Basketball Trades & PR Opportunities, Pt. 1

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Universal Information Services uses our blog as a mouthpiece to amplify and illuminate issues related to measuring the impact of public relations and media exposure. Often covered in our writings are topics that show how the fundamentals of business and PR communication intersect with behavioral outcomes on a desired audience. Media monitoring has evolved well past the function of simply tracking results and now must interpret the effectiveness and impact those results have. We hope you find engaging content and ideas within the Universal Amplifier.

By admin | August 8th, 2014

Part I

It’s no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers have had a huge off-season, landing one of the most highly-touted free agents of this decade. After a tumultuous departure from Cleveland, LeBron James announced his return to the team on July 11. Back in 2010, James left Cleveland for the Miami Heat by way of a much criticized primetime television special. To James’ credit, the move earned NBA championships in 2012 and 2013 for The Heat.

Yesterday, sources released that the Cavs have added yet another piece to their team for next season. Kevin Love will join James in Cleveland for the 2014-2015 season, although the deal can’t be finalized until the end of the month due to the Cavs offering up rookie Andrew Wiggins in the trade. The NBA has a 30-day trade rule for rookies who sign contracts, halting the progress for this deal on all fronts. But just for a time.

While these “gets” for the Cavs are huge, this is also a great time for the Cavs Public Relations staff. Considering the internet almost broke after James announced his return, Universal Information Services wanted to see the true impact of LeBron James returning and the addition of former Minnesota Timberwolves player Kevin Love. Universal measured the media mentions for the team to gauge the impact of the media and social media buzz related to these trades.

Measuring media mentions of Lebron James by Universal Information Services

It’s no shock that James dominated in media mentions, as illustrated in the above PR measurement chart. The July 11th peak in media mentions reflects when James announced his return. He is one of the best NBA players in the history of the game (can’t argue with the championships, either) and he is just flat out more popular than Kevin Love. Media mentions thus far for the Love deal have not even come close to James. The August 7th spike (little spike) reflects the initial announcement of Love joining the Cav’s. This analysis will be more interesting once the Love deal is formally completed.

With that said, be sure to stay tuned to the #samerules #newtools blog for more analysis when the deal basketball deals are inked. We are waiting eagerly . . . along with the citizens of Cleveland.

Tags: Media Analysis, Media Measurement, Media Trends & Statistics