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I’d be remiss, as a loyal Clevelander, not to derive some lesson from the mangled PR train-wreck that is the LeBronaclypse.  So please bear with me!

Unless you’ve been in a cave for a few months, or have made studious efforts to avoid all forms of mainstream media (increasingly difficult to do these days), you know that LeBron James is the 2 time NBA MVP and beloved native son of Cleveland (Akron, 20 miles south, actually), a great town with a meteor crater representing its recent sports history. 

You would also know that LeBron took his free agency period, commencing officially in July, but unofficially in May, to new heights (or depths, in my opinion), teasing local media outlets about his decision, parading potential suitors in and out of Cleveland to entertain their pitches, and, then finally, scheduling a self-promotional prime time program on ESPN (a willing accomplice in an increasingly shameful display) to announce he would be leaving his hometown.  Through it all, the key message was “all about LeBron.”

Unprecedented?  Yes.  Larger than life?  Yes.  Brand awareness?  Check.

Positive branding?  Absolutely not.

Unless you’re reading a Miami publication today, you’re probably not reading good things about LeBron James, and that’s not just in Cleveland.  In the history of sports, no free agent has ever manipulated a greater amount of interest by tugging at heart strings or playing the game of intrigue.  And in the end, I’d posit, the LBJ brand lost ground because of it.

We talk quite a bit about metrics, ROI and the like when it comes to marketing and public relations.  We have to.  But it can never be ignored that branding, whether in the title insurance or professional entertainment arena, is just as much psychology as it is trigonometry.  In fact, more so.

Just being out there with one’s message isn’t enough.  And if one’s message doesn’t appeal to the market, it’s a waste of time.  If it’s insulting to the market, it’s damaging.

LeBron may have built some great new promotional channels.  His Twitter following may be up to 2 billion today for all I know.  I’m sure his new Web site will be wonderful.

But someone on the LBJ team forgot to ask what the customer wants.  Someone forgot that the target market is more than just the guy writing paychecks in South Beach.  It’s all the people who buy $75 James jerseys on a $30,000 salary.  It’s all the people who tune in to watch him play on national network TV.  It’s the folks who fork over money to buy seats and concessions.

And I’d posit that, by dragging all of the markets he didn’t intend to land in along for his Free Agency Circus of Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing, LeBron James alienated a big part of his market. 

Bottom line?  Your plan and message may sound great in an echo chamber.  But be damn sure you  have a good idea of what your market is thinking and how it thinks before you let ‘er rip…