Converging Advertising and Public Relations: LeBron James’ “Decision”

LeBron James’ decision to sign with the Miami Heat made NBA commissioner David Stern say “I wasn’t like, ‘Whoa.’ You know, it was more like, ‘Hmm, that’s pretty good.’ ” Stern said he does wish James had chosen a better platform to announce his decision, particularly because he didn’t give the Cavaliers more notice he was leaving. “I think that the advice that he received on this was poor. His performance was fine. His honesty and his integrity shine through. But this decision was ill conceived, badly produced and poorly executed. Those who were interested in it were given our opinion prior to its airing. I would have advised him not to embark on what has become known as ‘The Decision.’” James made the right move; he just handled the PR horribly. He knowingly, or unknowingly, slapped Cleveland in the face by announcing his "decision" on national TV. A 10-story billboard of James on one of Cleveland's skyscrapers was immediately taken down. James' replica jerseys were burned and across the city James' Cleveland jerseys were being sold for under $20. Before the defection those same jerseys were being sold for over $100. By now you've heard the offense against the basketball star’s one-hour TV special to announce his team choice -- that it was narcissistic, sullied his brand and blurred the journalistic line for ESPN. But what you haven't heard is the defense of the man who helped put the show together: Ari Emanuel, co-CEO of the William Morris Endeavor agency, who says "The Decision" forwarded the paradigm for advertiser-funded programming. "Everybody can say what they want -- it was the wrong decision, there was too much hoopla, whatever -- but for me it was about doing the event, getting the advertisers to participate and doing it for charity," Mr. Emanuel said. "This was a major success for advertisers, and we're getting closer to pushing the needle on advertiser-content programming." But it's perhaps more surprising that James decided to go so big, almost ostentatious, with the revelation of his decision. He's spent years developing a spotless and humble reputation, so the show smacked of showboating overkill to many fans, even in Cleveland, which desperately hoped he stays put as a Cavalier. Jame’s “Decision” show snared an audience of around 12.5 million people, according to calculations from Brad Adgate, senior VP-research, Horizon Media, using preliminary Nielsen figures. That's a big audience for a quiet cable interview at a Boys & Girls Club. At those levels, however, the ESPN broadcast fell far short of prior "newsmaker" moments on TV. The verdict at the now-infamous O.J. Simpson trial captured the attention of 53.9 million people across 10 different networks, according to Nielsen. And Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals snared 28.2 million when it was broadcast on ABC. "The Decision" was no Super Bowl or series finale of "M*A*S*H," the two most-watched TV broadcasts in history. For that matter, the show wasn't even an "American Idol."