What Jimmer Fredette means for marketing.

As Jimmermania swept the country this basketball season an interesting thing happened, Jimmer became a brand.  Jimmer had an amazing senior season at BYU leading his team to the Sweet 16.  Jimmer led the nation in scoring averaging 28.9 points per game and became the poster boy for jim rats everywhere (pun intended).  As Jimmer looks towards the NBA I'll take a look at what Jimmer means for marketing possibilities.

Jimmer has interesting marketing possibilities.  His game is range, he'll pull up from 30-35 feet away and drain it.  He has the capability to do that.  How well his game translates to the NBA is yet to be determined but I will say this, if you can put the ball in the hole you can play.  Because of that interesting dynamic and who Jimmer is he has the ability to instantly come onto a team and be the face of the team... in a way.

First of all Jimmer is white.  He's not incredibly athletic, athletic, but not incredibly.  He's a good looking guy with a great personality.  He says the right things, practices the right things (He's Mormon), hits trick shots and dribbles like Curly from the Globe Trotters.  It's very marketable.  In a time when the NBA is loaded with tatted thugs breaths of fresh air are craved (see Blake Griffin with T-Mobile and Subway).  Jimmer can instantly come into a situation and be the smiling face that some team wants to use to appeal to the large majority of their fan base; middle class white suburbia.

Jimmer has brandability.  He has the name, he has the shot, and he has the looks, what he doesn't have is a guarantee of success in the NBA.  Undeservedly he has been compared to JJ Redick and Adam Morrison.  Basically it's because he's white, had a great college career based on his skills not his athletic ability.  Just my quick thought on that then back to marketing.  He can create his own shot and he can finish in the paint, neither of those two could do that.  That may be just enough to get him into the league and make him an attraction.  At the end of the day it's about watching some of the greatest athletes in the world do amazing things.  The way he shoots is amazing.  Him being who he is may not be amazing, but it may sell.  I can see moms buying Fredette jerseys for their kids and feeling okay about it.  I can see some team putting his face on their program and not worry about someone fathering 9 kids with 8 different women (see Antonio Cromartie of the NY Jets).  I can see it.  I can see Jimmer doing interviews and laughing with the media.  I can see him saying all the right things and doing guest clinics in the local community.  I can see it.

What I can't see is Jimmer doing it for the NY Knicks.  The market is just not right.  Too glitzy and glamorous (although DT Justin Tuck did text Jimmer during the NCAA Tournament and he's from the state of  New York).  I don't think he does it with the Heat either.  He needs his shots and they already have too many people taking shots now.  I don't see it in L.A., again, too much glamour and Angry Jack sitting on the sideline wouldn't like Jimmer if he jacked a 35 footer and missed it.  I do see Jimmer in Memphis, I see him fit really well there.  Southern folks can appreciate a good old fashioned white guy.  I see him in San Antonio or even Dallas for that matter.  I actually see him fitting in the Spurs system and he has small market guy written all over him.  I can't see him in Portland, doesn't fit the team culture.  Honestly, he could fit in Minnesota, how fun would that be with two unathletic white ballers!?

Last but not least, I see him back in Utah.  He would sell tickets, he would have all of Provo, Utah up to see him and half of Salt Lake.  During a time when Utah his going to struggle for the next two years... even if the Jimmer show is only a side attraction to the bigger overall picture.  It might just be worth it for the Jazz to draft him and sell some tickets.  Jimmer is marketable, he has to be in the right situation and with the right team and he can make someone a lot of money.

Sports team's names and their brands, the anomoly part 2

Back by popular demand here is round two of Sport’s teams and their names and the branding that goes with it. Basically I’m just going to pick out a few names that make sense and well, if like their mascot. As everyone knows, I am a Boston area homer and will try to avoid too much about them but if needs be I’ll let you know. On to the groupings:

The “wow, I don’t know why I should be intimidated group”.

The Steelers, ok, Steel town, I get that but I am so far from being intimidated by a greasy steel worker especially from a city that is dead that I actually laugh when I see the pride these people have in the name. (again, goes to show, names don’t mean anything, and I hate the Steelers)

The Ravens, (I got the first two from the Sunday night match up) I don’t know what to think of this ugly scavenger bird. I know it has to do with the old/Catholic/legacy thing going on in Baltimore or maybe they just thought, “hey, we have the Orioles, what’s another black bird that doesn’t strike fear in anyone’s heart?”

Cleveland Browns (I swear I’m not picking on the AFC North… they just have some lame names is all). Ok, the debate is on, do they have the name because A- Paul Brown used to coach them? Or B- Because of the uniforms they first issued and it just stuck? I like the unis, but when I hear Browns… I don’t shake in my shoes.

The PC (politically correct) group… Lame that we have to do it and these guys don’t care!:

Washington Redskins, well, could you imagine The Whiteskins? The Blackskins? The Yellowskins? I can’t but for some reason in the most political place in the world the Skins have managed to keep their name. Good for them. (Another side note, I grew up on a Native American Indian Reservation, I’m not a native but I have many friends who are and funny thing, they call each other Skins). I love the logo but how they have gotten away with it for this long I’ll never know, but more power to them!

Kansas City Chiefs, See above, still, Arrow Head Stadium, an arrowhead on the logo… I like it and certainly there was a large native influence in the planes area for years.

Utah Utes, This one hits close to home. I see the stadium from my house and I grew up with Utes… when the whole PC thing with natives was hitting full steam the University went to the tribe and asked them if they were offended… they said absolutely not and we love it! It’s an honor… good for them. (Also falling in this category is Florida State Seminoles, University North Dakota Fighting Sioux, both tribes thought it was an honor and didn’t want their name removed).

Central Michigan Chippewas, kept it.

University of Illinois Illini.

Atlanta Braves, This one is much like the other ones… glad they kept it.

Cleveland Indians, Well, it doesn’t get much more plane than this… although you could argue that if there was a dot and not a feather it could possibly mean someone from Mumbai… just a thought.

Succomed to the PC pressure group: In a poll done by the University of Pennsylvania, 91% of Native Americans were ok with the team names… lame how left always has to push it to the next level.

Arkansas State Indians, oops I mean Red Wolves. What used to be a tribute to the Osage Nation is now a fictional character that may or may not walk around the campus… you just never know.

Numerous colleges and universities had Native American mascots or monikers… that’s all changed.

Dixie State University Red Storm, It started as a Mormon school back in 1911, located in Utah’s Dixie it eventually became a state entity and went along with the Rebels of the South theme for their mascot. (A la Ole Miss). When the school got a reputation for a party school because of the warm climate and favorable police activity the school wanted to turn things down a little (you’ll never hear it from them though) and went with the “Red Storm”… ugh.

Washington Bullets/Wizards, DC can be pretty violent at times and to avoid promoting it the team changed the name to a mystical character that has nothing to do with anyone except for the select few World of Warcraft players out there.

The intimidating/warrior/I don’t want to mess with you group,

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, It’s just cool, the whole thing they have going on there. The ship, the pirate logos… and they are pretty good this year. Intimidating logo for sure.

Pittsburg Pirates, they may be the Keira Knightlys right now but they have been good and the logo is great… pure, true… although, how many pirates do you see on the Three Rivers there?

The Minnesota Vikings, I love Vikings, not The Vikings but regardless, the Vikings were always seen as fierce warriors that didn’t back down, raped, pillaged and pretty much did what they wanted to… oddly enough sounds a lot like the modern day Vikings… Thanks Brett.

Texas Rangers, I know they were in the last post but hear me out… the Texas Rangers (Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall style) were some of the toughest hombres around, no one in their right mind ran from the law w/ these guys on their trail. It’s a far cry now but hey, good mascot.

San Diego Padres, if you’re a sinner and you’re religious you know what I mean on this one.

Chicago Bulls, Pretty much the only “Tough” looking mascot in the whole league… Chicago was once a crossroads of the cattle industry, so this works… and we know how mean a bull can get right?

Idaho Vandals, I’m throwing this one out to my boy Dane. He is one of 47 Idaho fans but he is lucky in that he really does have one of the coolest/meanest/most ferocious mascots around. An East Germanic tribe during the 5^th century known for sacking Rome and being incredibly ferocious and numb to pain… hey sounds like they need some of those guys on their football team.

As I said before… no one really cares what the logo is in sports, as long as the team plays well it’s fun to buy the garb, yell stuff and look like an idiot. I think it’s really fun when the name means something and lines up with the city or school. But you never know, you could just change it a few years down the road if it’s not working for you (see The Kansas City Wizards… I mean Sporting? And I haven’t even touched Soccer or Futbol team names).

Sports team's names and their brands, the anomoly

I've always found it kind of funny that the Utah Jazz were named the Utah Jazz... I mean you should see the Jazz scene here in Utah, it's almost non existent but regardless the legacy name has stuck and now we even have an old school uniform to admire while we talk about a team that has absolutely no tie to the city by way of name.

In looking at some of the names of various teams across the country I have to compliment some and rebuke others. I've categorized these teams into a couple of categories, here we go:

Very fitting:

Houston Texans: the name says it all, even the Oilers were fitting at the time.

Dallas Cowboys: What is it with Texas getting it right with the names?

Boston Celtics: You can't deny the Irish heritage in the area (although, Celtic? Why not Fighting Irish?... oh wait, that's Notre Dame)

Miami Heat: It's hot, the flaming ball, the Latin influence, it fits.

Colorado Rockies: Well, you are in Colorado and there are the Rockies.

New England Patriots: (note, I'm a total Boston area homer but this one does make sense) It's where it all began folks

Boston Red Sox: I'm putting them here because I love em... not sure where they got the spelling but the name came from the uniform color back in the day. They wore red socks to distinguish their team.

New York/San Francisco Giants: Seeing as they are both world champions within the last 4 years and honestly, the name is fitting for a good team, plus it's just a mascot. Have you ever really seen a Giant? Besides Barry Bonds head, didn't think so.

New Orleans Saints: Nailed it.

Milwaukee Brewers: Beer drinkers around the world would agree with this one. (On a side not, do you know some of the beers that come from that area? Pabst, Blatz, Schlitz, and of course Milwaukee's Best, the names alone are enough to make one laugh.)

Well, they are transplants Group:

Utah Jazz: See above (the Jazz came from when they were in New Orleans)

Los Angles Lakers: I hate the Lakers... oh wait, um, well they started off in Minnesota, the land of a thousand lakes.

St. Louis Rams: How many rams have you seen in the midwest lately? Even when they were in L.A. still didn't make sense.

L.A. Clippers: You know, it kind of makes sense... but who wants to be named after a boat?

Memphis Grizzlies: I still find it shocking that there is an NBA team in Memphis but after being booed out of Vancouver a team had to fall somewhere, why not one of the dirtiest stuffiest places to live?

A huge whiff group:

OKC Thunder: Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea to name their team after a force of nature... or rather a byproduct of nature. Still can't figure the Sonics out.

Chicago Bears: In their defense, the name was given when mascots were the only things people were thinking about. Chicago has historically had zero ties with any kind of bear.

Miami Dolphins: I get it, the ocean but seriously, a dolphin?

Montreal Expos: This is why they are no longer in Montreal and they no longer have this name.

New York Yankees: I just thought I'd put them here because I feel like the whole franchise is a whiff... even though the name does make sense.

San Diego Chargers: The Super Chargers? I guess the alternative would be the Sand Diego Perfect Weather's... meh, maybe the Chargers was the right call after all.

The good fix group:

Texas Rangers: from senators to the Dallas area, the name was a great change.

Washington Nationals: Expos... lame, Nationals... good.

Charlotte Bobcats: I can buy this, there probably are bobcats around the area somewhere, but what I don't get is why they didn't pick a stranger animal like a Puma or Liger? They chose a little sissy girl kitty.

Okay, lessons learned from all of this: First of all, it doesn't really matter what you name your sports team. You can make anything look great (See the Oregon Duck Vader outfit and it was still a duck!). Second, people don't care because sports are king in the U.S. , it's our way of modern day combat, competition etc... if we fail at sports we fail at life, if our team fails we fail (that's what they would have you believe). Last, the branding really doesn't take place in the name, this is completely contrary to any other product in the world. There are slight things you can do but when the Utah Jazz can get as much equity out of that name as they have and there is no Jazz even on the radios in Utah, you know that it's a different ball game.