Here I am talking about the erratic marketing from the most amazing team in NBA history (probably), the California Warriors.
Sports fans around the world are being amazed night in and night out with the performances of the kid with the jersey #30. Today, Steph Curry is not only the hottest name in basketball, but across all sports. And in a global level! Sorry Lio Messi.
Despite the NBA reporting that he actually have the bestselling jersey in the league, I am pretty sure the Warriors and Steph’s sponsor, the new apparel giant Under Armour, are not profiting enough out of this phenomenon.
I live in California and I simply do not recall seeing one Curry jersey outside. I know LA is Kobe’s land, but even so. You know which jerseys I witnessed a few times? Jordan’s, Bird’s, Lebron’s. Even if Curry keep his MVP level of playing for the next decade to come, I still believe he will not sell enough jerseys. Only if he continues with The Bay team.
Why!?
It is not the team itself, it is the uniforms! The Warriors apparel can not deliver anything powerful. We have the ‘descending’ logo (more about that in a previous post) with just the bridge’s contour, nothing contrasting much and that’s it. Can you read from 10 feet away the Golden State lettering? Or the Warriors? You can’! The best player in the world seems doomed to wear the most boring jersey available. Even more, the blue color does not help the case at all.
Their early 90’s jersey was far from good, but at least had the Warriors written big and bold. Remember number 23? The jersey was white with all the letters in red; with the short (so bigger) word Bulls huge in front. The away version was all red. That is iconic, powerful and ageless. A piece of clothing fans feel empowered to possess.
I would say: You have a great team that is amazingly young. You will probably keep the same core of players for the next few years and everybody is pretty sure you will be contenders year after year. So, why not!? Just come up with and outstanding jersey and fans will follow. You just changed your visual identity and there is no tradition at stake in here. And just let me use the other guys slogan in here: Just do it!
