Ok, so in light of the beginning of the very hyped retro NBA Finals on Thursday, I want to focus on some thoughts related to an NBA team found right here in Los Angeles. You might think I would be motivated to write about the Lakers in light of the current media hype, but I think it is appropriate to draw attention today to the other team in Los Angeles…The Los Angeles Clippers.
I heard a radio ad often over the past six months or so on local sports radio that had all that dramatic and epic music in the background with a deep voiced announcer stating the following phrase for the intended impact of its advertising, “It’s not about the name on the back, it’s about the name on the front – that’s what Clippers basketball is all about.”I started laughing every time I heard it. Every time. One of the key qualities of communication as identified by the authors of the book I just reviewed, Made to Stick, is CREDIBILITY. How credible is this pitch by Clippers when none of the names on the backs of their jerseys are any good at all and the team on the front of the jersey has been brutally awful for almost three decades. They even paid their best player extra money to quit and go play for another team in the middle of the season! In modern vernacular, they just suck.
The Lakers can and do pull off this kind of advertising regularly because they have credibility. The fact that the names on the backs of the jersey are from skilled and quality players helps, but their record speaks for themselves. This is why the Lakers get Jack Nicholson and half of Hollywood while the Clippers get that kid from Malcolm in the Middle.The Clippers’ peeps definitely need to read Made to Stick as they attempt to build their brand in Los Angeles, but they first need to figure out how to build a team that isn’t consistently praying for those magical ping pong balls in the draft lottery every year.The basic leadership lesson is this: You just can’t sell what you don’t have. If you try, you will look like a fool because everybody will see through your empty posturing.
