LeBron James is a polarizing figure for many reasons. You can sit with friends and debate “LeBron the player”, “LeBron the celebrity”, or even “LeBron the business man”. When the Miami Heat star isn’t on the court, he can still be scrutinized for his business decisions.
It’s clear that those that advised LeBron to go ahead with “The Decision” may have regretted how it went down. Those close to LeBron, especially the guys at Nike, do their best to portray James in the best possible way. It’s OK for LeBron to dunk on kids, but when Jordan Crawford dunks on him — the tape must confiscated.
The professors at Harvard decided to take the assessment of LeBron James to another level as they now have a class on him:
For 80 minutes, students discuss James and his brand, and debate his best marketing opportunities. By making James a case study, the course provides a compelling lesson in what can determine success or failure in the volatile world of celebrity marketing.
“When Harvard Business School approached us for a case study, it was a ‘wow’ moment,” said Maverick Carter, a childhood friend and business partner of James.
James and his business partners happily cooperated with the research process, giving access and candid assessments of marketing choices, making the case study something of a page-turner.
While many can debate James’ effectiveness in the fourth quarter, there is no denying that he’s also a businessman and when marketed correctly he stands to receive generous profits.