Mastering the Art of the Personal Brand: the Evolution of Lebron James
For years, many athletes have used their star power to create strong personal brands by writing books, acting in movies, telling us to eat our Wheaties or to celebrate at Disney World. But today’s athletes need to have an even tighter grasp of their brand identity, as the opportunities to promote (or damage) their personal brand are greater than ever.
New platforms have created pathways for sports stars to establish incredibly detailed, nuanced self-portraits. Tom Brady sells cookbooks and meal kits. Kobe Bryant won an Oscar. Derek Jeter even created the Players’ Tribune, a media company exclusively publishing content from athletes. But for every athlete using emerging media to their advantage, there’s another ousted for engaging in petty Twitter fights or catching flack for old public comments.
No one, perhaps, embodies the evolution of athletic branding, with all its ups and downs, better than basketball star Lebron James. More notably, his brand growth overlaps drastically with the growth of his sport: when James entered the National Basketball Association in 2004, the league made $2.93 billion in revenue. In 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, the league pulled in $7.4 billion.
James’ talent as a basketball player is rivaled only, perhaps, by his skill as a publicist and brand communicator. Here’s a breakdown of some of his best — and worst — PR decisions and what PR practitioners can learn from him.
High School: Develop Strong, Trusting Relationships with Media
As can be expected of a high schooler thrown suddenly on the cover of Sports Illustrated, James struggled in some of his early dealings with the media, failing to squash a few early scandals and issuing inflammatory statements about player eligibility rules. But James was remarkably savvy to develop close relationships with specific journalists before he even became a professional. Most notably, he quickly established a rapport with Brian Windhorst, a local Akron sports reporter who used his inside connection to James to propel himself to a marquee career at ESPN.
As James rose to meteoric fame, his win-win relationship with Windhorst allowed him to control his own perception in the media by controlling his own news leaks and squashing rumors (or spreading them).
It’s no accident that many successful, well-regarded companies establish the same type of mutually beneficial relationships with journalists. Reporters and their bosses want inside scoops; companies want positive media attention.
The Decision: break bad news gently
James most baffling and objectively worst personal branding move was The Decision, a 2010 television special in which he announced he would leave his team.
James’ intentions were good — he donated the $6 million raised in ad revenue from the half-hour special to charity. But his execution failed to address the irrationality of sports fans, many of whom turned on him after The Decision, arguing that he was abandoning his hometown of Cleveland. Many fans burned their jerseys. NBA analysts and former players rallied against him. For years following the decision, James regularly made the annual Forbes list of the most hated athletes in America.
The lesson for PR pros: no matter how positive your intentions are, news that has a negative impact for third parties will carry a long-lasting backlash.
The value of partnerships
Lebron’s been shrewd as well to pursue public partnerships with other key figures outside of the sports realm. In 2007, he co-hosted the ESPY awards with comedian Jimmy Kimmel, borrowing a bit of brand equity from a wildly different public figure (and establishing another friendly media relationship).
Years later, he played himself in Trainwreck, a romantic Amy Schumer comedy. These types of moves helped earn James recognition beyond his usual demographics and become a household name.
Wide exposure is the key to sustainable brand recognition, for companies and public figures alike. When purposefully and carefully managed, unexpected partnerships can carry tremendous publicity benefits. Fast forward a few years after The Decision and James is the second-most recognized athlete in the world.
Be a good sport
At times during his career, James has provoked negative attention from the media for the way he’s treated his competitors. While emotional tensions inevitably find their way onto the court for all athletes, James would have been smart to let some disagreements with his rivals fade away. Most of the time, he has. Other times, he’s argued that some teams posed such a low level of competition that they should leave the NBA.
These types of over-emotional responses have provided James’ critics with ammunition to deride him, just as brash executives are capable of turning a negative lens onto their own companies when criticizing competitors.
Control your own narrative / invest in owned media
In recent years, James has made brilliant, highly strategic decisions to control his own long-term public perception by owning his own announcements and media coverage. When he switched teams yet again in 2014 and returned to Cleveland, he did so via a contributed article that he released by surprise in Sports Illustrated, redeeming himself for The Decision and demonstrating how far he’d come in his understanding of the media.
James has also gotten out in front of several potential scandals and public feuds. Rather than leaving a skeleton in his closet for future journalists, James openly admitted to using marijuana when he was in high school in a 2009 book. When speculation arose in 2016 that he had demanded his coach be fired, he proactively approached reporters to deny the allegations. When he once again left Cleveland in 2018, it was as a hero, rather than a traitor.
James has been smart as well to leverage his popularity into closely followed owned media channels. Amongst other notable accomplishments, including a cult-like social media following, Lebron has produced documentaries about his high school career and even turned critical statements about his political activism directly into a TV show about the role of athletes in politics. Most notably, he founded a booming media company, Uninterrupted, which allows athletes to express themselves at length and circumvent traditional sports media.
In 2019, athletes and public figures are starting to recognize the potential pitfalls and opportunities of our always on, 24/7 media culture. In spite of several mishaps, Lebron James has grown to master the art of personal branding and created the exact public image he wants to show the world — something we can all learn from.
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