First things first, I wanted to share this meme I created. Please, internet, make it viral!
Yesterday, entrepreneur icon Gary Vaynerchuk joined ESPN to discuss Lavar Ball's marketing tactics for his Big Baller Brands. Vaynerchuk said, "I think anybody who's watching him very closely realizes there's a lot of smarts behind what he's doing."
What do you think?
Definitely this man is smart, he is getting publicity. They say publicity is publicity even if it is good or bad. Its like he can promote BBB without paying for anything. Example he just says he can beat Michael Jordan in basketball back in the day, thats free publicity haha.
Lavar definitely says some wild things! If his son Lonzo plays up to his "potential," I'm sure the major shoe brands will start taking them both more seriously in terms of negotiating a major deal.
I believe Lonzo can definitely play up to his potential, watching him play in summer league. I like his passing ability, he can definitely upgrade the Lakers. At first I was a bit worried when the Lakers traded Russel but when I saw Lonzo play I thought it was the right choice.
I agree, he looked great in summer league!
I understand that selling a shoe for $500 seems greedy and insane but who cares! the big shoe companies have been robbing people for years! maybe not to the tune of $500 but they've sucked more than that out of each and every one of us over our lifetimes. I say Lavar and sons should go for it, test the market, see what happens. They might fail, but if they have any success they could be providing somewhat of a blueprint for future stars. The $500 shoes might fail, but who's to stop someone like say Shaq's son from coming out and starting something similar with a more reasonable price tag backed by someone like his wealthy father!
I don't have any problem with them selling a pair of shoes for $500. There are all sorts of luxury fashion brands charging ludicrous prices. I'm curious how many BBB shoes have been manufactured and distributed? It will also be fascinating to see if this primarily a negotiating ploy witih Nike and Adidas, or if the brand actually lasts for a few years.
At $500, it's not about having a good product. It's conspicuous consumption, like spending $1,000 on a bottle of wine that doesn't taste any better than a $50 bottle.
If people want to be seen spending lots of cash, why not let them?
I think the goal with the Michael Jordan comment was to get a response, and he did get one. Like @vallesleoruther said, publicity is publicity even if its good or bad. The things he says always make people say "what an idiot" or "are you serious?" and you know what he thinks? Thanks for the attention. I think he's a genius, the way he has built a following in a short amount of time is insane. He's probably the most talked about in the Ball family, and he's not even a player! Think of him as an idiot or not, the guy is smart.
He definitely receives more attention this his son Lonzo at this point. It will be interesting to see if/when that changes. I'm not sure if his approach will ultimately be effective or not, but it's definitely intentional and resourceful.