NBA Off the Mark in Hispanic Marketing

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Guest Blogger

—by David Mitchel, Vice President of Marketing at Norton Mitchel Marketing

Now that the NBA regular season has ended and the playoffs have begun, it is the perfect time to reflect on some of the more notable occurrences in the league this year. In terms of marketing, one of the more notable occurrences was Noche Latina (Latin Night in Spanish). Noche Latina is the NBA’s flagship Hispanic marketing initiative. In various NBA arenas in the month of March, teams in cities with high Hispanic populations (Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Chicago and New York) celebrated Latin culture through a multitude of game night activities. The 2009-2010 season was the fourth consecutive season that the NBA engaged in the Noche Latina promotion. It will likely be back for a fifth season next year. With Noche Latina, the league has a quality basic idea in how to conduct a multicultural marketing initiative. However, the league has taken actions with Noche Latina that have diminished its effectiveness in the Hispanic community. If Noche Latina is to have the effect of increasing brand awareness and fostering positive brand beliefs about the NBA amongst Hispanics, it must change for next season.

The NBA must be recognized for its understanding of the importance of the Hispanic marketplace. In the press release that announced Noche Latina events for March 2010, Saskia Sorrosa, the NBA’s Senior Director of Hispanic Marketing, said “With Hispanics comprising 15 percent of our fan base, we have a responsibility to connect with them in meaningful ways.” The first step in creating successful Hispanic marketing initiatives is to understand the importance of the group. At the 2000 Census, Hispanics made up 12.5% of the United States population. This is when Hispanics officially became the largest minority group in the US, surpassing the 12.3% African American population. This data fulfilled a controversial 1978 prediction by Time Magazine that Hispanics would soon become the largest minority group. By 2005, Hispanics accounted for 14% of the US population. When the 2010 Census information is released, it is likely that Hispanics will comprise at least 15% of the US population. With 15% of the NBA fans reportedly Hispanic and Hispanics likely comprising 15% of the US population at the present time, one could surmise that the NBA is doing at least an adequate job in building the brand amongst Hispanics.

With Noche Latina, the league is doing many positive things. Noche Latina consists of events such as pre, post and in-game Hispanic/Latino cultural celebrations and the launch of www.nba.com/enebea in Spanish. As an example, when the Miami Heat hosted Noche Latina, they featured salsa dancers outside the arena at halftime, Latin routines/performances by the Heat dancers during timeouts and a performance by Latin Jazz artist Tito Puente Jr. during player introductions. The website, www.nba.com/enebea, is the best part of the NBA’s Hispanic marketing strategy. It is a resource that is available every day, covering the league in Spanish. A true marketing initiative must be a consistent focus, not an isolated event.

The Miami Heat are a shining example of this. Eric Woolworth, President of Business Operations for the Heat, said “Because Miami has the largest Hispanic fan base in the NBA, for us, every night is a Latin night.” Of all the teams that participated in Noche Latina, the Miami Heat appeared to be the most organized. The Heat had the most information about their Noche Latina events posted on their English language website in comparison with other NBA teams. For Noche Latina to be truly meaningful across markets, all teams should promote Noche Latina by following the standard set by the Heat.

The NBA and some of its teams made some other smaller mistakes with the promotion. The Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors were not designated to participate in the event despite the fact that both Denver and the Bay Area have significant Hispanic/Latino populations. 34% of Denver County is Hispanic, along with 20% of the state of Colorado. The Bay Area has a Hispanic population of nearly 22%. All these figures exceed the national average. The Houston Rockets promoted Noche Latina on their website in the week prior to their event on March 30th. An image of Rockets forward and Argentina native Luis Scola graced the Rockets’ website. Luis Scola fits in with the theme of Noche Latina but exemplifies a classic mistake made by brands in Hispanic marketing initiatives-assuming that all Spanish language speakers are culturally similar. The vast majority of Houston’s Hispanic population are of Mexican ancestry. Mexico and Argentina are immensely different culturally. As a result, the presence of Luis Scola in promotions for Noche Latina is unlikely to sway Mexican-Americans additionally towards the NBA since Scola would be perceived as differently culturally by the majority of the target market.  However, it would be difficult to market Mexican-American players in cities with significant Mexican-American populations. Only one player in the NBA fits the bill for that: Eduardo Najera with the Dallas Mavericks. Najera has never been a star player during the course of his 10 year NBA career.

The NBA loses the most amount of credibility on Noche Latina with the home team jerseys. Home teams jerseys feature “El” and “Los” before the team name. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers have "Los Lakers" on the front of their home jersey instead of the usual "Lakers" and the Miami Heat are "El Heat" instead of the usual "Heat". The NBA apparently does this because they believe this is how teams are referred to in casual Spanish conversation, which is linguistically correct. However, this is not likely to resonate in Hispanic communities and could be perceived as insulting. Just because an "El" and "Los" is in front of the team name for one evening, that does not make the team any more authentically Hispanic.

Since this promotion is likely to be back next season, it would be wise of the NBA to think of ways to make this promotional event more meaningful. They are off to a good start with many of the pre, post and in-game festivities. The first corrective action that the league must take is to remove the “El” and “Los” from the home team jerseys. They must also add Denver and Golden State as markets for the event. Teams should be leveraging technology in similar ways to promote the event. One new and simple suggestion that I would have for the teams that participate would be to do the starting lineup introductions in Spanish. It would create a more authentic Latin American experience that transcends the cultures of the various Hispanic subgroups.

Ultimately, for the NBA to be successful in marketing to Hispanics, they need to shift their thinking away from one night a year of focused Hispanic marketing to a concentrated effort of making Hispanic marketing a part of everyday marketing. NBA.com in Spanish is one of the best things that the league has done so far in this regard. Further community outreach would also be a positive. Strong market research and implementation of marketing initiatives desired by Hispanic/Latino fans are both essential to the league being successful in attracting new fans and maintaining relationships with existing ones. The Miami Heat organization understands this principle and their actions could serve as a blueprint for the rest of the league.
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Shaq is Attacking to Protect His Likeness

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Tiffany Blofield

You may have heard the phrase “Shaq Attaq” referring to the famous NBA player and gold medal winner Shaquille O’Neal’s basketball skills.  While he played basketball in Arizona for the Phoenix Suns, the Arizonians nicknamed him “The Big Cactus” and “The Big Shaqtus” in reference to the combination of Mr. O’Neal and an Arizona cactus.

You may recall that I wrote about former NFL players suing the NFL over their likenesses a couple of months ago “Purple People Eater Jim Marshall & Friends Take on the NFL.” ESPN used O’Neal’s likeness when it aired commercials featuring O’Neal encountering a cactus bearing his face in the desert. Before doing so, however, ESPN obtained Mr. O’Neal’s company, Mine O‘Mine, Inc.’s, permission to use the mark. Mine O’ Mine has the exclusive rights to use and sublicense Mr. O’Neal’s, image and likeness and to register, exploit and protect Shaq and Shaq-formative trademarks.  In connection therewith, the company has a pending application for the “Shaq Attaq” mark for apparel.  

Mr. O’Neal is moving from the basketball court to a different court. True Fan Logo, Inc.’s shaqtus.net website is an online retail store under the SHAQTUS ORANGE CLOTHING COMPANY mark. Playing off the ESPN commercial, the store features an animated character in the form of a cactus with O’Neal’s facial features and a basketball jersey with Mr. O’Neal’s number. This company tried to shut down the ESPN commercial claiming its ownership of the Shaqtus mark. ESPN ignored this request.  However, Mr. O’Neal is not ignoring the company. Indeed, Mr. O’Neal recently sued True Fan Logo, Inc., and individuals Dan Mortenson and Michael Calamese. According to the complaint they have registered and are using shaqtus.com and shaqtus.net.  

A PDF of this complaint is attached. Read more about the complaint here. The complaint  includes claims of trademark infringement, unfair competition, trademark dilution, cyber-squatting and others. Shaq often wins on the basketball court. Now, he is hoping for a win in a Las Vegas court of law.

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Don't Expect This to Have Tiger by the Tail...

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Guest Blogger

 Tiger Woods drives by Allison.jpg

Tiger Woods’ scandal proves once again that celebrity gossip mongering is a blood sport. The bigger the celebrity, the more the blood will flow. In Tiger’s case, he can open up a blood bank. Though it’s unlikely to reach the insanity that was unleashed when Michael Jackson died last summer, it will take the feeding frenzy to a new, all-time low, not because of his marital infidelity, but because of his immense stature as an iconic personality and global brand.

Our addiction to sycophantic enabling of celebrity bad behavior is beyond the pale. We reward and celebrate mediocrity. We give a moral equivalency and equal airtime to those knowingly doing the wrong thing. The discussion isn’t about right versus wrong anymore, but instead the takeaway is “don’t get caught!” Woods’ actions aren’t praise-worthy, but the punishment meted out in the court of public opinion of his private, personal situation is off the charts. Tiger’s poor job at managing the damage control process seems to be as big an affront to the public as what got him into this position.

His off-links activities are irrelevant to the golf world in the scheme of what he has done for the sport in the past 15 years. Let’s remember he plays golf and doesn’t hold elected public office. He didn’t impugn the integrity of his sport by betting or use performance enhancing drugs. Does Tiger Woods deserve to be vilified like O.J. Simpson, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, John Edwards, Bill Clinton, Marv Albert, Pete Rose, Alex Rodriguez, and many others?

I don’t play golf, and I’m not a Tiger Woods fan, but his accomplishments on the golf course are both incredible and undeniable. I wouldn’t defend his actions. He hurt himself, his wife and their children. But not us, and certainly not the media. We have no stake in this, and he owes us nothing. Tiger Woods is hardly the first mega-star caught in mess of his own making, but I’ll bet that his public image and marketability will come out of this a lot better than most people think. A little proportion and perspective will bare this out.

Does Tiger’s bad judgment pale in comparison to past superstar athletes embroiled in scandals such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant? Yes. Remember Michael Jordan’s sudden “retirement” from the NBA back in 1993 was widely believed to be due to his gambling problems? He returned two years later to lead the Chicago Bulls to three more NBA titles, and then, despite the public nature of his messy divorce, his Nike brand continues to be a global powerhouse.

Kobe Bryant was on trial in 2004, accused of sexually assaulting a woman. He admitted to having an adulterous encounter with the accuser, but denied the sexual assault allegation. The case was dismissed when the woman refused to testify, and a separate civil suit was settled out of court. As a result, his endorsement deal with McDonald’s was cancelled. In retrospect he emerged relatively unscathed.

Once the trial ended and the story faded, the deal with Nike he signed prior to the trial was put on hold for two years before Nike began promoting his line of basketball shoes. Bryant’s reputation rebounded and was rehabilitated to the point that he now endorses Coca-Cola’s Vitamin Water brand and Guitar Hero World Tour. By 2007, CNN estimated Kobe Bryant’s endorsement deals at $16 million a year. Another NBA trophy for Kobe and the sky will be the limit again.

Last year, U.S. Olympic multi-gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps lost his endorsement deal with Kellogg’s over his publicly photographed pot smoking. Cheating is sheer stupidity, and smoking pot isn’t any smarter, but it’s still against the law. Kellogg’s did the right thing. Phelps’ bong hit sent the wrong message to kids. His actions were more about youthful indiscretion than anything, and the punishment of losing his lucrative deal fit the crime. His marketability is still on the upswing. Add a few more gold medals in 2012 and no one will remember his misstep.

Martha Stewart went to jail for income tax evasion, and at the time, was vilified as a heinous individual and has since reinvented herself as a kinder, gentler Martha. Her “brand” bounced back with little-to-no damage and is stronger than ever. She cheated, got caught and paid the price by going to jail. Now she’s perceived as being a far less polarizing individual, and her marketability continues to grow. Perhaps as a result of her incarceration, the public is willing to forgive when celebrities are as flawed and human as the rest of us. It brings them down to our level and closer to us in many respects.

It’s no stretch to believe Tiger Woods will keep a low profile, sponsors will keep their Tiger ads and TV spots in cold storage and eventually, he’ll re-emerge publicly and professionally to continue his career as arguably one of the greatest golfers of all time. When everything is forgotten, he’ll get even more lucrative endorsement deals as a result of his prowess on the links. Until then isn’t Tiger Woods entitled to the same consideration we get at work? “So long as your personal business doesn’t affect your performance on the job, then it’s a non-issue.”

-- Joel Kirstein, Creative Director, CPG/Shopper Marketing
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David Takes on Goliath

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Tiffany Blofield

Reverse confusion trademark infringement claims are sometimes reminiscent of the well-known biblical story of David versus Goliath.  This doctrine basically protects smaller, lesser known, trademark owners whose trademarks are infringed upon by large multi-national companies with gigantic advertising budgets.  You may want to check out a few prior posts on DuetsBlog relating to Lion's Tap and McDonald's from Steve Baird, here and here, and guest blogger, Jason Voiovich, here.

Domino’s Pizza learned this lesson earlier this October. Great American Restaurant Company owns and operates the small Dallas area pizza chain Brooklyn’s Old Neighborhood Style Pizzeria. It holds the trademarks: “A TASTE OF THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD” and “BROOKLYN’S OLD NEIGHBORHOOD STYLE PIZZERIA.” When Domino’s Pizza launched its new “Brooklyn Style Pizzeria,” the smaller Texas chain sued Domino’s Pizza for trademark infringement. The Fifth Circuit reversed Domino’s Pizza’s win in the lower court (in legalese = granting summary judgment). Domino’s Pizza will now have to battle it out with the Great American Restaurant in the Texas courts. 

Domino’s Pizza is not alone. Steven Spielberg’s well-known company, DreamWorks, was sued by senior trademark user Dreamwerks Products—a science fiction convention. Although Spielberg’s production company produces much more than science fiction movies and television shows, DreamWorks was still found to have infringed the convention’s trademark through reverse confusion.  

Similarly, Victoria’s Secret was sued by A&H Sportswear when it launched THE MIRACLE BRA swimwear. A&H Sportswear holds the trademark to MIRACLESUIT for swimwear. In deciding the appeal, the Third Circuit allowed the claim against Victoria’s Secret to continue. However, the Third Circuit observed the downfalls of such claims. Reverse confusion claims penalize an innovative junior trademark user who, after spending a lot of money promoting a trademark, could be blocked from using it by a senior trademark owner who has not even invested in or promoted the trademark. Moreover, the claim could inhibit larger companies from expanding product lines, such as in this case Victoria’s Secret from moving into the swimwear line.   

In contrast, the Harlem Wizards did not fare well off the basketball court. In a court of law, the Harlem Wizards lost its reverse confusion infringement claim against the NBA for using the Washington Wizards. The court found that entertainment basketball was different from NBA basketball so there was no infringement. 

These cases raise the issue of how aggressively should courts enforce the reverse confusion infringement doctrine. Do we fear chilling companies from expanding into other product lines? Should a senior trademark user be able to block use by a larger company when it does not promote its own trademark? This battle between David and Goliath will likely continue in federal courts across the country for some time.

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