NBA considering adding corporate logos to uniforms?

[Davi323]

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-03-05/sbj-nba-teams-could-vote-on-jersey-sponsorships-in-april

With the NBA positioning itself as the most global of leagues, will it soon join the rest of the world by selling advertising on uniforms? The sticky issue will be debated, if not voted on, at the next board of governors meeting in April.

It’s a touchy topic, one that involves balancing some of the most influential league constituencies and addressing some thorny questions: Would uniform patches be league or team inventory? Will NBA broadcasters TNT and ESPN/ABC, or even uniform rights holder Adidas, want a piece of the action? Would the league take a PR hit as the first to accept non-endemic ads on uniforms?

Of course, the most important issue is also the most basic. “The most appropriate question and the answer we’re all waiting for is, ‘What is it worth?’” said Golden State Warriors president and COO Rick Welts, who did the WNBA’s first uniform advertising deal between the Phoenix Mercury and LifeLock in 2009. “I am not suggesting this is an easy issue, but I feel like it is inevitable. We just have to agree on value and what it would look like.”

In the case of the Mercury, the biggest logo on its uniform became LifeLock’s across-the-chest jersey patch, while the team logo on the jersey shrank to about the same size as the Adidas logo. The WNBA followed suit last year, with a Boost Mobile ad patch deal on the uniforms of 10 of the league’s 12 teams.

A study released last year by Horizon Media calculated that a brand logo across the middle of an NBA team’s jersey occupying 3.5 percent of the TV screen would produce $31.18 million in exposure value.

However, the study did not factor in ancillary exposure on highlights and news shows, nor did it account for any online exposure.

“Jersey ads are one of the last pieces of inventory that club marketers haven’t been able to sell, and for a local sponsor they could be a real boon, since it would give them exposure with a team at home and away,” said Michael Neuman, managing partner of Horizon’s Scout Sports and Entertainment.

The impact on some of the NBA’s more tradition-bound logos, and the disparity between potential revenue in various markets, are other factors to consider. Still, it’s hard to imagine a club marketer voting against the proposal, especially if would be their inventory.

“Obviously, it’s a league decision, but as someone who spent seven years at NASCAR, I know the value of putting a brand on the playing field and the uniform, so it is certainly something I would support,” said New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark. “You can monetize this in ways you can’t monetize any other kind of marketing inventory. And, of course, we’re in the No. 1 market in the country, so ...”

But other team executives are more hesitant about blending team marks with a company logo as they address questions such as size and placement on the uniform.

“It is something we are wrestling with,” said an NBA team executive from a large market. “There are challenges, and the question is whether there is a way to do it differently.”

From potential sponsors, there’s an appetite.

“Without a doubt, there’s already interest,” said Mark Tatum, NBA executive vice president of global marketing partnerships, outside the league’s annual All-Star Technology Summit that was held at Orlando’s Waldorf-Astoria. “It’s certainly not automatic, but if we do it, it would be a big deal, so we are spending a lot of time evaluating.”

Added Sal LaRocca, NBA executive vice president of global merchandising: “The good news is that Adidas has a lot of experience with this from their football (soccer) business. We continue to talk internally about the best way to approach the market, determining whether having sponsored logos on jerseys would be incremental or just a diversion of money that would go somewhere else. We’re trying to balance a lot of constituencies.”

The issue gets even stickier. Remember that the NBA is still the only major American sports property without any logo on its game uniform other than its own—Adidas has logos only on NBA warm-ups. One senior licensing industry source said Adidas was already in discussions with the league about moving its logo to the uniform, which might obviate the other conversations.

“We are looking at all of the different elements and stakeholders, but it is an ongoing conversation,” said Chris Granger, executive vice president of the NBA’s team marketing and business operations department.

Welts suggested one intermediate step might be an advertising patch on warm-ups. “I’m guessing that this would be a process, not a 0-to-60 rush,” Welts said.

This was inspired by a discussion that Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic had on Mike and Mike in the Morning today, and I thought it would make a decent discussion.

Without rehashing what is in the article, what do you think? Should corporate logos be added to jerseys in order to increase revenue for the league? This article is about the NBA specifically, but it really could apply to all major sporting leagues. Does it matter if the Lakers have a McDonald's arch on their shoulders? Does it matter if the Dallas Cowboys have a BP logo somewhere? Is having a Little Caesars logo on a Red Wings jersey okay?

Are they a sign that the sports apocalypse is coming?

If NASCAR can cover their cars entirely with ads, what's the problem?

Do you simply not care, as long as the game itself still gets played?

 

[Poop Master Flex]

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter if that's what happens.

Overall it doesn't affect the game itself and if anything will bring more revenue to teams which in turn may lessen things like lockouts and strikes in the future because of that fact.

Nascar does it, European Football clubs have had corporate logos on their uniforms for years and it certainly hasn't affected either of those sports at all so why would it basketball or any other sport for that matter? Hell playing pee wee basketball our uniforms often had corporate logo's and frankly after a while you don't even notice them. Most stadiums and arena's are named after different corporations so why not the uniforms as well.

 

[Kaztrator]

I certainly don't care if it happens or not. The Dallas Cowboys can have GoDaddy, BP, Burger King, Apple, SONY, Nintendo, Martha Stewart or even WWE on their jerseys and I would still be a fan. It really affects nothing. If anything, I might mark out to see a WWE logo!

I say go for it. The more money for everyone involved.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

I'm a big fan of Major League Soccer and they have a huge corporate logo on the chest of the jersey. The team's logo is up and to the left (over the player's heart, which is a metaphor, I guess). Point being, it's not that big of a deal. The problem I have is if the historic teams of North America (Yankees, Celtics, Canadiens, Packers). Teams that have a rich history should try to find some other way to keep their jersey free of advertising. I give Barcelona Football Club as the prime example. They're one of the world's most prestigious institutions and, obviously, a widely popular club.

This is Barca's jersey from the 2005 season:

That's how it had been for nearly 100 years, with different colour schemes. Very classy IMO.

This is their jersey the next season:

Not bad, very charitable gesture. Still not a corporate institution.

This is their current jersey:

The Qatar Foundation, for those who don't know, is a sham of a charity. It's a corporate entity used to promote the Middle East to Western institutions. The backlash the Barcelona board received for moving to this logo was tremendous and cost a couple board members their jobs, if I recall.

Point being, it can be done tastefully, but there's a difference if the KC Royals or TB Rays have a corporate sponsor and if the Yankees or Cubs have a corporate sponsor.

 

[GI Cake]

Are they a sign that the sports apocalypse is coming?

No, not at all. But this isn't a good sign for any means for the NBA. We have Ad's from corporate logo's in the stadiums, the advertisments between timeouts, hell, the All-Star game has become nothing but the dunk contest and promoting Sprite. I am not really bothered with the idea of the uniforms having logos on by sponsers, but my question is, do they really need to add the logo on the uniforms when we are already exposed to the product they're trying to sell?

If NASCAR can cover their cars entirely with ads, what's the problem?

In NASCAR, the cars are sponsored by companies because they don't have enough revenue from fan attendance and their is not enough space on a Racetrack for AD's and logos. So naturally you are going to put them onto the car. And honestly, what else would really go on a Racecar? Racing stripes, the racers name and face? It just works better for NASCAR.

For any other sport though, the advertisments are already covered across the stadium. Why do we honestly need more AD's onto the uniforms?

Do you simply not care, as long as the game itself still gets played?

As much as I would wish to act like I was offended and say they ruined the game, but it is just an extra patch or two onto the uniforms. But as a fan, it doesn't really matter as long teams continue to play, and if the players are fine with being a walking billboard, then that it is fine with me.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I lean to side of indifference

If you look at most foreign sports leagues, soccer in particular, they have the corporate sponsors as the main focus of the uniforms. Even in the MLS, with the exception of Columbus and FC Dallas(I feel like I'm leaving one out), they stick to that trend. In fact when I watch MLS or the EPL I can usually identify the team by their corporate sponsor faster than I can their actual team logo.

For the most part it has stayed out of the big 4 in America. A lot of purists are against it. If it generates additional revenue for a team I say go for it. So long as the team logos don't become obsolete though I honestly don't have an issue

 

[Australia's Finest]

I only don't mind it if the sponsors don't dominate the jersey. Otherwise i don't want to see it.

Also how is this going to effect the revenue when we just had a lock-out cause of the sharing of revenue? Do the players get anything out of it?

 

[DirtyD79]

I just think it looks stupid. And seriously don't we got enough advertizing during the game? It's already The Toyota halftime show or The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field.

 

[PlayTheGame]

I'll be a little different and say that I'd rather not see them go this route. I think, to at least a small degree, that the style and classiness of the jerseys will be tarnished a bit. Lakers jerseys, the gold and purple, have been an iconic constant in the sport for quite some time. I wouldn't want to see a McDonalds logo, even if it were small, anywhere on that jersey. Even if the colors didn't clash, it'd still be distracting, foreign, and unbecoming. Look, I know full well that it'd have absolutely no impact on the game. So if it did happen, I wouldn't be one to be all up in arms about it. I'm almost surprised that it hasn't happened, as just about everything has logos and brands on them, including Nascar cars and soccer uniforms. But I hope they preserve the "sanctity", if you will, of the jerseys by not doing this. It doesn't matter all that much either way, but from a purely aestheical standpoint, I hope NBA jerseys remain the way they are sans logos or brandnames.