provide professional level entertainment for a fraction of the cost. However, the Clippers’ low attendance rate and overall franchise valuation is a testament to the importance of winning games. Their prices may be low, but the franchise has not given its fan base many reasons to attend. As the Clippers have shown, in the NBA, a franchise can be successful from a business perspective, but its brand can still suffer. Because the Lakers have consistently done well, their high prices have also been attributed to their higher quality of play. Conversely, since the Clippers have done so poorly, many may attribute the price of their tickets to their poor quality of play. As of December 30, 2012, the Clippers were on top of the NBA standings, and even more impressive was their 17 straight victories during the season. With each win, the Clippers were solidifying themselves as a dominant force in the NBA. Ironically, Magic Johnson, Lakers legend and orchestrator of the “Showtime” era in the 1980’s, recently had this to say about the Clippers after watching them play, “I thought I would never see Showtime again. The Clippers are Showtime! THIS is Showtime"(Turner). With the development of Blake Griffin, NBA elite point guard Chris Paul, experienced veterans and a reenergized bench, the Clippers had arguably become the best team in Los Angeles for the K a z m i | 19 first time in years. Fans were exposed to thrilling highlights performed by exciting stars and to a team that competed at a high level, while paying half the price it costs to see a Lakers’ game. In 2012, a new era of Clippers basketball was underway, and with it, the opportunities to potentially redefine the franchise from a messaging and branding standpoint. Redefining the Clippers’ Brand Image In October 2012, the Clippers launched a promo video for the 2012-2013 season. The video was collaged together using exciting highlights from each player, including slam- dunks, three-point shots and lay-ups from the pre-season, 2011-2012 regular season and playoffs footage. Within the collage were also player celebrations and panned shots of what looked to be a sold-out Staples Center. The promo was appropriately titled, “The New Age.” The song selected for the promo was called “Welcome to the New Age, “performed by rock band, The Imagine Dragons. The imagery of the Clippers’ exciting athletes in combination with an electric atmosphere at the Staples Center within the video made it relatively clear that this was no longer the Clippers team of the past. The video also instills an intimidation factor by showcasing the impressive attributes of the team’s superstar athletes (“L.A. Clippers 2012-13 Season Promo”– YouTube). However, after closer examination of the video, it seems that the Clippers were not only trying to send a message that this is a “new age” for the organization, but also “a new age” for Los Angeles in terms of having only one dominant basketball team. Throughout the promo, many of the clips used were from games in which the Clippers played the Lakers. In some instances, Lakers players were shown in vulnerable positions being outplayed by Clippers players. In one particular scenario, Clippers’ superstar Blake Griffin is seen K a z m i | 20 dunking on top of Lakers’ Pau Gasol precisely at the time the “welcome to the new age” chorus is being sung. The video portrays the Clippers breaking out from the second-tier basketball team in Los Angeles. (Exhibit D) (LA Clippers 2012-2013 Season Promo) With their “The New Age” promo, one would think that could be the campaign for the 2012-13 season, as befitting the Clippers’ new direction. However, closer review of their communications during the 2012-13 season show there have been some inconsistencies in their messaging during the season. “The New Age” slogan had hardly been used outside of its initial launch and the promo only aired on the first day of the season. It can now only be seen on YouTube. Rather, the Clippers themed their 2012-13 season around a “Represent” campaign. The team’s social media pages, billboards, website and television content all featured content around this message. As noted in the survey conducted for this work, the word “tradition “came up frequently when survey respondents described why they followed their favorite sports teams. In building a new tradition around an exciting atmosphere and new level of competitive play, the Clippers’ choice of the term “Represent” seems vague, given the opportunity the team had with its strong lineup and performance. In a Los Angeles Times article, T.J Simers writes, “it would be sacrilegious to suggest there's a Showtime feel to the Clippers, but something has to be K a z m i | 21 better than the Clippers' marketing campaign built around the word ‘’Represent.’ They certainly don't represent what we remember about the Clippers” (Simers). As Simers points out, the term, “represent” does not do justice to the Clippers. The phrase is a call to action for all Clippers’ fans to show their support to their team and their city, which is fine for the cheerleaders or PA announcer in the arena, but it does not do much for rebranding the franchise. The campaign also makes it known that the Clippers represent “passion,” “heart” and “basketball,” but what team does not do all those things? (Exhibit E) (Official Facebook Page of LA Clippers) The word, “represent” is so vague that it might be possible for any NBA team, or any sports franchise for that matter, to build a campaign around the word, especially in the context in which the Clippers are using it. Although it may be premature to label them as a traditionally winning franchise, they can label themselves as an exciting and competitive team. With a plethora of young talent and newly acquired stars, it is safe to say that the Clippers are going to be an exciting team well into the future. For this generation of fans and onward, the opportunity exists for the Clippers to begin rebranding the franchise and further develop their fan base, but they must take a more proactive approach. When an organization is associated with a bad product or service, they may proactively distance themselves from these associations through its messaging of a new or revamped product or service, a communications strategy that could yield positive results. K a z m i | 22 Similar to their “New Age” promo, the Clippers need to make it evidently clear to their audience that their past is no more. A perfect example of this “distancing and refocusing” strategy has been executed by the Domino’s Pizza chain of restaurants. In early 2010, Domino’s began criticizing its own product in TV advertisements. The commercials portrayed Domino's chefs experimenting with combinations of their ingredients while acknowledging that products of the past were inferior. The commercials also included quotes from customers that show their distaste for the product. Customers were portrayed saying things like, “Domino's pizza crust, to me, is like cardboard" and “the sauce tastes like ketchup"(Williams). David N. Finley, director of communications at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California, believes that the Domino’s advertisements offer something unique and interesting in “today's media- saturated world.” He also appreciates the advertisement’s honest, sincere and novel approach (Williams). Paul Kurnit, co-author of the book, The Little Blue Book of Marketing, believes that Domino’s “admission and authenticity of its taste inferiority streamlines the credentials and credibility that they've made serious changes to garner taste affirmation with doubters and discontents” (Williams). In applying this strategy to the Clippers, the team would need to admit they are not the same team as they used to be, which might intrigue current and prospective fans into believing that the Clippers are no longer the same team they used to be. In previous years, Clippers fans were shown glimmers of championship potential, but then the team would fall back into their old ways. It happened so often that fans may be reluctant to believe things will change if a culture change is not implemented in the Clippers’ messaging. The Clippers must subtly convey to their fans and spectators that although they faltered in the K a z m i | 23 past, those days are behind them. Including imagery of tougher times in Clipper history in the background of billboards and social media ads (in black and white), while showcasing the “New Age” Clippers at the forefront of these ads (in color) could create a separation between where the Clippers were and where they are headed. The Clippers have long been the second class team in the L.A. market in comparison to the Lakers, but this rebranding process could demonstrate how they are rising up from obscurity to prosperity and success. The Lakers’ Fan Mindset vs. Clippers’ Fan Mindset As there are obvious differences in the identities of the Lakers and Clippers franchises, there are also notable differences between each fan base. John Ireland believes that the Clippers’ organization is “trying to find a fraction of Los Angeles, a different group of people that are not Lakers fans and can root for the Clippers” (Ireland). In analyzing each fan’s mindset through a psychological perspective, Nancy F. Lee, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist in Beverly Hills who has interacted with followers of each franchise, says "Lakers fans are realists, while Clippers fans are optimists." She goes on to state that Lakers fans are traditionalists and have "a strong psychological identification with a group they see as successful." Conversely, she says Clippers fans “value ideals and they cope better with ambiguity, spontaneity and misfortune"(Erskine). Clippers fans have had their fare share of misfortune over the years and have become so accustomed to subpar seasons, that it is much easier to accept disappointing outcomes. However, when the team plays above expectations, fans are over elated. David Carter, professor of sports business at the University of Southern California, has begun noticing the shift in expectations, noting “I don't think they [The Clippers] even need to K a z m i | 24 make it to the Finals this year for fans to think this has been a good year for them, and to think they have the chance to be good for a long time"(Erskine). Lakers fans, however, have been exposed to a winning culture for so long, that anything less than success makes for a stronger sense of disappointment and possibly even panic. As the Clippers build success and respect among their fan base, psychologist Lee also believes there is a strong possibility that some Lakers fans might switch sides and support the Clippers because of a psychological need to” identify with the victors” (Erskine). Again, when referring back to the word cloud in Exhibit A, tradition was frequently mentioned as a reason why fans follow their sports teams. As argued above, typically fans follow winners. For decades, the Lakers have been perceived as winners, thus instilling a deep-rooted family tradition into many households, but as the Clippers establish a consistent level of winning play, they can begin constructing a tradition of their own, possibly even gaining the support of Lakers fans. Since the Lakers have been the more successful of the two franchises, the fact that there exists a large group of Clippers loyalists is a premise worth examining. One question that arises is how the Clippers have developed their fan base. Outside of being known as the more affordable option, the Clippers have not given Angelinos much to cheer about. Kevin Arnovits, sports writer for Slate.com and ESPN’s TrueHoop blog, describes many Clippers fans as “non-glommers.” According to Arnovitz, the “non-glommers” are LA’s newcomers, who may be classified as children or adults who have migrated from other parts of the United States and do not have a long-standing history in Los Angeles. The “non- glommers” also do not want to be labeled as “band-wagoners” solely because of their reestablishment to a new city. Therefore, they may choose to support the Clippers instead K a z m i | 25 of the Lakers because they feel they can identify with the Clippers as being Los Angeles’s “other team.” The “non-glommers” also claim to be pure basketball fans first and cannot tolerate the over-exaggerated drama and glamour associated with the Lakers franchise (Arnovitz). Arnovitz also cites the “hipster factor.” Given that the Lakers are the mainstream team in Los Angeles, Arnovitz believes there exists a group of young, artsy basketball fans (“hipsters”) who may view the Lakers as a representation of the evil mainstream. Hipsters love to hate the Lakers and will look for any reason to root against them. Given that the Clippers are the Lakers’ direct competitors, it only makes sense for these fans to root against the Lakers. Hipsters strive to be unique in supporting something that does not receive the same attention as its counterpart (Arnovitz). Arnovitz’s description of Clippers’ fans is also supported by Scott Fender of the Bleacher Report. Fender describes Clippers’ fans as wanting to be “members of a secret society.” They also see themselves as more loyal and vocal as compared to Lakers fans since they have had to endure tougher seasons. There is also an appreciation shared between fellow Clipper fans, an acknowledgement of a “shared interest in an obscure team” (Fender). Aside from choosing the Clippers based on cost or being unable to stomach the Lakers, Arnovitz also mentions that Clippers fans love an underdog or Cinderella story team, thus they remain overly optimistic and support the Clippers each year in the hopes that it will be the year that “little brother” makes it to the finals. The team has historically not shown much long-term promise, but Clippers fans seem to believe that the payoff for their support will feel far greater when they achieve success, because of the team’s dismal K a z m i | 26 past. Clippers fans may also believe that their dedication to the team is worth more than Lakers’ fans since the Lakers have not had to endure what Clippers fans have. A City Divided When examining why the Lakers have traditionally received more support than the Clippers, it is not difficult to understand. The Lakers were the first team in Los Angeles, have had some of biggest names in NBA history on their roster, and have won more than double the number of league championships than the Clippers have earned Playoff appearances. With those attributes in mind, many Lakers fans may feel LA is a “Lakers town” and will always be one. They may perceive the Clippers as the “younger brother” that will never be able to obtain the amount of success the Lakers have had. In a (2013) article entitled, “What Lakers Fans Love Telling Clippers Fans,” ESPN’s Arash Markazi breaks down the top responses he has heard from Lakers fans throughout his career in covering both teams. According to Markazi, Lakers fans feel Clippers fans have no right to gloat about the Clippers’ short term success. “Where are the Clippers’ championship banners?” is the top response from Lakers fans when Clippers fans begin to revel in their new success. Markazi says Lakers fans cannot stand to see the Clippers doing well; especially since they feel the Clippers are not LA’s team to begin with. Furthermore, Lakers fans perceive the Clippers’ winning stints as flukes and nothing more (“What Lakers Fans Love”). It appears that, given their past history of losing, the Clippers are not taken seriously by Lakers fans. Lakers fans believe that the Clippers will eventually fall back into their old ways, almost as if it were indelibly part of the team’s identity now. The Lakers have not only been perceived as “the team of the stars,” in terms of players, but also the team that the stars support. A certain “glamour” factor associated with K a z m i | 27 the Lakers is evident at each home game. Celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Andy Garcia, Justin Timberlake, David Beckham, Dyan Cannon, Hilary Swank, Denzel Washington, Snoop Dog and Will Ferrell attend regularly and reportedly are avid Lakers fans (Sexton; CBSnews.com). Even film star Doris Day regularly attended Lakers games to watch stars such as Jerry West and Elgin Baylor play in the 1960’s (CBSnews.com). Although both the Lakers and Clippers are located in “Tinseltown,” the glamour factor has always been associated almost exclusively with the Lakers. However, the team’s star appeal and home game atmosphere has earned them much criticism from Clippers fans and NBA fans alike. In April of 2011, GQ Magazine labeled the Lakers’ followers as “The Fairest of America's Fair-weather Fans!” The Lakers’ fan base has been criticized for supporting the team when they are doing well, but abandoning them when they struggle. Even during games when the team is down on the scoreboard, Lakers fans are not known to reenergize; rather they begin booing or remain uninspired. In comparison, Clippers fans take pride in the fact they have supported their teams during rough stretches. According to GQ Magazine, Lakers fans abandoned the team en masse when Magic Johnson retired in 1991, and then “sent local TV ratings plummeting 30 percent” after Shaquille O’Neal departed in 2004 (Winer). The article also describes Staples Center as, “more of a bar scene than sports complex, where fans can't be bothered to clap—their hands are too busy texting.” Phil Jackson, who was a long-time head coach of the Lakers, has even said, “the focus [during games] is sometimes not on the court…it's on the people in the crowd" (Winer). Both the Lakers and Clippers are aware of their fan bases and cunningly utilize the persona of their perspective fan bases to their advantage. In the past, the Lakers have K a z m i | 28 allowed the filming of popular cable TV shows such as Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm to take place during and between game breaks. Entourage, a show that chronicles the acting career of Vincent Chase, a fictional young A-list movie star, was once filmed courtside at a Lakers game. In the episode, Vincent Chase is depicted attending the Lakers game with his friends so that he can take a break from his hectic acting career. Just as actors and actresses are regularly spotted at Lakers games, the scene in the show enforces the “Hollywood” perception associated with the Lakers. Having “A-list” celebrities in attendance has become a customary part of the environment and the organization has embraced this type of attention as it only adds to the glamour and entertainment factor associated with the Lakers’ brand (Alipour). The celebrity appeal of the Lakers has created maximum exposure and opportunities for the Lakers’ organization and their branding. Since “A-list” celebrities attend on a nightly basis, this has presented the franchise with the opportunity to create buzz, and generate headlines aside from just basketball. Since celebrities are in the arena, Lakers’ games are an ideal location for newspapers, magazines and other entertainment publications to get prized candid photos. During marquee match ups especially, big-name celebrities are known to make appearances. On many occasions, these celebrities are also seen wearing Lakers apparel or seen cheering on the Lakers. Celebrities are not only advocates for the Lakers, but can also act as influencers. On October 26, 2010, the night in which the Los Angeles Lakers were awarded their Championship rings for the 2009-2010 season, Jeanie Buss, executive vice president of basketball operations and marketing guru for the Lakers, convinced Head Coach Phil Jackson to let 16-year-old pop sensation, Justin Bieber, wear Jackson’s championship ring K a z m i | 29 (HuffingtonPost.com). The ring was presented to Bieber during the pre-game ceremony and he was photographed wearing it throughout the game. The story made headlines on major news and sports media outlets and pictures spread across the Internet. The picture of Justin Bieber essentially summed up what the Lakers are all about—a winning tradition and a Hollywood feel. Also, given the fact that Bieber is admired by millions of fans, his association with the Lakers gained the organization maximum exposure among younger fans. Conversely, Clippers fans are known to be more vocal and animated when it comes to representing their team. Super fan “Clipper Darrell,” a season ticket holder since the 2000–01 season, has been known for dancing, leading cheers and taunting opposing teams at home games, dressed in a half red, half blue suit—the Clippers' team colors. Just as the Lakers are associated with their star-studded fan base, the Clippers have become associated with passionate fans like, “Clipper Darrell.” In 2010, “Clipper Darrell” even orchestrated a “LeBron Parade” outside the Staples Center in hopes of luring free-agent and reigning NBA most valuable player, LeBron James, to the Clippers (Kerby). “Clipper Darrell’s” energy and passion at Clippers’ home games have become so ingrained into the Clippers in-game culture that Carl Lahr, Clippers’ vice president of marketing and sales, wanted to make sure he attended every game. Beginning in the 2009-2010 season, the Clippers offered “Clipper Darrell” complimentary season tickets because he could no longer afford them (Duffy). For years, “Clipper Darrell” has epitomized what it meant to be a Clippers fan. Even through the worst of times, he passionately cheered on the team when there was not much to cheer about. K a z m i | 30 However, in February 2012, the Clippers’ organization endured a public relations nightmare when “Clipper Darrell” announced on his website that the Clippers asked him to drop the team association from his name and stop doing interviews and appearances relating to the franchise. Instead of reaching out to the long- time Clippers fan and mediating the situation, the Clippers issued a statement citing inappropriate use of the Clippers' team name and trademark for Darrell’s unmonitored commercial gain. One portion of the Clippers’ statement read, “He [Clipper Darrell] is not actually a fan of the Clippers, but a fan of what he can make off of the Clippers” (Markazi-“Clipper Darrell”). After Darrell and the Clippers debacle went public, the story garnered attention from many sports journalists and bloggers and spread throughout social media and the web. “Clipper Darrell” continued to plead his position on national television and made it known that he was treated unfairly by the franchise (Imber). What was most apparent throughout the entire fiasco is that the news went public during the peak of one of the Clippers’ most successful season in years. “Clipper Darrell” cheered on the Clippers even through dark seasons, so from an outside perspective it looked as if the organization was abandoning its most loyal fan because they no longer required the publicity he brought to the franchise. The franchise looked even worse when star players Chris Paul and Deandre Jordan went onto their Twitter accounts in support of “Clipper Darrell” (Markazi-“Clipper Darrell”). The two sides eventually came to a quick and subtle compromise about “Clipper Darell’s” role with the franchise, but only after an ugly public dispute that could have been avoided. Situations like these likely serve to remind Clippers fans of upper management’s poor decision-making skills in the past, and hurt the team’s brand overall. When trying to K a z m i | 31 redefine a brand, situations like these can possibly harness the public’s perception of a franchise and halt it from moving forward. Two Teams, One Arena For sports franchises, the opportunities to position a brand are endless. As mentioned previously, both the Lakers and Clippers occupy the same arena, the Staples Center in Los Angeles. However, when examining the Staples Center from the outside, one would never think that the Clippers play at the Staples Center. Aside from game day, in which the Staples Center displays a Clippers banner, everybody who walks outside the Staples Center is reminded of the Lakers’ rich history, tradition and ties to Los Angeles. Located outside of Staples Center are the statues of six Los Angeles icons: Wayne Gretzsky, Oscar De La Hoya, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Four of these six statues are Lakers’ legends. Jeff Moeller, vice president of communications for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and Professor of Sports Public Relations at the University of Southern California, believes one of the biggest benefits the LA Kings have in sharing a property with a super brand like the Lakers is the instant recognition they receive. “During nationally televised Lakers games, the cameras will get a shot of the Lakers statues outside the arena, along with the Wayne Gretzksy statue,” said Moeller. “By doing so, the televised audience is made aware that the Staples Center is also home to the Kings” (Moeller). Magic Johnson Jerry West Kareem Abdul Jabbar Chick Hearn K a z m i | 32 To be forever immortalized in the form of a statue is not only a huge honor for the individual, but also for the franchise that is represented. Every day, thousands of spectators come across these Lakers’ statues, which spark curiosity in youth and instill a sense of nostalgia in adults. These statues remind everyone that Los Angeles was and always will be a Lakers town, and further strengthens the positive characteristics associated with the Lakers’ brand. The placement of these statues is a permanent reminder of what the Lakers represent and what their players have accomplished in their careers. Unlike the Clippers, the Lakers have instilled a sense of timeless pride into the city through their history and this is exemplified through the statues that stand outside of Staples Center. While outside, the Staples Center may seem as if it plays home solely to the Lakers, however within the arena, the environment is drastically different for the Lakers’ and Clippers’ respective home game nights. Everything from the lighting to the hardwood floors are changed, depending on which team has the home floor for the night. The Lakers present the game with theatrical lighting that puts more focus on the lower level and on the basketball court, while creating a more intimate feel. The lighting shines on the court, similar to that of a Broadway show and instills a glamorous appeal during each game, yet the effect is not cheap, reportedly costing about $2 million per season (Mays). Not only do the lights shine brightly for the Lakers players on the floor, but also for the celebrities who are often seated at the lower levels. Conversely, the Clippers, who have been associated with having a more vocal and energetic fan base, use a larger set of lights that shine on the entire arena. The Clippers layout includes two rows of seats along the baseline, while the Lakers have one surrounding the entire court, which is ideal for more celebrities (Mays). The feel of a K a z m i | 33 Clippers game skews more toward an environment suited for fans, whereas at a Lakers game, the “spotlight” is on the players. Even in pre-game videos, there are glaring differences in how each franchise presents itself. During the Lakers’ video, the few minutes are filled with images of current and former famous players, championship banners and defining moments in the franchise’s history. Their video is projected onto a white curtain, and when it falls, the Lakers’ PA announcer loudly states, “Here are your 16-time NBA world champions, the Los Angeles Lakers” and The Who’s famous song, “Baba O’Reilly” kicks in before the player intros. The Lakers remain consistent in their messaging and the focus remains on the historic tradition of winning that is associated with the franchise. The focus for the Clippers, on the other hand, remains on getting their audience loud and energized for the game that is about to take place. Their video is comprised of exciting plays from their new and improved roster of players, a barrage of cheerleaders dancing on screen and a spectacle of flashy visuals. The video is also accompanied by a youthful, techno trance mix and a green laser light show that characterizes the electric and exciting style of play that the Clippers are now associated with. In his breakdown of the two pre- game environments, Robert May, an editor at Grantland, an ESPN sub-site, wittily states, “if the Lakers are a Broadway show, the Clippers are a KISS concert” (Mays). The home floor for each team is obviously different in terms of color schemes and logos, but the Lakers have gone a step further in differentiating themselves by applying a new design at center court for the 2012-13 season. In keeping consistent with their messaging and brand positioning strategy, their center court logo is now surrounded by 16 purple stars, each one representing a year that the Lakers won a championship title. Opposing teams, fans and spectators are reminded of the winning culture associated with the franchise and the K a z m i | 34 success the team has endured in the league. The star design also adds to the glamour factor associated with the team and the design plays on the franchise’s tremendous “star” power. Although the floor is interchangeable depending on the home team, one aspect of the Staples Center that remains consistent throughout concerts, hockey games, award shows and sporting events is that the Lakers’ championship banners and retired jerseys hang in the rafters. Even at Clippers home games, the Lakers’ banners and jerseys are clearly visible to spectators and players who occupy the arena. Although there are other arenas throughout the U.S that house more than one professional sports franchise, the Los Angeles Staples Center is the only arena that plays home to two NBA teams (Mitchell). The Los Angeles Kings (NHL hockey team), also share the Staples Center as their home venue, and have their championship banners and retired jerseys hanging in the rafters, but the Kings would not, in this context, be considered a direct brand competitor of the Lakers or the Clippers. Rather, the Kings’ presence may reinforce a sense of pride within both Lakers and Clippers fans because they represent a different sport. Similarly, from a player’s and organizational perspective, the Clippers and Lakers may feel more of a bond and partnership with the Kings because they share the same building and represent the same city. The Clippers and Lakers likely view the Kings from more of a spectator’s K a z m i | 35 perspective. An example of this was seen in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Kings faced off against the New Jersey Devils. Throughout the course of the six-game series, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, superstar players on the Los Angeles Lakers, attended all of the matches that were played at Staples Center. Bryant was even featured in an LA Kings promo for the playoffs (Medina). It is safe to say that you would never see a Lakers player sitting in the crowd for a Clippers game. The dynamic is obviously more complicated when it comes to the Lakers and Clippers. They are direct competitors, both on the court and from an organizational perspective. Although the Clippers in 2012-13 had the most successful season in the history of their franchise, and even if they were to win a championship like many analysts predicted, the Lakers’ historic achievements would still vastly outnumber the Clippers’ achievements. Once a Clippers banner went up, a “measuring stick” effect would inevitably take place. Voice of the Los Angeles Lakers, John Ireland, supported this notion in 2013 by stating, “Even if the Clippers were to win it this year, it’s only one year. They would get a lot of buzz for winning it this year, but they have a long way to go before they can dethrone the Lakers” (Ireland). At the Staples Center, Lakers and Clippers fans can look up to the rafters and it would still be clear who the more dominant team was. Similar to the statues that stand outside of the Staples Center, the banners inside the arena serve as constant reminders that the Lakers are LA’s team, whereas the Clippers remain number two. Although the Clippers, Lakers and Kings all pay rent for the Staples Center, to attendees, the arena feels more like “home” for the Lakers and the Kings, while the Clippers seem more like long-term tenants. K a z m i | 36 Staples Center may play home to the Clippers for the foreseeable future, but if the Clippers want to break away and create their own identity, changing venues might be a vital step toward rebranding the organization, especially with their revamped roster of talented players and all-stars. At the beginning of 2012-2013 season, the New Jersey Nets relocated and became the Brooklyn Nets. They revamped the look of their jerseys and their roster, and found a home in at the new Barclays Center located in Brooklyn. What is most interesting, however, is that the Nets moved only six miles away from one of the NBA’s most historic and renowned franchises, the New York Knicks. The Nets and Knicks represent a different example of how two NBA teams are competing both on the court and for fans. While both the Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden (Knicks’ arena) are located in New York City, the teams have embodied different identities. Since Madison Square Garden has a rich history with the Knicks, it would likely be difficult to imagine another NBA team occupying the same arena. As the second largest city in the United States, ranked only behind New York City by geography and population, Los Angeles is “definitely big and diverse enough to house both franchises,” according to John Ireland (Ireland). Yet, a change of venue might significantly help in the rebranding of the Clippers. Whether they remained in downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena or relocated to Anaheim with the Mighty Ducks, a new arena could be a major step in differentiating the Clippers. Los Angeles may be a thriving and diverse city, but the Staples Center will always be predominantly associated with the Lakers, and the Clippers have no direct control over that. K a z m i | 37 The Superstar Dynamic When referring back to the word cloud in Exhibit A, the relative size of the words “players,” “player” and “athlete” indicate how frequently they were mentioned by survey respondents. To gain clarity on the context of these words in the word cloud, survey respondents were asked to describe the reasons they follow their favorite sports team. Although relatively smaller compared to some other words in the word cloud, when the words “player” or “athlete” were combined, they were cited in more than 20 different occasions, usually pertaining to some degree of admiration about an athlete. Phrases like, “I admire a star player on the team”, “I enjoy the players,” “the team has a great legacy of players,” and “I have a crush on a player” were frequently noted. There is no question that star power can have a great impact on the marketability and overall success of a sports franchise. Joe Arrigo of Bleacher Report has an interesting, yet relevant perception about how stars and superstars are defined in the NBA. Arrigo labels superstar athletes into three categories. The Level One Superstar is the media-and fan-made superstar. This player has played well for his team, but also has a personality or trait that everybody loves, thus earning more admiration than his skill may dictate. The Level Two Superstar has superior talent, but is not as marketable because of his conventional set of skills, lack of excitement or tedious personality. Finally, the Level Three Superstar is the true superstar. The True Superstar is driven by greatness, has achieved many feats, has an unmatchable skill set and wants his legacy defined by what he does on the court. The Level Three Superstar will do anything to win and to cement his legacy among the greatest athletes in the game (Arrigo). The true superstar receives more attention because he has set the precedent for other K a z m i | 38 athletes. Typically, some athletes in the NBA make the transition to the true superstar level, but are more than often a hybrid of the first and second type of star athlete. Superstar athletes not only acquire individual fame based on their performance, skill set, or characteristics, but they also strengthen their team’s brand and marketability based on these features. Historically, several NBA players have not won championships, but their presence in combination with their talent may have created a halo effect around their sports franchise. Arnold Anderson of Demand Media believes that a "halo effect" “occurs when a company or product finds marketing success due to its association with a successful company, product or other recognizable element” (Anderson). Superstar players play pivotal roles in the branding of a franchise. The Clippers, up until 2011, had not been able to retain a superstar athlete long enough to generate any type of awareness around their brand. Even superstars who have been on their team in the past, such as Elton Brand or Darius Miles, fell into the level two category of superstar. They were talented, but not unique enough to bring about any special attention to the franchise, and their stints with the team were short lived and often tainted because of the team’s miserable records. The “Blake Griffin Effect” However in 2009, the Clippers owned the rights to the No.1 pick in the NBA draft, in which they drafted Blake Griffin. Out of college, Blake Griffin was labeled as a “freak of nature” (NBAdraft.net). At 6’10” tall, he possessed an incredible amount of strength, speed and athleticism, was a dominant rebounder, a prolific scorer, and a human highlight reel. In his second year of college, Blake Griffin had become a regular on ESPN SportsCenter’s “Top Plays of the Night.” As with any number one pick, there were high expectations when Blake Griffin signed with the Clippers. Not only was the Clipper franchise excited about K a z m i | 39 their new player, but the entire NBA and its fans had their eyes on Blake Griffin because of his exciting reputation. Unfortunately, Blake Griffin suffered a season-ending injury in the pre-season of his first year, which only heightened the notions that the Clippers were a hopeless and “cursed” franchise (Fox Sports). However, when Blake Griffin returned for the 2010-11 season, he created the ultimate halo effect for the Clippers organization. Blake Griffin not only came back from his injury completely healed, but he took the NBA by storm. He won Rookie of the Year honors and was the first true rookie to be voted into the All-Star game in NBA history (Fox Sports). Furthermore, Griffin won the NBA slam-dunk contest in what was perhaps one of the NBA’s most memorable moments, as he leaped over a Kia Optima automobile (CBC Sports). Pedro Moura, a writer for ESPN LA, measured the “Griffin-fueled” financial impacts for and around the Clippers organization in what he likes to call the “GDP,” or “Griffin Domestic Product.” For the 2010-11 season, Moura reports Griffin significantly impacted ticket sales, attendance, television ratings, website traffic and jersey sales (“Blake Griffin Taking Steps…”). Griffin also boosted ticket sales at the Staples Center and in opposing arenas by an average of 1300 tickets per game (Moura). From December 2010 to January 2011, the Clippers' website experienced a 60 percent increase in views, from 1.2 to 1.9 million, and the team’s television ratings had the second-highest increase in the NBA, almost 80 percent. Griffin’s jersey was 11 th among all NBA jerseys sold, in only his first year of play (McCarthy). Although Griffin became a media sensation in his first year, it obviously was not because the Clippers were winning. In the season he was injured, the Clippers had a 33 (wins)-48 (losses) record at the end of the season. The next season when Griffin K a z m i | 40 returned, the Clippers posted a record of 35-46. The Clippers’ record remained relatively the same and it was evident that Griffin still needed to further develop his overall skill. Blake Griffin is a great example of the Level One and Level Two hybrid Superstar. Although there were some flaws in his skill set during his first year, it was his athleticism and electrifying style of play that made him a media sensation. In his first official year in the league, Griffin became the face of Kia Motors and also inked deals with big names such as Subway and AT&T, and began appearing in a series of TV commercials for Kia and Subway (Fox). Since Griffin is a charismatic, well spoken, and well-liked athlete, he not only receives an unprecedented amount of exposure on the basketball court, but also off the court. Jeff Fellenzer, sports, business and media professor at the University of Southern California, calls Blake Griffin a “phenomenon". He's now in a category of superstars that put people in the seats. People are willing to open up their wallets for him, come to his games and buy his merchandise” (Moura). With the addition of Blake Griffin to their roster, the Clippers became the “Blake Griffin Show,” and became associated with a new and exciting brand of basketball. His presence also instilled a sense of relief for Clippers’ ownership. “People are talking about Blake all over the country and all over the world," said Clippers’ President of Operations, Andy Roeser. "We're a noticing a trend, too, where our attendance on the road is up. People want to see Blake play" (Moura). Without having to obtain a winning record, the image of the Clippers was shifting and the Clippers found marketing success, thus signifying the importance of Griffin’s arrival. Although Blake Griffin had undoubtedly brought a sense of excitement to the Clippers in his first year with the franchise, winning is and will always be the primary determinant of whether or not a team is considered successful as a whole. While individual K a z m i | 41 players can have a significant impact on the outcome of a game or season, the question arises of whether a player can single handedly lead his franchise to victory. John Ireland, voice of the Lakers, believes that NBA teams need two or more superstar athletes to be successful on the court and to also successfully market themselves (Ireland). “LA is a star- driven town. If you put together a team with no stars, very few people are going to come out, you will not have the buzz, and you are not going to win games,” says Ireland. “However, with the addition of stars also comes the expectation that you must win” (Ireland). During his time covering the NBA, Ireland has seen a strong correlation between having two or more superstars and winning. Ireland cited examples such as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls, Shaquille O’ Neal and Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers, Tim Duncan and David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar of the 1980s Lakers. “Not only did these players win championships,” said Ireland, “but each one was extremely marketable.” Andrew Bergman of the website FastCo.Design supports John Ireland’s premise with a series of visualizations that demonstrate it takes more than a superstar, or even a pair of superstars, to be consistently successful (“The Secret to the NBA’s…”). Michael Jordan, who is arguably the best player ever in the NBA, did not win his first championship with the Chicago Bulls until he got some help from a few star teammates. In Exhibit F, the graphic shows heights of the peaks based on points per game averaged by each player, while the dots on top of the graph indicate in which eras the championships were won. Looking at the middle of the graph, Michael Jordan has the highest overall peak, as he was a prolific scorer. However, it was not until Horace Grant, Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman joined the team in the 1990’s, that the Bulls began winning championships. K a z m i | 42 When examining the Boston Celtics’ infographic featured in Exhibit G on the next page, it is apparent that many of their championships were won in the 1960s when they had a plethora of superstars such as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and Pete Havlicek. When Larry Bird entered the NBA in the early 1980s, he won his championships when playing alongside stars like Robert Parish and Kevin McHale. In the Boston Celtic’s most recent championship, it was not until Paul Pierce got the help of Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo that the Celtics were able to end their dry spell in 2009. Before 2009, the Celtics did had not won a championship since 1986. (Bergman) Exhibit F K a z m i | 43 Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the New Look Clippers In the 2011-12 NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired superstar Point Guard Chris Paul via trade from the New Orleans’ Hornets. Paul, who was the focal point of his team in New Orleans, is the definition of a level three superstar. Before joining the Clippers, Chris Paul was a four-time NBA All-Star, a Gold Medalist with the U.S.A Olympic basketball team, and consistently led the league in steals and assists. He also was awarded the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2005-06. Although he did not have many supporting superstar-level players around him on the Hornets, his team went to the playoffs three times while he played with them, making it as far as the second round in 2008-2009, but never got past the first round after that (Basketballreference.com). Although the Hornets saw glimmers of success with Paul on the team, they traded him to the Clippers before his free agency period. The Hornets believed that they would be unable to re-sign Paul because Exhibit G (Bergman) K a z m i | 44 he gave no verbal assurance he would stay and the team was underperforming. It was then that the duo of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin was born for the Clippers. On the day the Clippers acquired Paul, a video of Blake Griffin excitedly yelling out, “it’s going to be lob-city!” quickly spread to YouTube and the media sphere (Coogan). In the NBA, the term “lob” refers to a high arching pass from one player to another that often ends with a slam-dunk shot or layup in the air. From the moment Chris Paul was acquired, Blake Griffin made it known that an exciting new brand of Clippers basketball was coming to LA. The phrase became so popular that rapper Tyga released a single called “Lob City” that has since gained more than 1.5 million views on YouTube (“Lob City”). The Team Los Angeles store began selling “Lob City” t-shirts and other apparel, and the phrase graced the cover of sports magazines. It was no secret to the NBA that Chris Paul was one of the best passers and scorers in the league, and with high flying players like Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan already on the roster, the Clippers were set to usher in a new era of fast- paced basketball at the helm of their new point guard. Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, believes that the Clippers “have the key ingredients to how this league has been marketed since [Larry] Bird and Magic [Johnson], and that's star power…They were desperate for those guys, and having two of them, they couldn't ask for a better scenario” (Bolch-“Clippers are an Afterthought…”). Not only did Chris Paul’s presence add a new level of marketability to the Clippers organization, but in his first season the team posted a record of 40-26 (shortened season because of lockout) and made it to the Western Conference semi-finals (second round) of the NBA Playoffs. Considering the team had not qualified for the playoffs in more than six K a z m i | 45 years and had a 35-46 record in the prior season, this was a major accomplishment for the organization. Historically, the Clippers have performed inconsistently from season to season. For example, in the 2005-06 season, the team made the NBA playoffs behind star forward Elton Brand; however, they followed that year with a losing record and got progressively worse from there. Elton Brand missed the entirety of the 2007-08 season because of injury, and then signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2008-09 because they offered him $7 million more than the Clippers (Jefferson). However, the addition of Chris Paul gave fans something to be optimistic about. John Ireland believes that Paul is the primary reason that the Clippers will remain relevant in Los Angeles for the next few years. “He is a complete game changer,” says Ireland. “He’s a huge star, he is marketable, he is a great guy, he is a leader, people love watching him play and he makes other guys better” (Ireland). In the off-season before the 2012-13 season, several news sources mentioned that Chris Paul was actively recruiting players to come join him on the team (Realgm.com). Given Chris Paul’s reputation as a winner and team leader, many free agents willingly heard Paul’s pleas. After the off-season concluded, the Clippers added star veterans Lamar Odom and Grant Hill and superstar Jamal Crawford and. Neil Olshay, vice president of basketball operations for the Clippers, credits Chris Paul as being the piece that has made the Clippers an attractive destination. “I know the culture has changed because we went from a ‘have to’ organization — ‘I have to go to the Clippers,’ ‘I got traded to the Clippers,’ ‘I got drafted by the Clippers’ — to a ‘want to.’ Guys want to be here now,” said Olshey “(Realgm.com). The recruiting definitely paid off. Led by Paul and Griffin, during the 2012-13 season, the Clippers were on the verge of putting together consecutive winning seasons for K a z m i | 46 the first time since 1974-75, when the team was located in Buffalo (“NBA Teams: Los Angeles Clippers Records Year by Year”). From the beginning of the 2012 season, they consistently ranked among the top three teams in the league and were on pace to win their first Pacific Conference title in the history of the franchise. Although Blake Griffin brought a level of excitement to the Clippers, the team was not considered a threat to the NBA; they were the “Clippers+Blake Griffin.” With the addition of Chris Paul, however, the Clippers had winning records for two years in a row, television ratings had doubled, merchandise sales increased (since Griffin’s first year), season tickets were sold out for consecutive years, and they were considered championship contenders for the first time in their history (Clippers are an Afterthought…”). Superstar Players and Brand Consistency Relying solely on one NBA superstar can only carry a franchise so far in the NBA. In recent years, a trend has developed where superstar players have left or demanded trades from their teams to increase their chances of winning, and the Clippers did not want to lose the phenomenal player they had in Blake Griffin (Smith). Clippers’ owner, Donald Sterling, who has been consistently criticized by fans and the media as greedy and obsessed with money, has even come around to the notion of winning, according to John Ireland, who noted, “Now that Sterling is starting to spend money, the team is starting to win. He sees that Blake Griffin and Chris Paul have begun to change the culture and sees the potential of what this team can become” (John Ireland). Superstar athletes are and will always be important to the branding of any franchise, but a strong branding campaign is only as successful the product itself. Brad VanAuken, chief brand strategist for the Blake Project and author of Brand Aid: A K a z m i | 47 Comprehensive, Practical Guide for Brand Building, believes repetition and patterns are key elements for brand consistency. “People encode the brand’s identity in their brains,” writes VanAuken. “If you mess with the overall look and feel of the brand, these linkages and associations are likely to break down” (VanAuken). While the Clippers are looking to diminish any negative associations tied to their brand, they will not be able to build brand equity equivalent to that of the Lakers until they consistently put a successful product on the court, and this can only be formulated around two or more superstars, as this historically has been the recipe of winning teams. When teams lose their star players or cannot appease them, the team’s chances of building any type of identity becomes progressively more difficult because their identity is always changing. Although it is difficult to build a competitive team every year because of factors such as players’ aging, injury, retirement and free agency, the most successful branded teams in the NBA have maintained consistent characteristics for years at a time and the Clippers’ best opportunity is now. The Los Angeles Lakers have been consistently associated with having some of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. Even when the NBA logo debuted in 1971, the iconic silhouette can be traced back to Hall-of-Fame and Lakers legend, Jerry West (Crowe). Players such as Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are not only renowned for being Lakers players, but also for being some of the best who have ever played the game. The star power associated with the Lakers has been a key component in the team’s high level of marketability, but the primary component has been their winning culture. K a z m i | 48 The graph shown in Exhibit H notes no championship titles for the Lakers in the 1960s because of the domination by the Boston Celtics in that era. However, superstars Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain, who played with the Lakers in the 1960’s were able win with the help of teammate Gail Goodrich. During the late 1970s and early ‘80s, superstar Kareem Abdul Jabbar teamed with a young Magic Johnson to earn a championship title and launch the team’s famed “Showtime” era. When James Worthy and Byron Scott joined the Lakers, the quartet of stars continued to win. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal joined forces in 1996 and the Lakers essentially dominated NBA play from 1999-2003. After the departure of Shaq to the Miami Heat in 2004, the Lakers experienced a dry spell until superstar Pau Gasol joined the team in 2008. After the acquisition of Gasol, the Lakers went onto the NBA Finals three straight years, winning in two of their appearances. Although many unforeseen circumstances can occur in the NBA that can quickly change the fortunes Exhibit H (Bergman) K a z m i | 49 of a franchise, over the decades, the Lakers have been able to consistently maintain a winning culture, which also created a sustained positive effect on the team’s brand. However, when evaluating the period from 1991-1996, the LA Lakers franchise competed so poorly that the era became known as the “Post-Showtime dry spell” (Hoopedia.com). Kareem Abdul Jabbar retired and Magic Johnson was forced into retirement because of his HIV-positive status. The Los Angeles Lakers remained competitive, even more so than the Clippers, but the team fell to a level of relative obscurity when compared to how the franchise was doing in the 1980’s. Like any product or service in the market, if the level of quality is consistently high and then drops for years at a time, the opportunity to raise the organization’s brand value or consumer base shrinks. In sports, the most committed fans will likely remain loyal, but the majority of fans will become dissatisfied with the product on the court, because of what they had become accustomed to in the past. Although Kobe Bryant is and will likely continue to be regarded as one of the top players in the history of the NBA, not even his presence could help the Lakers from of the 2004-07 period (Foxsports.com). After the departure of Shaquille O’Neal in 2004, television ratings for the Lakers fell 30%, attendance at the Staples Center dropped significantly, and the Lakers did not qualify for the Playoffs for the first time in 10 years (Winer). Unlike the Clippers, the Lakers had nowhere to go but down since they were coming off a run that included three Championship titles and four Finals appearances within an eight-year period. While Bryant averaged some of the highest point totals in the history of his career during this period and even scored 81 points in a game in the 2005-06 season, he alone was not able to restore the Lakers to their former glory. K a z m i | 50 Although the Clippers briefly experienced the “one superstar” dynamic with Blake Griffin in the 2009-10 season, his unique skill set made a tremendous impact and gave the Clippers something that they never had: new branding opportunities. The Lakers however, had established a winning culture with Bryant on the team in the prior years, so despite his historic personal numbers, the Lakers were seen as under achieving. The Lakers’ brand was becoming “Kobe Bryant + the Lakers” as opposed to the “World Champion Los Angeles Lakers.” While building effective brand and business strategies around a player like Kobe Bryant may be possible because of his unique skill set, a franchise can only uphold those strategies for so long. A franchise with such a winning culture must also deal with keeping its superstar players satisfied by providing a strong supporting cast of players. When reflecting on the “Post-Showtime Dry Spell” era (1991-96), the LA Lakers team was comprised of many Level Two superstars (such as Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones) and Level Three superstars (such as James Worthy) who were at the tail ends of their career. Lakers management signed one of the most dominant superstars in the game in Shaquille O’Neal as a free agent, and traded away one of their Level Two superstars, Vlade Divac, for then-rookie Kobe Bryant, who they saw as having the potential of becoming a Level Three superstar. Because O’Neal was newly signed and Bryant had not developed into a Level Three superstar, the Lakers were had to tolerate the development process with the two players from 1996-99 before they began winning titles. Bryant and O’Neal came to the Lakers with no preconceived expectations, but after they began winning NBA titles from 2000-03, there was not only a shift in the expectations of the fan base, but for the players on the team. After winning three Championship titles K a z m i | 51 and then falling to the lower end of the NBA Western Conference rankings in the seasons thereafter, Bryant may not have foreseen himself going through a dry spell similar to “Post- Showtime” era. He was in the prime of his career, yet his marketability was declining and his team was suffering. Franchises such as the Lakers that consistently find success, must not only keep their fans content, but take into consideration the individual brand value of their superstar players. The success of any franchise relies on the performance of each player, so their needs and wants must be addressed to some extent, or crisis can occur. Superstars such as Bryant can often become so valuable to a franchise’s brand that it is possible for their presence to begin dictating the organization’s overall direction. Media reports from the time indicate that Bryant was aware that his legacy was being affected by the franchise’s decline, and it seems his brand image was becoming more of a concern to him. Three years removed from appearing in the NBA Finals, and directly after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, a disgruntled Bryant answered post-game media questions about the future of the Lakers. In one instance, a reporter asked him, “What do you think management can do to get this organization turned around?” to which Bryant replied, “Do something and do it now.” (“Kobe Bryant: Do Something…”-YouTube). Three weeks later, on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York, Bryant asked to be traded (Espn.com). With historically winning franchises like the Lakers, the pressure to remain competitive can come from all angles. The Lakers had a major crisis on their hands when Kobe Bryant demanded to be traded, but instead of addressing the issue directly with their displeased superstar or addressing it publicly, the Lakers publicly appeared to remain silent. According to John Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management Group, “slower K a z m i | 52 responses only lead to more damage" and this seems to be the case with the Lakers (Bernstein). It was not until Bryant made it clear that he no longer wanted to be associated with the franchise, that Lakers Owner Jerry Buss responded saying, "We have made it very clear that we are building our team around Kobe and that we intend for him to be a Laker his entire career" (Stein). However, by the time of Buss’ comment, the story had already been broken and the trade speculation swirled around media outlets for the next two months. Since the 1960’s, NBA superstar players, including Wilt Chamberlain, Abdul Jabbar, Earl Monroe, Chris Paul, Carmello Anthony and Dwight Howard, have made trade requests because their once competitive teams were no longer competitive (Dorsey). When a team reaches such a high level of success, the superstar dilemma can become an issue and the brand of an individual player may overpower the brand of the franchise. Since prior to signing Griffin and Paul, the Clippers have not had to deal with a true Level Three superstar or experienced a consistent level of success, thus they have yet to experience this dilemma. The Lakers, however, are so frequently competitive on a championship level that their margin for rebuilding has been relatively smaller as compared to other teams. Without Kobe Bryant on the roster, the Lakers’ brand would have most likely suffered tremendously. The organization would have lost their Level Three superstar player, thus leading to a possible era of rebuilding. The Lakers brand not only exemplifies a historically winning tradition built around performance on the court, but includes suggestions that that the team’s ownership is willing to do anything to win and remain relevant. It is no wonder that a few months after Bryant’s trade request, the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies and became a powerhouse team once again. “Jerry Buss has always done K a z m i | 53 whatever it takes to win,” says John Ireland. “It doesn’t matter how much it costs. Winning always comes first and that’s what makes the Lakers so unique” (Ireland). The tandem impact of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol ultimately took the Lakers to three straight NBA Finals appearances and to winning two Championships in a three-year period. However, after their second Championship in 2009-10, the Lakers followed it up with back-to-back Second Round Playoff eliminations. Many NBA franchises would likely have been content with putting together a successful run similar to what the Lakers enjoyed from 2008-10, but not the Lakers. With only had a few more years to remain competitive with Bryant on the roster, the organization made additional moves to take advantage of this and stay true to their championship culture. In the summer before start of the 2012-13 season, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak was asked how he planned on improving the team, to which he replied, “We are going to try and hit a home run. We always try to hit the home run. (Bresnahan). In remaining consistent with their superstar culture, the Lakers again acquired two of the biggest superstars in the NBA: Point Guard, Steve Nash and Center, Dwight Howard. Before coming to Los Angeles, both Nash and Howard were the superstars of their respective teams and considered to be among the most marketable in the NBA (Nielsennewswire.com). After these big name acquisitions were made, the Lakers as a team ranked the highest in the league for overall Nielson score (N-score). Each N-score calculates a sports figure’s overall endorsement potential by factoring in the attributes and demographic measures that align brands with endorsers (“NBA: A Marketing Glamour…”). Of the 50 players in the NBA who were ranked on the Nielson list, six of the players were on the Lakers. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace – K a z m i | 54 the Lakers’ staring five – were in the top 15. Surprisingly, Steve Nash was listed as No.1 on the list and Kobe Bryant second. There is no question that when a superstar arrives on a team like the Lakers, their popularity increases, and in this particular scenario four of the NBA’s renowned superstars were grouped together on the most popular team in the NBA. The acquisition of superstar players not only raised the exposure of the organization, but increased the franchise’s overall marketability even further, thus solidifying the Lakers’ status as glamorous and star-studded. Although expectations for the Lakers coming into the 2012-13 season were high because of their superstar roster, the season proved to be the disappointment. Before the season began, the Lakers were projected to make it to the NBA Finals at the very least by many NBA analysts. However, since the start of the season, the Lakers consistently ranked from 10-12 in the Western Conference. To even quality for the playoffs, a team must make it to the No. 8 spot. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni and Point Guard Steve Nash even went on record saying that the Lakers’ new goal was to just make the Playoffs, as opposed to winning a Championship (McMenamin). With such high expectations for the Lakers organization, Jeff Moeller, President of Communications for the LA Kings, elaborated on how a team like the Lakers must communicate with its fan base during a tough stretch. Moeller believes that teams need to take a more optimistic perspective when a season does not go as expected. “With such a great amount of games, you cannot get too caught up in the little nuances of every loss,” he says. “Every team is going to go through a tough stretch; it is just something you have to go deal with, and with a transparent lens” (Moeller). If an organization remains transparent through its messaging, it demonstrates to its fan base that it is brave enough to bear K a z m i | 55 criticism. “Your willingness to acknowledge the situation can also help build brand trust,” says Moeller. “While you do not want to base your outreach efforts solely on the poor performance on the court or the ice, you do not want to turn your cheek to it either” (Moeller). John Ireland points out that although the Lakers have been fortunate enough to have had success for so many years, criticism is much harsher when a super team struggles (Ireland). However, he also stated that it is extremely important that management gives off the impression that they are doing everything possible to ensure the team can win, which he feels the Lakers have consistently done. “Whether it be a blockbuster trade or announcement that the team is looking to improve itself drastically,” says Ireland, “Lakers’ fans can be rest assured that management is doing everything possible to win because that’s Lakers’ brand basketball” (Ireland). He further expanded on this dynamic with the Clippers. “Up until recently, Clippers’ fans have been kept in the dark with any conversation regarding the improvement of the team,” he said. “It always felt like the Clippers have been more concerned with the business and money aspect, so expectations were never really there to begin with” (Ireland). Ireland does acknowledge however, that the Clippers had come around with the acquisition of Chris Paul and were starting to make the moves that were appeasing the fan base, which signals a positive change in the mindset of upper management (Ireland). As examined above, the connection of a franchise’s brand with two or more superstars has been the key to success for each organization; however, with these acquisitions come a higher level of accountability and risk in managing a brand name. The Clippers are on the verge of developing a new identity and look to be on their first K a z m i | 56 consistent incline in years, but the franchise has never before reached this level of success, so the intricacies involved with successfully managing this culture change may either make or break their rebranding process. The Lakers, however, have acquired and developed superstars on the team for years, which has become ingrained within the culture of the brand. With this longevity and success, the Lakers’ management also has had to deal with upholding the brands of their individual superstars and appeasing their fans in the moments when they have not been able to live up the winning tradition associated with the franchise. Lakers player Dwight Howard, the team’s youngest superstar, has made it clear that he is willing to go to another team to win a championship if he has to (Muma). The chance of him leaving the Lakers is high, which may leave the aging Lakers in a quandary for a few years. However, the Lakers still enjoy the luxury of overall strong brand equity, which could help them attract new talent, whereas the Clippers are still in the process of strengthening theirs. Lakers Dominating the Digital Landscape The emergence of social media has evolved the way sports teams can reach out to their fans. More than 80 percent of sports fans interact with social media sites while watching games on TV, and more than 60 percent do so while watching live events (Beese). Cultivating a social media presence for sports organizations has become a must, as it can generate excitement, build brand engagement with a fan base and provide another opportunity for organizations to control their brand. It is rare that a brand and/or team can successfully execute a winning social media strategy on both Twitter and Facebook, but the Lakers have found a way to dominate both social media platforms. According to Sportsfangraph.com, which publishes industry wide rankings based on the combined K a z m i | 57 number of Facebook and Twitter fans, the Los Angeles Lakers have close to 3,000,000 Twitter followers and 16,000,000 Facebook fans from all over the world (Sportsfangraph.com). “We have found that the Lakers’ popularity is not only in Southern California but exists worldwide,” says Jeanie Buss, Executive Vice President of the Lakers. “Staples Center has a capacity of about 19,000 so it doesn’t take long to realize that the majority of Lakers fans have never had the opportunity to attend a game in person, so social media plays a huge role in our communication and branding efforts” (Pollackblog.com). To give a better perspective of how dominant the Lakers have been, the next closest NBA team in the Twittersphere is the Orlando Magic with close to 700,000 Twitter followers; on Facebook, the Chicago Bulls rank second with close to 7,400,000 Facebook fans (Sportsfangraph.com). While the Clippers are not in last place when it comes to social media followers, they come in at number 14 among 30 in the NBA, with close to 230,000 Twitter followers and close to 635,000 Facebook fans. When comparing the presence of the Lakers and Clippers in the social media sphere, there is no question that the success and superstar talent associated to the Lakers franchise have played a key role in the team’s brand awareness, especially when taking into consideration that the Clippers established a Twitter presence three weeks before the Lakers, and started their Facebook page three months prior to the Lakers (sportsfangraph.com). However, due to the team’s newfound success and recent superstar players, the numbers of Clippers followers has rapidly grown. The Clippers have enjoyed a 121% growth in Facebook followers since last year (the highest in the NBA), and a 104% growth in the Twittersphere (the second highest in the NBA).The Clippers also have the highest percentage of fans interacting with their page via “likes,” comments and K a z m i | 58 shares, at eight percent. The opportunity for the Clippers to utilize these social media platforms in their branding efforts is now greater than ever, although the Lakers are still putting out content to the masses at a much higher level. As of Spring 2012, the Clippers have not yet been able to generate the level of awareness for their own brand as for individual players on their team. Considering the social media accounts for both Griffin and Paul, each player has more than double the amount of fans than the Clippers’ accounts. In short, Griffin has gained more social media recognition and brand value than the franchise that drafted him. There seems to be a disconnect between the Clippers’ superstar players and the brand they represent, but Paul and Griffin have been sensations since entering the NBA. Although a correlation might be found between the Clippers’ enhanced level of play and its social media popularity, the organization will need sustained success to keep pace with its star players. Using basic social media metrics, it is apparent that the Clippers have not earned a level of admiration from a national fan base comparable to the Lakers. The Lakers’ most popular player on Facebook is Kobe Bryant, with almost 15.6 million fans, but the Lakers as a team still have 200,000 more fans than Bryant alone. Although the Lakers’ roster includes some of the NBA’s most recognized and social superstars, social media followers show how the Lakers brand has become iconic, and able to stand on its own because of the success the organization has experienced. Even though the Lakers were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs in both 2011 and 2012, the Lakers’ Facebook page had still increased by 13 million followers since their last championship, in 2010, which is still tremendously more than any other NBA team. While every follower of their social media pages may not be an admirer of the franchise, the brand recognition is evident. K a z m i | 59 Exhibit I The Use of Imagery in Branding While both the Clippers and Lakers utilize digital content platforms to share information, such as pre- and post-game analysis, announcements, questions, player news, contests, and special offers, it is the franchises’ use of imagery that sets their brands apart. On any Facebook page, the first aspect of the page that an individual sees is the cover photo for the entity. With the Clippers and the Lakers, the cover photos for each team exemplify each brand almost perfectly. Depicted in Exhibit J are the two Facebook cover photos for each team, as of November 2012. The Lakers’ prior two cover photos have featured former Lakers player and Hall of Famer Jamal Wilkes, and a collage of their 2012-13 season superstar starting lineup. The images depict the Lakers’ celebrated past and showcase their star-studded roster of players in a glamorous fashion. The Clippers’ Facebook cover photos, on the other hand, depict Blake Griffin dunking the ball in one and flying through the air in 0 2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000 14,000,000 16,000,000 18,000,000 Facebook Followers Twitter Followers Clippers Lakers K a z m i | 60 the other. This type of imagery depicts the level of excitement and style of play that has been associated with Clippers brand basketball and with Griffin himself, rather than with the team. While featuring high-quality photos and action shots are commonplace for the majority of NBA franchises, both the Clippers and Lakers organizations have clearly made an effort to showcase their personality in their imagery both on and off the court. In the social media sphere, the use of imagery is perhaps the most important feature in creating an identity for an organization, and images also receive the most engagement. In a recent study conducted by HubSpot that examined more than 8,800 Facebook posts for more than 100 businesses, photos on Facebook pages received 53% more likes than the average post and 104% more comments than the average post, which showed their importance in the branding process (Corliss). Disney, for example, had 26.7 million interactions in one single year to its brand posts by emphasizing pictures that invoked viewers’ nostalgia (Corliss). When viewing the Clippers’ page, each image depicts the personality of the franchise. Exhibit J (Official Facebook-Page LA Lakers) (Official Facebook Page- LA Clippers) K a z m i | 61 Images of exciting plays, slam dunks, celebration and fan involvement grace the page on a consistent basis. The images in Exhibit K depict the resurgence of the Clippers organization, give a sense of thrill, and promote an enjoyable experience for Clippers’ fans. While the Lakers’ posts include their fair share of action shots, their brand personality comes through quite differently through their chosen imagery. Nick Kioski, director of new media and technology for the Los Angeles Lakers, says the department is “careful to keep all posts Lakers oriented” (Kadis). According to Kioski, the focus of the Lakers’ branding efforts remains on the in-arena experience, behind-the-scenes moments and creating new media that showcase the personality of the organization in less traditional, but engaging ways (Kadis). More recently, the Lakers have begun utilizing infographics as a way to present post-game information and player milestones. The detailed infographic in Exhibit L depicts historical milestones and accomplishments that player Kobe Bryant has achieved on his way to 30,000 points. Not only does the infographic highlight Bryant’s illustrious career, but also does so in way that is unique from other franchises. While any franchise can include an action shot of a historical night, the Lakers constantly look to distinguish themselves, thus further emphasizing why they are seen as one of the most premier brands in sports. Exhibit K (Official Facebook Page- LA Clippers) K a z m i | 62 The organization’s branding themes also come through in its choice of featured action and behind-the-scenes shots. It is apparent that the Lakers aim to emphasize the rich history of the organization while instilling a glamour factor into their shots. In the images shown in Exhibit M, we see: Kobe Bryant listening to the national anthem while famed soccer player and celebrity David Beckham stands in the background; player Metta World Peace kissing the hand of fan; players engaging in interviews; retired jerseys; championship banners; a reference to the Lakers’ iconic play- by-play announcer, Chick Hearn, and spotlight shots of players before the start of games. The personality of the Lakers brand comes throughs via its imagery, although their focal point and content is different from the Clippers, whose social media imagery is focused on an exciting and energetic style of play, whereas the Lakers emphasize star appeal and rich history . Exhibit L (Official Facebook-Page LA Lakers) Exhibit M (Official Facebook-Page LA Lakers) K a z m i | 63 Establishing a Consistent Voice While both the Lakers and Clippers utilize imagery as a primary brand strategy, creating a voice on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter is also a crucial aspect in the branding proces. In examining the Twitter platform specifically, it is apparent that both the Clippers and Lakers utilize the channel to share in-game updates, quotes, scores, player news, post-game analysis and pictures. The Lakers are the most followed NBA team in social media and their brand is so strongly recognized that it might be damaging to make any drastic changes in their social media voice. However, since the Clippers are in the midst of redefining themselves, finding a unique social media voice can be a major factor in distinguising the franchise in the years ahead. With the franchise experiencing its most successful season in its history, the Clippers during their 2012-13 season were getting more attention than ever, and they need to take advantage of this recognition. The Clippers’ Staples Center neighbors, The National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings, are also redefining sports social media and are one of the most progressive franchises when it comes to establishing a branded voice via these channels. The Kings' Twitter social media team has chosen an unabashedly biased voice, where they regularly poke fun at opposing teams' fans and hometowns, and pull comedic stunts other pro sports teams would likely deem too lively. Before accepting his position as director of digital media for the Kings, Dewayne Hankins made it clear that he wanted to establish a distinct voice for the organization. "Part of the deal for me coming in was that if we're going to do this, we're going to go all-in. Be different. Be unique. In L.A., you can do that. We're the little brother of the other four or five teams here, so we gotta do something to be entertaining," Hankins said. "If you're a different team, you can't do this. The Lakers can't” K a z m i | 64 (Wyshynski). On April 11, 2012, the number eight seed Kings defeated the top-seeded Canucks in game one of the Western Conference quarterfinals in Vancouver. After the game ended, the Kings’ Twitter page posted the following: Before their finals matchup with the New Jersey Devils, the Kings posted this tweet: Many of the Kings’ tweets were seen as controversial and earned Hankins the label of “classless,” but the team’s management considers the strategy necessary in its branding strategy. Kings’ Vice President of Communications, Jeff Moeller, added to this premise by saying, “What some people may find humorous, others may find tasteless. There is always a fine line, but you can still maintain a consistent identity” (Moeller). The strategy employed by the Kings definitely proved to be effective. When the playoffs began in early April 2012 the Kings’ Twitter account had added about 60,000 followers. Their Stanley Cup opponent, the New Jersey Devils, had gained about 20,000 new Twitter followers over the same time span (Laird). Dewayne Hankins says he would Exhibit N (Wyshynski) Exhibit O (Laird) K a z m i | 65 like to see other sports teams take the same approach with their social media efforts. "We've been doing this for some time and it's a lot of fun," he says. "But there's no way we're getting this kind of publicity if the team's not performing as well as they are." The Clippers, similarly to the Kings, have been perceived as the “younger brother” compared to the Los Angeles Lakers, and must do something to differentiate themselves. Furthermore, the Clippers, like the Kings, have been playing extremely well in recent years. The Clippers must leverage the publicity they are receiving from their on-court performance and capitalize on it in their social media efforts. The Clippers could Tweet something like, “Little brother has grown up” after defeating the Lakers, or “New York City was turned into Lob City tonight” after playing the Knicks. Riling up their fan base and maintaining a consistent voice may be a key determinant in the rebranding of the organization. By establishing a voice in their social media similar to that of the Kings, the Clippers could begin to differentiate themselves from the Lakers, especially since they now have the performance on the court to back it up. When examining the websites for both teams, there are definite differences between the ways each organization showcases their brand. The look of the Lakers’ website (Exhibit P) is consistent with their brand identity. The backdrop of the website displays the Lakers’ championship banners and along the top of the site, is written, “16-Time NBA Champions” along with the year each title was won. Along the bottom of the page in the tickets section, there is an image of the Lakers’ championship trophies. Even the sponsorship of MGM resorts on the right side of the page plays off the championship culture of the Lakers as it reads, “Do Vegas Like a Champion.” On their website, the Lakers have made it a priority to K a z m i | 66 emphasize their winning tradition as their point of difference and this clearly comes through. Similarly, the personality of the Clippers comes through in certain elements of its website (Exhibit Q), but not as well as the Lakers’. With their recent success, it is important that the Clippers emphasize their accomplishments as much as possible, as evident in the middle of the page with Chris Paul’s “Player of the Month” announcement. However, this type of information relies on the performance of the team and is not something the team can normally rely on its rebranding. On the top of the page are small pictures of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin-- the superstars of the team --and on the bottom is a highlight reel of dunks from their star players. These elements support the level of excitement associated Exhibit P (Lakers.com January 2013) K a z m i | 67 with the Clippers, yet they are not the focus of the page. The Clippers need to incorporate these elements more prominently as the focal point of the site if they want these characteristics to be associated with the franchise. When examining other stationary elements that make up the page, the Clippers remain consistent in their messaging for the 2012-13 season as the “Represent” logo is written across the top. However, putting aside the fact that their “Represent” campaign does not take advantage of the branding opportunities present with their current success and roster, there are no descriptions or video links attached to the “Represent” campaign that demonstrate what the campaign is trying to convey to its fan base. Furthermore, while acquiring sponsorships is common practice for all professional sports teams, Clippers Exhibit Q (Clipppers.com -January 2013) K a z m i | 68 advertisers the Chumash Casino, LA Financial Credit Union, LoanMart, Cabo Dream Vacation, Kia and Ford logos bombard the page. The most prevalent instance is the Clippers Logo on top that is followed by “presented by Chumash Casino.” Although Chumash Casino is the official sponsor, the layout competes with the Clippers’ logo. The Lakers’ page, on the other hand, remains more uniform and clean, as their logo and color scheme are dominant elements of the page. The dominant color on the Clippers’ page is black, even though the Clippers’ team colors are blue and red. Although both sites have a large amount of content, the Lakers’ page is more fluid and less distracting. While these elements may not directly affect the performance of the organization, what they can affect is how each organization is perceived against one another. Since the Clippers are already deemed by many to be the inferior team in Los Angeles, the way they visually present themselves to their audiences is an important consideration. In the 2012- 13 season, the Clippers had a great record, some of the most exciting players in the league and the most successful season in the history of the franchise. Now is time that they must differentiate themselves as a strong team and brand. If one were to enter their page without having any previous basketball knowledge, there would not be a great sense of identity for the organization. Aspects pertaining to the play on the court need to be focal point, including slam dunks, highlights and imagery of their superstar roster. Even if their homepage were to remain the same, an intro music video highlight showcasing in-game elements could make an immense difference with how the organization is perceived. Once a Lakers Town, Always a Lakers Town? The interview with John Ireland, voice of the Lakers, concluded with the question, “Do you think Los Angeles is and will forever be a Lakers town?” Ireland nodded and K a z m i | 69 responded, “Yes. The Lakers are already established. The Clippers have not created that brand yet” (Ireland). Although the Clippers have been in Los Angeles for nearly three decades, the franchise has yet to create a sustained positive brand association. The Lakers, on the other hand, have created a legacy. Unlike any other product or service, the success of any sports franchise revolves around winning. Although a team may not have to win a championship to be successful, simply being competitive on a year-to-year basis can create branding opportunities and garner fan support in any city. Unfortunately, this dynamic does not hold true in Los Angeles. Typically fans support their teams even through the worst of seasons because at the end of the day, the local team is the sole representative for millions of the region in that particular sport. Los Angeles, however, is the home to one of the most successful franchises in basketball, as well as one of the least successful. While Los Angeles does play home to several professional teams, the Lakers are also the most successful team in terms of accolades. The disparity between the Clippers and Lakers is so immense, that the city has become accustomed to the pattern that has played out between each organization. The Lakers are expected to do great and the Clippers expected to do poorly, and this mindset has become largely ingrained into the culture of Los Angeles. The Lakers have upheld a winning tradition, have developed some of the greatest superstars in the game, and have strong ties with generations of Lakers fans, as the team’s success has been felt throughout the city and country in last 50 years. After working in the NBA for so many years, John Ireland has felt the presence of Lakers’ fans in every state to which he has traveled. “The Lakers are the only team that has hundreds of thousands of fans in each opposing team’s arena,” says Ireland. “They are a universal brand” (Ireland). K a z m i | 70 The Lakers’ organization has managed to successfully capitalize on the branding opportunities that surround the team. The superstar players, the championships, the rich history, and the glamour factor associated with the team have succinctly been packaged in the identity of the organization and this has been their primary point of difference and popularity even through losing seasons. Their brand perception is so strong that they remain the topic of conversation even amidst one of their worst seasons in history. “If this were any other city, the town would be jumping for joy for what the Clippers are accomplishing this year,” exclaimed Jeff Moeller, “but the focus still remains around the Lakers because they are the star-studded team and they raise the [championship] banners around here” (Moeller). While the Lakers have remained consistent in their branding strategies, the importance of winning and superstar talent cannot be underestimated in the success of an NBA franchise brand. The publicity that comes with winning and star power can play a crucial role in how a sports organization is perceived outside of its own region, as it will tend to maximize exposure. Spectators on a national level begin to take notice of the personnel and characteristics that make a franchise successful or noteworthy. Although the Clippers and Lakers have been sharing the same city and building for years, the Clippers have never been considered true rivals for the Lakers. The most historic rivalry in the NBA has been the Lakers and Celtics. Over the decades, both teams were consistently among the best in the league, met in the Finals more than any other teams, and were loaded with superstar talent. The Clippers now possess these characteristics and the topic of their turnaround has been trending by sports journalists more than ever. Even though current superstar players such as Kobe Bryant and Blake Griffin have denied that a K a z m i | 71 rivalry exists between the two teams, from a branding perspective, this is one of the best things that could happen to the Clippers (Turner). The fact that two teams with such a disparity in success are now being considered rivals signals a shift in the way Los Angeles is beginning to perceive the Clippers, and is a positive step forward in separating the franchise from its negative associations in the past. There is no dispute that the Lakers remain the most successful and celebrated basketball team in Los Angeles, as this is evident in their overall record, their brand value, and extensive fan base. However, the Clippers now possess the elements that were pivotal in the Lakers’ successful branding efforts. While the Clippers may have entered Los Angeles targeting those who were not Lakers’ fans, the playing field looks to be more level than before. Not only do the Clippers have the opportunity to engage new audiences on the national level, but they also have the opportunity to garner the support of those who have only supported the more successful home team (the Lakers) in the past. Now is the time for the Clippers to maximize their branding efforts. The Clippers must establish themselves as a dominant force in the NBA, maximize their publicity, and alleviate any residual negative associations of the past. Unfortunately for the Clippers, they will always be compared to the Lakers because of the level of success they have achieved in Los Angeles and how the Lakers have managed their brand. However, this is why the rebranding process for the Clippers is becoming increasingly more important. While the Clippers will not be able to win 16 championships any time soon, they can take heart that the landscape of Los Angeles basketball fandom is changing. The Lakers have been on a decline, while the Clippers are on a major incline, and they must make this shift apparent in every aspect of their communication efforts. If the Clippers maintain a K a z m i | 72 consistent identity moving forward, they will no longer be perceived as the” other team” in Los Angeles, but as the Los Angeles Clippers—a high flying, all-star studded, competitive team, that costs a fraction of what it costs to see the Lakers. All great products and services require effective branding, and as of right now, the Clippers are a great product. Now more than ever is the opportunity for the Clippers to make impression on the city of Los Angeles. There is no reason why not…they are of course, the “home team,” have the star “athletes,” and can instill a sense of “tradition” into the new generation of the city. K a z m i | 73 Works Cited Moeller, Jeff. Phone interview. 26 Dec. 2012. Ireland, John. Phone interview. 5 Jan. 2013. Adi, Joseph. "NBA power rankings: Clippers on top; Chris Paul, too?." USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com. N.p., 31 Dec. 2012. 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I first became a of my because my dad was a die hard of them. I remember being 5 and getting my first jersey and going to a game and rooting for them. Since then I have become a die hard following the . It is something me and my dad have a common bond with. But on the other hand I do believe that just with the individuals that are on the has kept me a of the organization because I root for them because I believe they have the personality traits I share. 3. They are my home and I also grew up in a sports-loving household that were supporters of the . So it was also family tradition, and then I found a love for the for myself starting in junior high after attending a game. It was an incredible feeling to rise and fall with the and to escape from everyday life and immerse yourself in these athletic heroes. No matter how bad your day could be going, games were something to look forward to. 4. When I moved to the United States, I was fascinated by the sport of basketball. Living in Southern California amongst family members that sacredly followed the sport and the Los Angeles Lakers in particular. It was an easy choice to became a Lakers , a which stands amongst elite sports franchises in the world today. The Lakers have been an aspiration to me for variety of reason, to list a few: franchise's management success, it's winning tradition along with list of legendary players. 5. My dad was always a big and I began to watch Games with him and started to feel a sense of loyalty in wanting them to win. And why this over others? Because they play for my city! I've moved around a lot and still felt loyal to that . 6. I love one of the athlete who plays in that , therefore I follow him so as the . But when he joined a new , I become a of the new instead of the previous one. 7. I'm a bandwagon of the San Francisco 49ers. My dad and brother are huge sports buffs and would always have super bowl parties at the house and take us on a family trip to see the niners practice. Nothing from self interest rather due to bein y hometown and having strong interests from the men in the family! 8. I was born there and I choose not to follow trends. It also helps my father is a of the same s and it heightens our bond. 9. I became a because of family. It's a that my brother follows and I wanted to bond with him over something. I choose basketball and we now watch the games together. 10. I am a because it's my hometown and it has a legacy of great players. 11. I am a of my s (professional and college) because they are my local s. I grew up with season tickets for most of my favorite s. The more experiences I had, the more knowledge I learned from my father, the more I watched on television the bigger the I am. 12. I love baseball since I can remember! I love the Los Angeles Dodgers because they are my home ! I'm even married to a professional mexican baseball player! What a coinsedence right! And I love the fact that my husband and I could relate to something we both love! 13. I began watching a famous sports star on my and, though I enjoy my home s, I align myself with the original I began watching the sport with until this day. 14. I became a when bored one Christmas Day, about three years ago. I saw the Lakers lose to the Cavaliers. That shocked me because I always grew up knowing that the Lakers were the best. So, to find out what happened, I watched another game. The Lakers won. I kept watching games and BOOM. Three years later and I haven't missed a game a game since! :) 15. I like to root for the underdogs 16. For me, it comes down to two things. 1.) Location of sports . It instills a sense of city or region pride. A person can grow attached to a professional franchise and the athletes represent an entire region from all over the nation. 2.) Family traditions. While many families are divided when it comes to sports, my family loves the same s. It’s a pastime that the entire family can enjoy and attend or watch on TV. K a z m i | 88 17. I use to like a specific sports because I had a crush on one of the players. I had no clue what their record was or what the stats were on the player. Soon after I started dating, one of the first things my boyfriend asked me was which was my favorite baseball . After answering his question, he made a face and looked at me in disappointment so I quickly changed my answer. Ever since then I have followed and been a of my husbands favorite sports s. If he knew I had previously chosen s based of the colors of the uniform he would be so disappointed. 18. I became interested in a young exciting athlete, and became a of the he plays for while following his career. 19. My love for sports was ignited as a result of the influence my family, mother, father and particularly older brother. The passion and interest that my family demonstrated, led me to become curious about sports and ultimatley a . 20. My love and pride for a hometown is first and foremost. Secondly, I love a that is competitive and a bit cocky. It's also really important for me to love the player--a player with a good, heartwarming story makes all the difference. 21. I watched them growing up, so in a way it became a part of my childhood, my culture. 22. If they are my home , then I support them. I also enjoy s that play really well and are good at that particular sport. 23. My lovely boyfriend loves the Lakers, so I love them too. Also, because Kobe is awesome. 24. There are two reasons why I became a of my favorite franchise. First, I was drawn in by one of the 's star players. Growing up, I played the same position as this player on my junior league s. This player is one of the best to ever play the position, and I think every kid would try to replicate his level of skill. Second, the is just fun to watch play. The had a number of players that would become hall-of-famers, and so watching them every Sunday is something I would look forward to all week. They displayed a level of skill that made difficult tasks look simple. 25. I'm s of the s I follow because I (a) grew up in the area the 's located, or (b) went to the school at which the plays. 26. To be honest I am not a huge sports buff by nature, but I have a lot of close male friends, and if you are not into sports, you get left out of the conversation. I became a big of the NBA and some NFL s in large part because my friends are s and hanging out with them inevitably meant there was a game on T.V. Sports brings people together and its something I can share with friends and actually quite enjoy. 27. I follow the Packers because it is my home . I don't really like football that much, so I feel pride for my on behalf of my pride for my state. And Brett Favre was pretty cool back in the day. Honestly, I follow sports because other people follow them and talk about them. and I pick my home s because they are my home s, and they also happen to be good most seasons.I suppose I became a packer at a young age, 5?, because of family and friends and everyone in Wisco loves the Pack. I adore the Badgers because that is where I went to college, and I think I've become a larger being out of my home state. The Bucks suck, so if I had to pick a different it might be because of a star player, and also the s location. So I'd say the reasons would be #1 Home /State Pride, #2 Star/Likeable Players and Personalities 28. I was raised into a tradition of family sports and I myself am an athlete. Typically a person supports their hometown team. My hometown team happens to be really good so it was easy to follow them. 29. I follow boxing and soccer because it has been a family tradition. I grew up watching these sports with my father. We would cheer together and discuss these games in depth. We would get ready for games by talking about the loation and the pro and cons of each of the players that was going to play a particular game. We only viewed them via television becuase at the time we did not have the money to go to the games but it felt even through television that we were actully there at the game itself. Many saw this as out of the gender norm for me because I am a female. 30. I follow the team because it is the team that my boyfriend follows. 31. I like basketball but cannot spare 3 hours or so. My favorite hometeam is Lakers and do like a few players as well. Yes, my entire family love Lakers, but they always want them to win! I watch Lakers and support them because they are our hometeam. K a z m i | 89 32. They are in my area/location - My parents liked them growing up 33. I chose my team based on location (hometeam), skill, history, attitude on the court and most important .... Team colors. They have to look good on me. Red, Royal Blue and White. ;-) 34. The quarterback is talented and attractive 35. They must be good ethical people. Or my best friends love them, or my daddy likes them. 36. I'm actually not a sports fan. Maybe because I have never been athletically inclined, I didn't develop an interest as a spectator. My husband was somewhat interested in football early in our marriage but once our son was born he says I ruined the experience by telling him to be quiet so he won't wake the baby. I don't remember if he followed a specific team. Our son is now 32, but he never rekindled his interest in the game. He'll watch the Rose Parade on New Years Day, but none of the games. At this time, we might note a news story about a local team, but are not "fans" of any specific franchise. 37. I follow a sport team because I admire a certain star in that team. I think I'm more person-driven than team-driven. Actually when I go to the games, I usually go for only one or two athletes. 38. They are my hometeam. For college sports, it is because they are my college teams. So for me, its being loyal to a team that have a personal tie to me. I do admire other athletes on other teams but players can be traded or retired, etc...but the team itself will usually be around (unless they move). 39. I follow two Professional sports teams in the NFL and NBA both of which are because of players that I admire and have watched get drafted after college. 40. Usually, these were local teams that my friends followed as well. I tried to be a fan of football living in Cleveland but that was pretty tough. But when I moved to Miami I found myself surrounded by die hard fans and was immediately drawn by the social aspect (ie tailgating and bars) that came along with it. Although I don't live in Miami anymore, I am still a Dolphin fan and the Hurricanes will always be my team. Same goes for the HEAT, which is pretty hard living in LA. For international sports, I usually go with the team that I feel the closest to. I worked in Chelsea in London. Shevchenko is from Ukraine, played for Dynamo and Chelsea. So its easy to be a Chelsea fan, well maybe not as much this season. So I guess it is cultural pride first, hometown second. 41. My baseball team has always been the underdog Southern California team. While the masses flock towards the blue, I steered towards the red. My parents and brother have been fans for as long as I can remember, it's only natural I followed the foot steps ahead of me. It's definitely a family tradition. While I do not hate on other California baseball teams, I am definitely partial to mine. As I've grown older, the love for my team has also grown. I attend as many home games as I can and follow along via my ESPN app when I can't watch the game live. Being a true fan of any team is tough, win or lose, you feel the satisfaction or disappointment equally. Particularly with baseball, with its 160+ games, to follow along for over 6 months in a year and have your team be so close but come up short is, to say the least, HEARTBREAKING. But as a fan you continue to follow along and push through with the hopes that next year will be different. Its definitely a commitment! 42. My dad was a big fan of the Celtics and I always watched their games with him. Watching and rooting for the same team as my dad and also my cousins built a sense of solidarity and I naturally became a fan. 43. They are my hometeam. 44. A past boyfriend was a fan. We would watch the games together. I totally got into it and now follow the team even though I'm not dating that guy any more. 45. I saw the coolest soccer play I'd ever seen, and I got to follow him, games he was in and his teams. 46. I'm a New England Patriots can because of Tom Brady. I think his mastery of the QB position has really been an incredible thing to witness. Along with the Lombardi like coaching of Bill Bellichick, I've bought into "The Patriot Way" and really am emotionally invested in them. 47. I became a fan of particular teams because they represented where I lived at that time. I currently like teams based on how passionate I believe the individual players are 48. I think school/classmates played a big time in deciding what team to follow. As it got closer to finals, all everyone talked about was "last nights game". To be "in the loop" I started watching the games. Since, I've been following the team. K a z m i | 90 49. They are my home town team, they have a dominant superstar, they won championships when I first started following the sport. 50. I have been a local team fan.Growing up I watched the lakers,dodgers,kings and galaxy games and I just kept following them since. I became a San Francisco 49ers fan because my godfather was a fan and I liked them for that reason. Strangely in 1988 the lakers,dodgers and 49ers won their championship that year which is the year I was born so it was meant to be. 51. I can't really answer this question without getting a bit specific, so what I'm going to do is name a couple of teams I follow and share why and how I became a supporter. Dodgers - My parents would take me to games as a child Lakers - Only basketball team I grew up knowing and the first of my list of teams I support to win a championship while i followed them. Anaheim Ducks - The Movie. San Diego Chargers - I refused to like the Raiders because my brother was a big fan and I enjoyed rivaling him so i chose a team he disliked just to spite him and I've supported them since. Chelsea Football Club - Again, my friends supported large clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United, so i decided to begin rooting for a team that rivaled them and was of equal skill, I like rivals and competetion and I began supporting them because at the time they were going against Manchester United in the league and against Barcelona FC in a European tournament. Chelsea FC lost to Barcelona and succeeded in the league that year and I've been a supporter since! Not to mention my favorite color is blue! I tend to support all US based teams that are local to me, I take a lot of pride in teams from around the area. Another big factor as you can tell in my selection of sports teams is spite or rivalry, I love competetion so any time i had an opportunity to oppose a friend or family member, I factored that into my decision on who I would support. One thing that may not be obvious but i like to root for teams that go against mainstream teams or big clubs, the ducks have always been the little brother to the kings, The Chargers have never won a Superbowl and have always been below the Broncos or Raiders and Chelsea FC have always until recently been inferior to clubs such as Manchester United and Barcelona. Oh! and one last thing! My favorite color is blue! So The Chelsea Blues, The LA Dodgers, The Chargers... they all have that in common lol. 52. It is definitely family tradition. About 95% of our family are on the east coast; mostly in MA. With that said, if you're not a Sox, Celtics, or Pats fan...you shouldn't say a word at family get togethers. Go Celtics! ;) 53. I am a fan of 3 professional sports franchises. My favorite franchise is my favorite because it has been a family tradition to like this team. I grew up attending their games and watching them on t.v. My other two favorite teams (in other sports) I like because of the star players they have or had. 54. Family is extremely important to me and being that my dad is a huge Laker fan I could not help but join in when I was younger. Since I was a little girl My dad would talk about his team and soon they became my team. No other team compares and It's not just because they are champions but because they are my father's team. 55. I am not a sports fan. There, I said it. I have never followed a league or created a fantasy draft and I couldn't name a starting lineup if my life depended on it. As an American male, I've spent my life feeling like a bit of an outcast in this regard. I love playing and watching tennis matches and kicking the occasional soccer ball around with friends, but, in general, the worldwide fascination with team sports has always alluded me for some reason, and I've never really been sure why. I've always admired people with a dedication to their teams or franchises. In all honesty, I envy them. They care so deeply, and passionately that a good game or solid win can actually make their day better. Over the years, I've spent some time watching games or talking with my friends who share this enthusiasm. I've tried my hardest to understand it, in the hopes that maybe some day I could partake in the excitement too. So far, this is what I've learned: Anytime I ask how someone could grow to love or hate a team of 20-30 vastly different and distinct individuals, the answer always seems to stem from the person's background. Maybe they grew up loving the Steelers because their parents, grandparents and great grand parents were Steelers fans. Or they root for the Yankees because they were born and raised in New York. In my (albeit, limited) experience, a dedication to a particular team rarely has anything to do with a record or individual player, but more to do with a tradition or a legacy that has touched the fan in K a z m i | 91 some personal way. Maybe someday, I'll have an experience that will make a team or franchise personal for me too. For now, I'm content to support the teams my friends support, and to live vicariously through their excitement. 56. I became a fan of a sports team because it represents my hometown. It creates a sense of unity and community to belong to a fan group. 57. I became a fan of a team first because it was the team that my father always used to watch. 58. I'm not much into sports, so I always cheer on the under dogs of which ever sport. 59. When I was a kid, I used to be a fan of whatever team I thought had the highest chance of winning the championship. Around my teenage years, I noticed most of my friends had a certain team they always cheered for, and I guess through peer pressure and wanting to fit in I was influenced to choose a team. Not sure of what team to pick, I went and asked my dad for help. He told me the team he was a fan of and his reasons, mostly citing their dominance during a certain decade and the character of their head coach at the time. After listening to that, I decided to choose that team not really for those reasons, but mostly because their quarterback could scramble, something that was new and exciting to me at the time. They have been my team ever since. 60. I am a Laker fan because of my father. He watches basketball, so I grew up being a Laker fan due to him. In recent years another reason I follow them because LA is best known for basketball, and it is the most popular team here. 61. in essence i grew up in southern California thus no matter what sport it may be, i will always be biased to teams based out of here. Also, i grew up playing basketball and given the history of southern California teams, it was inevitable. 62. The sports team that I love is one that actually was isolated from the game for 20 odd years due to apartheid and when they came back to the sport, they had a lot to learn and had to work really hard. their hard work and determination back in 1999 was what led to me to become a huge fan. Their team dedication, the world class talent that exist in this team is incredible. Most of the team members from the '99 team have retired but the passion for the game and the hard work has not left the team. They are yet to prove to the world that they are a strong team (they are yet to win a World Cup, they've come really close) but I have no doubt that their time will come. This is why I am a hardcore fan of the team I support! 63. Due to learning how to play the beautiful game, aka soccer, i became a Barca fan when i was around 15 years old. Most of my classmates watched the Spanish League, talked about sports, played a variety of games, and so was destined to one day become part of such sports community. At that point in time, Ronaldinho, supposedly the world's best dribbler, played for Barcelona and thus had a big impact in me choosing his side. Messi, currently the world's best, plays for the "blaugrana" and fortunately for his fans and the club, he's also involved with UNICEF. Hopefully, as the time passes, the spanish giants will keep winning more trophies and increase their involvement helping kids around the world. 64. My friend follows the team and she took me to some games so I became a fan 65. Because members of my immediate family follow it and are big fans. In addition, a group of relatives are fans of the rival team, which makes it even more fun. 66. The affinity I have for my favorite team stems from my exposure to them as a child. I grew up watching the team with my Dad and in doing so I became emotionally attached to them. Over the years I became a loyal fan. As I got older, I learned about the organization's philosophy and developed a greater appreciation for the style of play that the team endorsed. I doesn't hurt that the team has a successful history and signs world class players that are entertaining to watch. 67. Well they are my hometeam,I was brought up a fan by my family. They also won the works series the year I was born. It was just meant to be. 68. I have become a USC fan because I started going to school there, and the strong school spirit and fan following pressured me just enough to become a fan myself! The strong sports tradition at USC, as well as the strong following in Southern California makes being a fan really fun, and I feel more like I"m part of a community by being a fan more than I actually enjoy watching sports (which as still fun!). I'm K a z m i | 92 also fan of the Clippers and Kings, more so because my husband is into them. The only other sports I really watch or attend in person are because my husband is an avid fan, or because I have an opportunity to see something live, which is a fun experience. 69. It is a family tradition. My entire family including aunts and uncles, even grandparents are avid sports fans. Even new members of the family (marriages) are forced to adapt and pick a franchise. 70. Everything I know about sports I learned from my father who is a passionate sports fan to say the least. My father would take me and my brothers to sporting events and we would always support Southern Californian teams because Southern California was home, it represents where we live, it was like a family tradition, some how sports always brought the family together, my dad, his brothers, my uncles, would always seem to be yelling at the TV when their team was not performing as well as they wanted them to. Needless to say these men in my life were shouting at the TV as if the players could really hear them. As I got older I stuck with these teams, support the team where you are from. My dad took us to both Angels and Dodgers games because Gene Autry owned the Angels and my dad was a huge western movie fan, and LA was home so you root for the hometeam. Well as I got older, people always wanted me to pick, you couldn't support two teams, I was always so defensive, because I really did grow up going to both teams games. Why did I have to chose? Basketball was easy, go Lakers, but I would root for the Clippers too, they are from LA and just because they might not have as many championship banners, they still represent the city of Los Angeles. I was not old enough to root for the LA Raiders or Rams, therefore when both NFL football teams left LA my family still considered themselves Raider fans, I did not understand that? Why wouldn't we root for the San Diego Chargers? This is when as a teen, young adult I started finding my own reasons to support who I wanted as a sports fan. LA does not have a NFL team which makes me sad, I really became devoted as a college football fan, go USC! I feel that if my dad would of supported other teams, such as teams that represented where we didn't live, I would of became a fan of that team because I wouldn't of known any better, dad likes them so I guess I do too. With sports and sporting events it helps create memories and moments you look back at fondly, I believe sports are an outlet for many, and with that you associate good times with good memories, so is it the team, the sport or the memory you love, in my case I can look back at being a sports fan with me bonding with my father, and I'm sure when I have a family, sports will be one of the things that bonds me and my children, hoping that I can create great memories for them through sports. 71. My best friend is a huge fan of the Lakers. I have been enthusiastic about the Lakers for a good six years since they are a hometeam, but I really became a fan during high school. My friend and I would hang out and all she could talk about was the Lakers and how their last few games had been. She is a die hard Kobe/ Lakers fan and ever since I met her her in high school, I've become one as well. 72. I am a fan of the Miami Dolphins, been since day one, the day I got out of the hospital my father put Dolphin pajamas on me. It's because of him mainly I've always been a Dolphin fan, unlike my father I have never been fortunate enough to watch the Dolphins go all the way, but I will always be a fan no matter what (unlike Silvio who is a habitual band-wagoner) lol. Another reason I have been so faithful to the Dolphins is because I am Cuban, when people hear Miami they often associate it with Cubans,most of my Cuban relatives in Miami are Dolphin fans, so I have that connection with the team as well. Miami is my second home, I love that place, I love my team. By the way, Einehorn is Finkle and Finkle is Einehorn. 73. Winning teams always have attracted me. If my hometown team is good, then I will support. If another team is good and has "superstars", then I will support it. 74. Im following the Gongora tradition, but with that being said I actually have learned more in depth about sports in all by taking the time to watch how a football game works.So eventually the team grew on me . My better judgment tells me that a man's sport team is as dear to his heart as a women's shoe collection is to her closet. So tieing in a sport team gives our relationship a point up we can enjoy something he likes and im learning along the way. K a z m i | 93 75. Family tradition, they are my hometeam, parents took me to games when I was young, had memorabilia around the house, watched on television every night, played the sport myself, friends were also fans 76. In my personal account, it differs on the sport. For example, I follow the Los Angeles Lakers because it's my hometeam and Kobe Bryant is my favorite basketball player. As for football, I follow the Minnesota Vikings because I was raised up from middle into liking them, so that's where it's different. Even though they've had horrible seasons lately, I still follow the Vikings because if and when they come back as a stronger team, the result will be more satisfying being able to stick to a team without switching from one team to another for dumb reasons like: they suck so I'm going with someone else. Or the worst: I'M FOLLOWING TOM BRADY TO THE PATRIOTS! 77. I am a fan of a particular baseball team because my boyfriend is a diehard fan. 78. I have always been a fan of several different sports franchises, each for different particular reasons, and some more than others. However, my overall joy in supporting any of my sports teams is perhaps the thrill of feeling as if I am somehow a part of the spirit and passion required by athletes to participate in games of such a competitive nature. There is a certain excitement in learning the history and legend behind sports teams, and having the opportunity to see history being made through my favorite players as well as their adversaries. 79. For me, baseball is part of the American tradition. I grew up associating summertime with hot dogs, green grass, and baseball. Not only is it tradition, it's also a way of life. 80. Growing up in Southern California was really difficult for my brothers and I....not because we wanted for anything, but because we were new to the neighborhood. We had absolutely no family here, as they were all in San Diego, Fresno, Texas or Mexico. WIth no friends or family nearby, I would cling to my cousins whenever we got the chance to go visit them......which brings me to the following point: My cousin Fernando was a HUGE Sand Diego Padres fan - so naturally I became a HUGE fan myself. It's amazing the influence someone you look up to can have on you. However, I am ashamed to admit this but I am now a NY Yankees fan because of Carlos (My fiance). I guess I kinda hop-on-the-bandwagon when it comes to sports.....and I know it's attributed to the fact that 've never been really big on sports. 81. To be honest I was never a fan of any sports until 1996. I was living in Hawaii and I had a restless night so I decided to turn on the TV, hoping it would put me to sleep. Since Hawaii happened to be three hours behind I was able to catch the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves. For several evenings I continued to watch the World Series and instantly became a fan of the Yankees. I remember watching Derek Jeter’s face as he missed a play. He was so upset and when the inning was over he walked into the dugout and went up to Joe Torre and told him I’m sorry, it was my fault. Now who does that? There is great camaraderie amongst the team mates and the coaches. Win or lose they support each other and have each other’s back. The Yankees won the series that year in six games. And that is when I became a huge fan of the New York Yankees and I still am today. 82. Being from Southern California, it's difficult not following our local teams, whatever sport it is. With that said, I've followed the Lakers for years. It started through a friend, who had season seats. We went to as many games as we could and being in the Forum (yes, I'm old) brings even more energy and excitement to the game. I'll be honest, I think I became a fan because I really like Magic Johnson (on and off the court). My admiration for him made me want to follow the team and sport of basketball. I've followed the team for years, but recently my "fan" level has really decreased. I'm not a fan of Kobe and the way the team has become less of a "team." I guess at times I'm not a die hard fan if I cheer for the other team. 83. I love football and every season I seem to change the team I like. For the superbowl I seem to root for the underdog. 84. The one factor that led me to become a fan to the team I am now following is my son. I was never a team fan until he was a rookie in the NBA for this team. I traveled to almost every game and today this is my favorite team even though my son is not playing with them. I admire the players on the team and will continue to follow them. JAP K a z m i | 94 85. Teams I follow/support are based on my school affiliation/alumni and state and/or city hometeam(s). 86. They are my hometeam & my family supports them, so therefore, I do to! I originally got into it b/c of a certain charasmatic player, but now, I just root for them because they remind me of home. :) 87. I like the philanthropic philosophy of the players. I also like the fact that sports does not interferes with academia -_- 88. My son started watching basketball when he was young. He was/is not a tall person but I wanted to encourage any sport that interested him despite being 5'6. I took him to college games and he to this day lives for Basketball season. Watching basketball games is something we could share together and still do. 89. I follow the team I follow because for one , I like California teams, it is where I live. Other familie members also influence my decision and lastly they are overall a good team! 90. I'll start by stating which franchise I am a fan of; the Los Angeles Lakers. I cannot recall my exact reasoning for become a fan of said franchise. Perhaps it is the tradition of winning, the many unique and outstanding athletes who were once and still are a part of the Laker brotherhood, the association with the "glitz and glamour" of Hollywood, the fact that they are the closest professional franchise to me geographically or simply because my family is enamored with the team. If I were to narrow my reasoning down, I would have to say that the reason I became a fan of the franchise was due to the winning tradition. Human nature establishes a desire; a yearning for success. Thus, I chose to associate myself with a franchise which may ultimately may give me more reasons to celebrate (not lately), than to wallow in defeat. 91. I lived in the home state of this team for 5 years and could not help but fall on love with the team because of how much each and every person I ran into loved the team...they cheered for them, ached for them, celebrsted and cried with them. These were by fat the most loyal sports fans I had come across. I was truly moved. 92. What lead me to become a fan a team was the way they played. I am a Green Bay Packer fan because they have always been a fast moving team, up-tempo, passing team. Same thing with baseball, since the American League has a designated hitter, it adds more possibility of scoring then if a pitcher would bat in the National Leauge. Thus giving more excitment and when your a little kid growing up and watching sports you want things to happen and become a fan of the teams that do go for long passes or hit more home runs. 93. Hometeam 94. I think the overall atmosphere that a team can provide to someone's homtown greatly contributes to one's enthusiasm for a sports franchise. I grew up in the small town of Bloomington, Indiana during the 1990s when Bobby Knight was the head coach for the IU basketball team. I took great pride in the team not only because they were amazing, but they put a small otherwise unknown town on the map to the rest of the country. 95. Hometown, my boyfriends favorite team- so I adopted it as well, and the players on the team 96. My family likes the team so I became a fan too. 97. I grew up going to sports games with my parents. I also follow athletes whom I knew in college. 98. They were my home town team. 99. I follow the New York Jets cause that's my hubbies team. He is from the East coast. AND Mark Sanchez is a bonus. 100. I am a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. I became a fan possibly because they were the very first team I watched on Television. I also represented the Lakers on a city league team when I was in elementary. I also knew that they were a hometeam so that mattered to me as well. I enjoy watching them and they have a great franchise which, are also more reason why I follow the Los Angeles Lakers. I follow basketball most because I play it and its my favorite sport. 101. I'm the only family member of both sides of my family that was born in California, the rest of the family members were either born in the midwest and/or south and all still currently live there. So, K a z m i | 95 I'm probably the only Californian that is a huge University of South Carolina fan. So, you can say it's a family tradition. Rarely does the University of South Carolina find it's way to the West Coast but once a year I fly back to the Carolinas to take in real college football, the atmosphere, the tailgating, the game, and the partying. 102. Growiing up I becames a Dodgers fan because my dad would always take me to the games. We would always have a fun time. The time spent there with him was very special. He thought me about the game and the team. I love the team and always will. I will also take my kids to future games. 103. I became interested in the sports franchise I follow because i lived in the city the franchise plays in. Their games were on all the time and there was a lot of promotion for the team throughout the city. The sports franchise began to represent more than a team, they represented the city i lived in at the time and the experiences and memories i had from that city. 104. Geography. I moved to major city and wanted to get into the local sport's scene. I had enjoyed the sport for years but did not live in an area with a professional team. It made it so much easier and fun once I lived in a place that had so much to offer for a professional sport franchise. 105. They are my hometeam. 106. I became a big fan of my favorite sports team through my father; although the team wasn't a hometeam in our state, he became a fan because his uncle was one and my father subsequently followed his lead. As such, from the time I was born, I was raised a true fan, and it continues to this day. I hope to pass on this family tradition in the future. 107. Family tradition, so I was born into it by my siblings and dad. Also, probably b/c they're the closest team to our area, and a championship team at that. Probably made it more appealing to us all. 108. Unfortunately, I'm of no help to you here Zeshaan. I don't follow any teams. I'm a total gym rat though and if that were a team, I'd follow it because of the camaraderie, not the sport itself. One thing I got really into the past three to four years is turbo kickboxing and I've even built a friend base from it. We work out, watch others work out, train together etc and it's become a turbo family tradition. I hope this helps! 109. I am such a big fan not only because they are my hometeam but because my family introduced me to them at a young age and I grew up with the team. 110. The reasons I am a fan of the sports team i support are as follows: 1. I live/lived in the city and feel the need to be loyal 2. went to the school (college football/basketball, etc...) 111. Became a fan because my parents were fans and I grew up watching the games. Also my dad would make me recite the word Lakers while I was sill beginning to talk so I guess it was in my blood to like the team before I could even speak. 112. I am a big Laker fan because I played basketball in high school and my boyfriend is a huge fan. I was also born in California and consider them to be my "hometeam." 113. I started out with my oldest son playing baseball and my youngest playing football when they were younger. I have alway liked watching football. It makes in more interesting when we all have different team in football, so when one team plays one of the other family member we go around and around rooting for our team. I do enjoy some of the players on my team, which I feel like watching certain player do a great job. I like that it is something we do as a family. I used to like going to one of my children games and rooting for their team and them. Sports are good for activities and health 114. My favorite team is my hometeam. The team was brought to my hometown when I was a kid and I've been a fan ever since. 115. I'm from Hawaii - no professional sports teams. I lived in DC for a while, so even though I don't live there anymore I cheer for the Washington Capitals and Nationals because I enjoyed myself when I went in person and they were competitive enough during my time there that it was fun to pull for them (but I don't cheer for the Redskins or Wizards for the exact opposite reasons). I'm still a free agent fan for basketball and football and will remain that way until I have some sort of exciting or painful experience with a team that establishes a permanent connection between me and it. I was in Denver during Tebow's season and was close becoming a Broncos fan, but one season wasn't enough time to develop a connection. It's like dating, these things take time and personal investment and emotion. K a z m i | 96 116. I am a Trailblazers fan because they are the only professional sports team in Oregon. I don't really follow sports but I somewhat care about the Blazers only because they represent my homestate. 117. They were my hometeam. K a z m i | 97 Appendix R-1 Interviewer: Zeshan Kazmi Interviewee: Jeff Moeller, Senior Director Communications and Content, L.A. Kings Date of Interview: December 23, 2012 Location: Fontana, CA Phone Interview Zeshan Kazmi: Question: How important is the role of social media in the King’s communication efforts/branding? Jeff Moeller: Answer: Well this is something that did not exist two, three, four, five years ago. I am a bit surprised how it has taken off so quickly. It’s free advertising, when it comes to Facebook and Twitter in particular. As of right now it’s kind of like the Wild Wild West in terms of rules that might be put in place. Our team in particular kind of has rules, but we mainly go off the guidelines of the league and their policies. In terms of being entertaining and humorous, there is a fine line. What one person might find funny or entertaining, someone else might find tasteless; there is no particular answer there. What some people may find humorous, others may find tasteless. There is always a fine line, but you can still maintain a consistent identity. With the Kings and many professional sports teams, you have a balance between the business operations part of the franchise and the hockey, basketball, baseball and football operations and the two entities do not always agree on everything. Generally, those guys have the role of winning games and the business side has the role of generating revenue, ticket sponsorships, fundraising and whatnot. There is kind of a slippery slope there and in our case we have been fortunate so far, but it also kind of scary because one word or one Tweet or whatnot could change a lot of things in a hurry. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: How difficult is it to maintain the communications of a sports teams as opposed to an individual athlete? Jeff Moeller: Answer: My personal background lies in sports teams. I began as a sports intern with the Kings in 1994. I also have a year of experience with the Angels and two years of experience with the Lakers. From 1996-1997, I also worked for a PR firm where I represented a lot of boxers, golfers, tennis players and certain individual athletes. Probably the biggest difference is that with a team, there is a lot more people to answer to. If you are a sports team, you have a head coach, you have an assistant coach, you have a general manager, you have an assistant general manager, you have a president, you have governor, you have an owner or owners and you have a commissioner of the league. An individual athlete can be a lot more individual. You do not have all the same people around them who they have to answer to. Generally, you can be a little more daring with an individual athlete. Another thing, in hockey in particular, is that it’s an ultimate team sport. A lot of kids from Canada, and from farms; it’s a sport where team is preached much more than an individual that is standing out above the team. So, in the NHL, a lot of the focus is on team first. Obviously, that is not the case if you are a boxer, diver or K a z m i | 98 swimmer or more individual. There are obvious challenges, but in short you can do a lot more with an individual athlete that can you do necessarily with a team, but it also depends on the team. Some teams are very button-down and conservative and others are a little more liberal and out-there and they might stress the individual standing out above from their teammates than other teams would. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: From a communications perspective, what a team must do to appease fans if a team does not perform up to expectations? Jeff Moeller: Answer: It’s an interesting question and I am not sure there is a straight answer to it. In case of a basketball team, a baseball team or a basketball team, it’s a long season. You can’t get too caught up in the day-to-day ups and downs, or week-to-week ups and downs of a long season. You have to have the ability to step back and look at the big picture of things; you have to look where you are at as a team, from a payroll structure, existing contracts, minor leagues and younger players being able to coming up and developing. So, you are always kind of looking at the big picture and one, two, three and four years ahead at a time. With such a great amount of games, you cannot get too caught up in the little nuances of every loss. Every team is going to go through a tough stretch; it is just something you have to go deal with, and with a transparent lens. If an organization remains transparent through its messaging, it demonstrates to its fan base that it is brave enough to bear criticism. Your willingness to acknowledge the situation can also help build brand trust. While you do not want to base your outreach efforts solely on the poor performance on the court or the ice, you do not want to turn your cheek to it either. Now from a fan’s standpoint, that is not necessarily what every fan wants to hear and that is certainly understandable. If your team is two or three years away from probably contention and yet you are still asking them to pay a premium for ticket prices today, that is certainly a challenge that a lot of teams face. There is nothing more important than winning and when you don’t win, there are usually a lot negative reactions and you kind of have to weather them and know brighter days are ahead. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: From a communications perspective or in general, does a franchise need a superstar to be successful? Jeff Moeller: Answer: A lot depends on your sports, but a lot also depends on your market. In Los Angeles we are a really unique town in terms of the multitude of things to do. We have two NBA teams, two baseball teams, two hockey teams, two soccer teams and two high-end college athletic programs. We also have the beach and the mountains. Then there is the entertainment side of L.A., which is so unique: tv shows, movies, films and things of that nature. L.A. is such a unique market in terms of the star power that exists here beyond the sports world. If you have a team that has one, two or three superstars but is losing vs. a team that has no superstars and is winning, in the long picture, the winning team is probably going to be leaps and bounds beyond the team with the superstars that is not winning. At the same time, it is great for the casual fan to have name recognition. If we use the Lakers as one example, you might have the person that only goes to one or two Lakers game, but then you add some more recognizable players such as Steve Nash or Dwight Howard and people might instantly gravitate towards those guys because they might recognize those guys. From the Dodgers standpoint, they just recently brought in a bunch of big names like Zack Granky, Adrian Gonzales, Hanley Ramirez, Josh K a z m i | 99 Beckett. The Angels also just brought in Josh Hamilton. These players are all stars, but at the end of the day, it will come to winning. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: From the King’s perspective, what are the challenges and benefits of sharing a hometown arena with so many other recognizable sports franchises. Jeff Moeller: Answer: It’s unheard of first and foremost. That in itself is a natural story though. We are the only arena that has three major teams, four if you include the Sparks. Some of the benefits of course are instant recognition. When you are sharing a property with a tenant such as the Lakers, those who are covering the L.A Kings for the first time are usually familiar with the facility because they may have previously covered the Lakers or the Clippers in the past, so that is a bit of a benefit. There is also the benefit of when the Lakers or Clippers are playing a nationally televised game and the commentators mention, “this is also the home of the L.A. Kings.” Even aerial shots where you can see the King’s banners in the background on television, those things definitely do not hurt. During nationally televised Lakers games, the cameras will get a shot of the Lakers statues outside the arena, along with the Wayne Gretzksy statue, by doing so, the televised audience is made aware that the Staples Center is also home to the Kings. The biggest challenge is the schedule from all the teams’ standpoint. We are really hand tied by the schedule. If you the Edminton Oilers or Anaheim Ducks or Florida Panthers, those NHL teams are the sole tenants of the arena outside of concerts, family shows and whatnot. At our end, we are obligated by which night the Kings have, the Lakers have or the Clippers have. Generally the Kings are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The Lakers have Friday and Sunday and the Clippers are kind of all over the place, so there is not a lot of flexibility an that often leads to a challenging schedule. It is already challenging enough being on the West Coast, but when are own arena can only give us some many options for home dates, it just makes it all the more challenging. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: What at the key characteristics that separate the L.A. Kings and Anaheim Ducks, being that they are from Southern California? Jeff Moeller: Answer: The obvious one is longevity. The Kings have been in Los Angeles since 1967, the Ducks started in 1993. We have been in the marketplace for 45 years, while they have been in the marketplace for less than twenty. From their end, they were originally owned by Disney. They were called the, Mighty Ducks. They were names after a kid’s movie. They sort of had Disney like things integrated into their broadcasts and in-arena experience. I think that kind of turned off a lot of hardcore hockey fans, but it also opened up doors for young fans and newer fans, especially kids who could relate to the Disney end of it. At the same, they won a Stanley Cup first. They won in 2007 and the Kings had been around close to 40 years and had not won by then, so that obviously gives them a leg up from that standpoint. The Kings have more of that more long storied tradition in acquiring players such as Wayne Gretsky, Luc Robatille, Dave Taylor and Marcella Dion. The Kings for instance have five guys with retired jerseys and I don’t think the Ducks have anyone. That of course comes from the long head start that the Kings had though. When you are here first, as compared to being here second you kind of always have that leg up just from the generational standpoint of people who have grown to be fans. Also, L.A. has an advantage from a PR perspective over Anaheim and Orange County because of the proximity of major media in town. Channel 2, 4, 5, 7, 11 FS West, Time Warner Cable—those are all L.A. based channels, K a z m i | 100 whether it L.A., Burbank, Hollywood, Downtown or El Segendo. The L.A. Times is a larger newspaper than the Orange County Register. Two of the three sport talk radio stations, 710, 570 and 830, two of them are L.A. based. If you are Channel 4 and you commit to covering a Angels or Ducks game, that is a pretty big commitment. You have to go 45 miles one-way and there is traffic coming back, as opposed to going Staples Center, Dodgers Stadium or the Toyota Sports Center, which may take five to ten minutes. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: In your professional opinion, how do the Clippers shake the “little brother” label in the media’s eyes especially in comparison with the Lakers, who have historically been the more successful franchise. Jeff Moeller: Answer: The Clippers are clearly an exciting team, they are in the midst of a 12-game winning streak, they have legitimate star; a homegrown star in Blake Griffin, they brought in Chris Paul before the start of last year, they have an exciting center in Diandre Jordan, they have veterans who have won at the highest levels in Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler, and Grant Hill will most likely be in the Hall-of Fame. If this were any other city, the town would be jumping for joy for what the Clippers are accomplishing this year, but the focus still remains around the Lakers because they are the star-studded team and they raise the [championship] banners around here. Look at their win/loss record since they have been in LA, the Clippers have zero titles compared to the big brother down the hall who has 16, there is a pretty big hole to try and overcome. The Clippers however, are doing a great job right now. They are an exciting team, they are young, they are dynamic, but shaking the “little brother label” and being viewed as equals with the Lakers which a global brand like Yankees, Montreal Canadians and Boston Celtics; just a recognized brand worldwide would be difficult because the Lakers have had a lot of success for a lot of years. K a z m i | 101 Appendix S-1 Interviewer: Zeshan Kazmi Interviewee: John Ireland, radio play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers. Date of Interview: January 8, 2013 Location: Los Angeles, CA-Phone Interview Zeshan Kazmi: Question: Since the Lakers and Clippers are going targeting the same geographic region, which strategies are being used to differentiate each brand in the same market? John Ireland: Answer: I worked for the Clippers for four years before I worked for the Lakers and the Clippers realize that Los Angeles is a really big city and not everybody is going to be able to afford going to the Lakers games. Since Clippers games are more affordable, you could make the argument that they are targeting a different demographic than the Lakers. Let’s bring L.A. into restaurant terms; it’s a big enough restaurant where everybody can find something that they like. I don’t think they are necessarily trying to compete with each other as they are trying to find their niche in the market. The Lakers are a more established brand and have been here longer. They are started in 1958 and the Clippers did not move here until the mid 80’s, so the Lakers get off to a head start and they are the heritage franchise. The Lakers had already developed their market. When the Clippers moved here, I think they realized that they were in a city with 15 million people and that the city was big enough to go after their own fan base. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: What steps do you think a sports franchise must take in its communication efforts the team does not perform up to expectations? John Ireland: Answer: Well in the case of the Lakers, it does happen very often. I think they have missed the playoffs only twice in the 30 plus years that Jerry Buss has owned the team. So, fortunately for them they have not had to worry about it too much, but I think there is a perception issue too. Do your fans think you are doing everything you can do to try and win? For years, the answer for Clippers fans was no. The answer for Lakers fans has always been, “absolutely.” The Lakers went out and got Dwight Howard and Steve Nash and earlier in the season they replaced the coach. If you are Lakers fans, you should feel good that management is doing everything they can to help your team win because that’s Lakers’ brand of basketball. For the Clippers, you could not really say until last year when they traded for Chris Paul. They have had several opportunities in the past to get some great free-agents and big-name coaches, but they never did. Now however, they are starting to spend money. They re-signed Blake Griffin and got Chris Paul and you see the result. The Clippers have changed their ways and now Lakers fans and Clippers fans think their teams are in it to win it, which is a big deal. K a z m i | 102 Zeshan Kazmi: Question: Historically, the Lakers have received more coverage than the Clippers. What do you think it’s going to take for the Clippers to lose the, “little brother” label in comparison to the Lakers? John Ireland: Answer: It’s simple. They have to stop losing and start winning. They have to beat them. They have played twice this year and the Clippers have won both games, but the Clippers have never won the division ever, in the same amount of time that the Lakers have been winning titles. The Lakers have 16 titles, the Clippers have never even been to the Western Conference Finals. There is a huge disparity in the level in success. You cannot even ask that question until the Clippers win a title or knock the Lakers out of the playoffs; something that will show that the Clippers can compete on the Lakers level. It looks like this year could be that year for the Clippers, but they have yet to do it and until they do that will always be hanging over them. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: Do you think the Los Angeles is, and will forever will be a Lakers town? John Ireland: Answer: I do, but again I think the Lakers are already established. They Lakers have millions of fans. The Lakers have fans not just in Los Angeles, but everywhere we go. Every single arena we go to, there are thousands of Lakers fans because they are a universal brand. The Clippers have not built that brand yet. Let’s say even if the Clippers were to win the title this year, it would only be one year. They would get a lot of buzz for winning it one year, but they have a long way to go before they can dethrone the Lakers as LA’s team. I think the Lakers will always be LA’s team. What the Clippers are trying to do is find that fraction of Los Angeles, that different group of people, that are not necessarily Lakers fans and could root for the Clippers. I think the City is big enough for that and the Clippers have had several sell-outs this years. LA is so diverse and so big that you can have room for both, but I think this will always be a Lakers town no matter what. Zeshan Kazmi: Question: You have worked with the Clippers for a few years, covered the NBA and have worked with the Lakers for so long, in you professional opinion, what would you say are the major differences in the mindsets of a Lakers fan and a Clippers fan? John Ireland: Answer: Well the expectation level is different. If you are Laker fan and they do not win the title, the season is a failure. If you are a Clipper fan and you win the division, then that’s a really good year. So the bar is set higher if you are a Lakers fans. I think Clippers fans are more interested in having fun and going to the games and exciting and fast play, but Lakers fans only ask one question: “are we going to win the title this year?” Again, the expectation levels are different, but if the Clippers make a run this year and make it farther than the Lakers, and it is certainly possible, then maybe all that changes, but right now the answer is that the expectation levels are different for each team. K a z m i | 103 Zeshan Kazmi: Question: Donald Sterling and Jerry Buss have been are two different breeds of owners. What would you say are the major points of difference between each of them, and how have they attributed to their franchise’s success or failure? John Ireland: Answer: What is strange about that question is that Jerry Buss and Donald Sterling know each other. They did real-estate together and those guys were friends, but I think Jerry Buss has always been motivated by winning. He will spend and do whatever it takes to try and win a title. If you are a Lakers fans, that is a really cool thing because they have 16 titles, with 11 of them coming with Jerry Buss as the owner. Jerry Buss has always done whatever it takes to win,” says John Ireland. “It doesn’t matter how much it costs. Winning always comes first and that’s what makes the Lakers so unique. Donald Sterling on the other hand, was just interested in making money. The question is, can we still say that about him? Now he is starting to spend money, they team is starting to win, Chris Paul is starting to change that culture, so maybe Donald Sterling is coming around to Jerry Buss’s style of thinking, but to this point he difference has been that Jerry Buss has always been interested in winning and Donald Sterling has been more interested in money, but now you can make the argument that the Clippers are starting to think more like the Lakers. Up until recently, Clippers’ fans have been kept in the dark with any conversation regarding the improvement of the team,” he said. “It always felt like the Clippers have been more concerned with the business and money aspect, so expectations were never really there to begin with Zeshan Kazmi: Question: In you opinion, do you think a franchise needs a superstar player not only to be successful on the court, but to be also branded and marketed effectively? John Ireland: Answer: Not only do I think they need one, I think they need more than one. LA is a star- driven town. If you put together a team with no stars, very few people are going to come out, you will not have the buzz, and you are not going to win games If you look through the modern NBA champions, and when I say modern I mean since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird have been in the league. There has only been one team that did not have two superstars and have won a title, which was the Detroit Pistons in 2004. Every other year it was either Magic and Kareem, Jordan and Pippen, David Robinson and Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan and that one team that had Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. Stars win titles and it is more true in basketball than in any other sport. That’s why when the Clippers finally traded for Chris Paul and put Chris Paul and Blake Griffin together, that they became a viable championship contender. To go back and answer your question, absolutely do I believe that I team needs a star and I would make the argument for more than one. A team needs at the very least a star and a half or two to win the title. When you look back two years ago, the Mavericks had two hall-of-famers in Dirk Nowitski and Jason Kidd. Miami last year had Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. You have to have that combination and if you do not have it, you are not going to win. There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that. Also, in LA where we live, it’s a star- driven town and you have to put together a team full of them. Just look what the Angels and Dodgers have done. They both put together a team full of stars. The LA Galaxy went out and paid over value for David Beckham. LA is one of the few places in the world where all the stars live. You can go to a great K a z m i | 104 concert or a great show or a great game every night if you want. If there is no star on your team, there is no buzz. It is critical to the market, which why Chris Paul by the way, changed everything for the Clippers. Chris Paul is a huge start, very marketable, he’s a leader, great guy, people love watching him play and he makes the other guys on the team better. He was a complete game-changer for the Clippers when he got here.
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Sports are universally recognized as a source of entertainment. Individuals all over the world invest themselves and follow their favorite sports teams and athletes. This white paper first examines the overarching notion of fandom, then hones in on two specific NBA franchises, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, and offers an in-depth comparison of their branding and communications strategies. ❧ This white paper explores if factors such as location or tradition are the sole reasons behind why fans follow their sports teams and answers key questions such as: What psychological factors drive a fan to follow a losing team? How influential is a team's branding? How important is it to hire superstars? Is there an equalizer when fans have two teams to choose from in their region? ❧ Finally, the author offers insight into some successful Public Relations and branding strategies for attracting and retaining fans.
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Kazmi, Zeshan
(author)
Core Title
Once a Lakers town, always a Lakers town? An in-depth comparison of the branding and communications strategies of the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Strategic Public Relations
Publication Date
07/01/2013
Defense Date
08/01/2013
Publisher
University of Southern California
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Tag
branding,Clippers,communications,Lakers,OAI-PMH Harvest,Public Relations
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Floto, Jennifer D. (
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branding
Clippers