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. 

What defines integrity these days?

When you describe your values to someone do you use the word integrity? Do you act with integrity? If yes, how so?

Here are today's headlines:

• Penn State scandal 
• "Fast and Furious" investigation 
• Congressional insider trading
• NBA lockout

It's easy to find places where integrity is scarce. As Seth Godin professes...scarcity creates value. 

In a world where bad behavior makes headlines we should strive to define our personal integrity. You will demonstrate value to an employer, client, friend, neighbor and so on. Acting with integrity can be summed up in a story or two about what you have done to help someone else.

Throwing around terminology without definition ("I'm for world peace") tends to be seen as generic. When you hear something that makes you say..."aren't we all" take it one step further and present it from your vantage point. This lays the foundation for your brand.