 | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| | ||||||||
Hey Marketing Bestie, Us marketers sure can learn a lot from our Marketing fore-fathers and fore-mothers. The greatest marketing campaigns in history deserve to be etched in HTML stone. Welcome to Marketing Classics 411, a new kind of ancient history. In place of hieroglyphs, expect to decipher the campaigns of yesteryear. Professor Millennial teaches every Tuesday (remotely), via electronic mail. Class is now in session. Was this email forwarded to you? Sponsored by Vibe.co Half of all TV viewing is now streaming. Vibe’s free 2027 CTV for ABM Playbook shows you how to: 1 email. Whole playbook. IT’S SHOWTIME! How The L.A. Lakers Turned NBA Games Into Pop Culture SpectaclesThe 2026–27 NBA regular season tips off TONIGHT. You know what that means… 🎶: Arena DJs keeping the vibes and volume up. 🪩: TikTok-worthy dance teams and halftime acts. 😎: Celebrities chilling courtside. All carefully choreographed to guarantee a good time...whichever team wins. But did you know NBA games weren’t always like this? The entertainment bonanza we know and expect from pro basketball today all goes back to 1 guy, 1 nightclub, and a “crazy” $67M investment in a losing game. It’s a lesson in building a brand experience you can promise, even when you can’t control the outcome. This is the story of… when the L.A. Lakers hit their Showtime era.  It all started in 1960s California, at a Santa Monica nightclub called The Horn. It was an intimate venue, with a small stage and seating for around 100 guests. Up-and-coming comedians and musicians, like Steve Martin and Jim Nabors (ask your grandpa), performed for a star-studded crowd. Celebs in the audience sometimes hopped onstage for an impromptu set. Every night began the same way. The lights dimmed and an entertainer planted at a table would start singing the club’s theme song, “It’s Showtime.” Then a singer at another table joined. Then another. A young real estate tycoon named Jerry Buss was dazzled every time he saw it. (And The Mask hadn’t come out yet, so he probably didn’t hear Jim Carrey's catchphrase in his head.) Fast forward to 1979. Buss had just signed the biggest sports deal in history (at the time): $67.5M to purchase the L.A. Lakers, the L.A. Kings hockey team, AND the Forum Arena. All 3 were losing money. No one thought it was a good investment. But Buss had a plan: to turn sports time…into Showtime.  Buss’s Bussin’ energy incoming THE PLAYBOOKThe Lakers were founded in 1946 as the Detroit Gems, and became the Minneapolis Lakers a year later. The team became the 1st NBA franchise on the West Coast when it relocated to L.A. in 1960. When Buss came along, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was already the superstar center. Within a month, the Lakers drafted a 19-year-old rookie named Magic Johnson.  Check out those shoes. Nike wasn’t even in the game yet. The team had talent. Now (in Buss’s opinion), it needed to tap its Los Angeles setting for some Hollywood pizazz. Buss got busy reimagining the entire spectator experience: 🎸: The Forum’s organist was replaced with a 10-piece band playing the hits, like a late-night show. 👯♀️: Attractive dancers were recruited to form the Laker Girls. 🤩: Courtside seating became a coveted red carpet experience for movie stars, musicians, and other VIPs with $$$. 🍸: The Forum Club opened, an exclusive private bar and club where season ticket holders and VIPs could party after games. 📸: Accommodations expanded for media and other elites who wanted private luxury suites. Every upgrade elevated the Lakers and impressed a wide range of spectators, from ordinary fans to A-listers.  Jack Nicholson’s been sitting courtside longer than you’ve been alive. Suddenly, whether it was early season or postseason, whether the Lakers won or lost, it was always Showtime at the Forum. A SLAM DUNKThe Lakers “Showtime era” initially focused on atmosphere and fan experience at home games. But the same thrills quickly flowed into the team’s playing style, with a high-speed, fast-break offense that kept the ball moving, points climbing, and fans extremely hyped. It was like a feedback loop of energy. The Lakers won the 1980 NBA Championship when Magic Johnson subbed in at center for an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and scored 42 points. (He’s still the only rookie to ever win the NBA Finals MVP Award). Epic game. Too bad most of the country didn’t see it. Because it aired on tape delay at 11:30 p.m.  42 points. 15 rebounds. 7 assists. 20 years old. Buss got to work on wider distribution. In 1985, he co-founded Prime Ticket, an LA-based sports network. At the time, most sports TV was sold on premium, pay-per-view channels. Prime Ticket made fandom more accessible by offering Lakers and L.A. Kings games as a basic cable channel. Under Coach Pat Riley, the Lakers won the NBA Championship again in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. (If you’re keeping score, the Lakers have won the 2nd most NBA championships in league history with 17 titles. The Boston Celtics are #1 with 18. The Golden State Warriors are #3 with 7.)  1 thing about Pat Riley…he always had that s*** on. The Lakers were finally profitable. Meanwhile, Buss kept finding new value in the assets he’d bought. In 1988, hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky was traded to the L.A. Kings. Now the Forum would have 2 marquee sports teams under its roof. In a rare move at the time, Buss made a 15-year, $17.8M naming rights deal with Great Western Savings & Loan. The Forum exterior was repainted blue and became the Great Western Forum. Critics briefly complained about the new name, but it wasn’t a huge change. And it funded business ops at the height of Showtime. Add corporate sponsorship to the list of pro sports innovations we owe to the Lakers…  The Laker Girls throwing deuces at the fired organist. Paula Abdul (center) was discovered by the Jacksons while working as head choreographer. NBD. PUT IT IN PRACTICEYou don’t need an NBA team to borrow from the Showtime playbook. Here’s your homework: 1️⃣. Split your controllables. Make 2 lists: what you CAN’T promise customers (results, market, etc.) and what you CAN (onboarding experience, support, etc.). Now choose 1 controllable to refine this quarter. 2️⃣. Make your top customer tier a status symbol. Value isn’t the only thing that converts potential or 1-time buyers into loyal customers. Brainstorm other ways to make top customers feel like VIPs, like early access, a premium experience, or covetable swag. Make it something they can show off. 3️⃣. Find your spotlight. Use social and other channels to broadcast your winning moves and VIP offerings to a wider audience. More viewers = more future fans/customers. SHOW | ||||||||
|
