Don¹t leave LeBron! We're beggin' you!

Kent State business students Brittany Neal and Austin Briggs are generating a ton of buzz for their new business venture. The story was heavily promoted on Cleveland Fox8 last night, and it's on the Beacon Journal business page this morning. (Sorry, I can't find the Fox8 link. Their website is as convoluted as their news product.) The assignment in their Entrepreneur Experience class: Identify a market need, write a business plan, then launch the business. “Please Don’t Leave 23” was the result. (Also on: Facebook and Twitter.)
Neal and Briggs saw a “need” to keep Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James in a Cavs uniform once his contract expires at the end of this season. But more importantly, they know thousands of others agree with them and might get behind the campaign. You can read the campaign details in the ABJ story. No point rehashing them here. LeBron is more than “the franchise” for an NBA team. He’s “the franchise” for Northeast Ohio. Amidst an economy shaken by layoffs, bankruptcies and foreclosures, No. 23 is one of the few positive things anyone can cheer about during this Great Recession. After all, LBJ is the best basketball player in the world. If you think I’m overstating the case, consider the biblical overtones in the “Witness” campaign. Lots of folks see this guy as a messiah of sorts, and the marketers have built on that. The campaign by Briggs and Neal deserves a lot of props. Their families, the business college and all of Kent State should be proud.
But — and this is no reflection on the students’ work: What does the tone of this campaign and its groundswell of support say about the collective psychie of Northeast Ohions?
Please LeBron, please, please please don’t leave us!!! We can’t live without you!!! The campaign reflects public sentiment, so in that sense, it’s great marketing. But it says something about our region’s self esteem that's downright sad. I didn't see LA feeling this way when the Raiders left, and that was an entire team!
Still, if you have a few bucks to spare, go to the site and buy a t-shirt. These kids showed real enterprise, and we need more like them.


Comments [0]