Brand Recovery: The NBA turns to Facebook

Here's the National Basketball Association's marketing strategy coming out of the lock-out heading into the openers on Christmas:

• We are sorry. 
• We didn't take you (our fans) for granted. 
• We know the economy still sucks. 
• We know you don't like hearing about labor disputes involving millionaires battling with billionaires. 
• We are sorry. 

Humble pie should be the theme to win the fans back. It will be a slow process with a need for genuine interaction and an appropriate level of empathy. 

Attention all social media fence sitters...watch how pros do it. 

Although the NBA is way out front in terms of social media usage they will need to ratchet up their "engagement" during the next few months. 

Tomorrow evening (December 22nd) the NBA will host a Facebook town hall meeting. Along for the ride will be partners American Express, EA Sports and ESPN the Magazine. If you participate you will be eligible to win tickets, gift cards, video games, magazine subscriptions and much more. Players will participate. They may even say..."we're sorry". 

Leading brands understand the pulse of their market. The NBA knew this day was coming where they would have to pull out all the stops to protect their brand. The recovery process is underway. Pay attention. You will learn a lot about branding, listening, engaging and asking for forgiveness. 

Black Friday, Cyber Monday and your behavior

Companies have brands. People have brands. Now, specific days on the calendar have brands. Well constructed brands motivate consumers to make purchases. Did you follow the directions and go to the mall on Friday? If not you still have time to go online today and flex your credit card muscle.

At the center of this hysteria is your behavior. Walmart can set the price for a flat screen TV at $249. Follow the series of crazy events that ensue. Set the alarm clock for 2:00A. Be at the mall by 3:00A. If necessary use pepper spray to make certain no one else infringes on your excessive behavior (better yet, skip this behavior). Load up the car with all the great deals. Move on to Target and Macy's. Who says the U.S. Army are the only ones to get a lot done before 6:00A?

Whether you are a fanatical Christmas shopper or not there is no denying how brands influence people. Are these brands extraordinarily compelling, or are we waiting to be programmed? As a fan of branding I often wonder what goes on in the brain just before reaching the point of purchase.