The Leonsis Effect: Building a Brand

[Induveca]

I think this can be a great thread for all of the Leonsis related news and other topics generated by our illustrious new owner. It will be a very interested year one, where Leonsis is fighting hard to bring back indifferent DC area fans into the Wizards fold, and attract new ones. One of his old mantras from my AOl days was "Community delivers longevity". The man is all about customer trust.

We'll see tons of carefully crafted, very interesting PR and news from "Monumental" attempting to build trust, and focusing on improving the organization as a whole. You can only read passionate PR pieces about concession stand cleanliness and stadium lighting in year one of an ownership tenure.

Will be fun times. Also all front office related moves this year will have Leonsis stamp on them, Ernie no longer has free reign if it impacts PR from Ted. I'll start this off with a post concerning what I believe is Leonsis impact on the longevity of Arenas with the franchise.

[Induveca]

As most here have seen, I'm passionately against trading Arenas for various reasons. Return value, what I see as folly in terms of clearing capspace in a market devoid of major free agents, our losing history, current perception of the organization etc. But Leonsis has shown me that Arenas will be with the squad barring a major PR gaffe from his for this entire season. Why you ask? The Leonsis effect!

Leonsis has taken over a squad/organization mired in losing and deep fanbase distrust. The Wizards are a franchise worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but being run like a Maryland based family business.

Leonsis is in the middle of not only building a solid team to compete, but also an organization that will compete for the loyalty of the DC fanbase. The Wizards are not loved by DC area fans on the level of the Redskins (obviously), Hoyas or even the Terrapins. and in fact are largely discounted by the majority of the public. Leonsis, living in DC for close to 3 decades realizes this, and he has his sites not only on potential players to help the squad......but on potential fans he can bring into (or back into) the fold. While the Wizards will not be the most loved pro sports team in DC, he is doing his best to make them the most professional. Step number one in this process is to build trust for the brand with the customer base.

Leonsis in multiple interviews over the past month has stated that Arenas will be a star/costar/franchise player for the squad this year. He has stated his excitement of seeing Wall/Arenas team up, and also stated that he has a great relationship and that Arenas will be a Wizard this coming season. He has even gone so far to call Arenas "humble" "warm" "a good person", and stated the future of the Wizards is very much tied to Gilbert Arenas.

Now why is this important? Owners/GMs say such things all the time and two days later do something different. Well, Leonsis said these things in planned PR sessions while he's trying to lure back a disinterested/indifferent/distrusting fan/customer base. Consistency/honesty and above all INTEGRITY are key for his success as the Wizards owner.

Now, 3-4 years into the future Leonsis will have the clout to state such things, then turn the corner and sign off on a trade if a similar situation arises. He could then use the trust and goodwill he has built up previous years and explain why such a trade needed to happen. But in year one while trying to build his brand/cure his mistrusting fanbase? Not a chance. The last thing Leonsis wants is people to think "new owner, same old Wizards". He's all about "we're no longer the same", right down to the concession stands/lighting/colors.....he's in the process of putting his stamp on the franchise. Going back on his emphaticaly stated word (multiple times mind you) in year one isn't going to happen barring some MAJOR catastrophe caused by Arenas which will allow Leonsis not to break the trust he is building with fans.

[Ruzious]

That "branding" word really rubs me the wrong way - it's so corporate. Yeah, he does things his way, and he's had remarkable success, but that word is a big turn off. I guess that started with the Lebron brand and others. And sorry to be Debbie Downer but please - no more threads to discuss whether or not Gilbert should be traded.

[AceDegenerate]

Great post Induveca, but nobody hear wants to hear what you have to say unless you advocate dealing Arenas. I'm with you though. I don't see how Ted, coming into the league as new owner, could possibly come out completely in support of Arenas while working to deal him behind the scenes, it just doesn't compute. Not now at least.

[Ruzious]

Krizko, you're me and you against the world act is hilarious - especially when the board is split pretty much evenly on whether or not to trade Arenas. Keep up the good fight, brave soldier.

[Induveca]

Not a thread about that Ruz, just showing that year one isn't going to be business as normal for a franchise under Leonsis. There are a lot of mission statements I'm sure he's throwing out to staff, and he will be the champion of those the first 1-2 years until the culture of the organization is at a level he is comfortable with, and he has managers in place he trusts to carry out said mission statements.

This year especially I do think Leonsis will be the defacto GM for major transactions or decisions. EG is pretty much a puppet this year by default. Leonsis is putting his stamp on everything, from food/beverage manager to GM.

It will be a very fun thing to watch, the man is one of the brightest people I've had the pleasure of doing business with.......and his integrity will simply not allow him to make a statement like he did about the concession gaffe and not make sure things are spotless/speedy and better come opening game night.

Fun stuff, not necessarily about Gil, but that "Leonsis Effect" I spoke of in the first post does in fact play a role with Arenas' spot on the team this year.

In terms of brand, please don't associate that with LeBron James. Branding is extremely important for a franchise/corporation, I also don't like it associated with individuals. Only person I tolerate it from is Michael Jordan, purely for nostalgic purposes.

[Induveca]

Great post Induveca, but nobody hear wants to hear what you have to say unless you advocate dealing Arenas. I'm with you though. I don't see how Ted, coming into the league as new owner, could possibly come out completely in support of Arenas while working to deal him behind the scenes, it just doesn't compute. Not now at least.

Thanks Krizko, I hear ya......regardless I think the debate is pretty much dead and we obviously agree. I just thought fleshing out the impact of any major trade would be impacted by Leonsis' first year as owner, when weighed against his major initiatives for the franchise as a whole.

Basically, it will be difficult to impossible for him to go back on his PR this year on ANYTHING. If the concessions aren't spotless and well run a month into the season......he loses a lot of credibility. That's the last thing the guy wants, I know this from direct experience dealing with him. Integrity is key for him, it's his biggest strength in business......that and his insistence on "being on the floor" with customers as they interact with his company.

Make no mistake about this, "Monumental" is very much a company, and we have one of the brightest corporate minds in the US running it.......thus far he's been playing the owner role like a CEO plays the first 90 days at a Fortune 500 company.

[nate33]

I still don't think it would be some kind of grand betrayal if Ted ends up trading Arenas.

I think all of his positive talk about Arenas has been genuine. He does indeed want to embrace Arenas and make things work since it appears likely that we'll be keeping him. But if a good opportunity arises where we can dump Arenas painlessly (and maybe even get a little back), and Ted pulls the trigger, I don't think the fans or the media would accuse Ted of having no credibility. Unloading Arenas would only be the final step in the purge that began at the Trade Deadline last season.

[Hoopalotta]

Krizko, you're me and you against the world act is hilarious - especially when the board is split pretty much evenly on whether or not to trade Arenas. Keep up the good fight, brave soldier.

Or maybe it's even more like 70-30 or 60-40 against trading Gil here.

I still don't think it would be some kind of grand betrayal if Ted ends up trading Arenas.

I think all of his positive talk about Arenas has been genuine. He does indeed want to embrace Arenas and make things work since it appears likely that we'll be keeping him. But if a good opportunity arises where we can dump Arenas painlessly (and maybe even get a little back), and Ted pulls the trigger, I don't think the fans or the media would accuse Ted of having no credibility. Unloading Arenas would only be the final step in the purge that began at the Trade Deadline last season.

I don't know, seems like Ted has kind of put himself in a tough spot if he were to pull the trigger now with his public quotes.

It seems odd with the Mike Lee report that we offered him to Orlando before the draft.

[BanndNDC]

I tend to agree. The biggest failing the wizards have had in recent years is a loss of trust which has manifested itself through a questioning of their integrity. We've never had any doubt that Abe was big on personal loyalty and integrity but it's never been clear that that translated into anything or anyone beyond Suzie O and Wes. At its best a sports franchise creates a bond between organization and fan. We've seen how this works with the 'skins in the 80's/90's, DC United in it's earlier days and the Caps now. The Wizards haven't had this bond since the late 70's. I am excited to see what the changes will be and while i hate corporate speak the underlying thoughts, such as integrity etc, are true.

Speaking personally I dont really enjoy going to wizards games. I hate the circus like non-stop promotion and pumped in noise. Ive lost trust in the management, medical staff etc, and dont believe much of what they say. rebuilding that trust and developing a "relationship" between the fans and the team is not only the key to on the court success it's also the key to off the court success. I think being honest and truthful with the arenas situation (something that might be out of EG's comfort zone) is an essential first step.

[dobrojim]

circus atmosphere I'll buy. Pumped in noise? I've never
had that impression.

[BanndNDC]

circus atmosphere I'll buy. Pumped in noise? I've never
had that impression.

poor phrasing. referring to the non-stop (crappy) soundtrack atmosphere and trying to differentiate it from crowd noise.

[dobrojim]

OK. My main response would be ain't it like that
in every arena in the league? Seems like they
all play the same music. I bet the league did
some research into that kind of thing and gave
the teams a list of songs. It's almost like you
hear the same songs at the same time in
all arenas.

[Ruzious]

Not a thread about that Ruz, just showing that year one isn't going to be business as normal for a franchise under Leonsis. There are a lot of mission statements I'm sure he's throwing out to staff, and he will be the champion of those the first 1-2 years until the culture of the organization is at a level he is comfortable with, and he has managers in place he trusts to carry out said mission statements.

This year especially I do think Leonsis will be the defacto GM for major transactions or decisions. EG is pretty much a puppet this year by default. Leonsis is putting his stamp on everything, from food/beverage manager to GM.

It will be a very fun thing to watch, the man is one of the brightest people I've had the pleasure of doing business with.......and his integrity will simply not allow him to make a statement like he did about the concession gaffe and not make sure things are spotless/speedy and better come opening game night.

Fun stuff, not necessarily about Gil, but that "Leonsis Effect" I spoke of in the first post does in fact play a role with Arenas' spot on the team this year.

In terms of brand, please don't associate that with LeBron James. Branding is extremely important for a franchise/corporation, I also don't like it associated with individuals. Only person I tolerate it from is Michael Jordan, purely for nostalgic purposes.

Good post - though I don't completely agree. I think he's given EG strict guidelines, but by the same token, I think one of Ted's strengths (as opposed to Dan Snyder) is that he recognizes his limitations. He knows he's not a qualified NBA player personnel guy, so he's not going to tell EG the specifics on trades. As long as EG moves fit his guidelines, he's going to approve them.

He definitely is a fan's owner - to an extent we've never seen. The sense of integrity he seems to have has a lot to do with that. Most importantly, the guy is the great communicator. I don't know how he does it - with all the businesses he's involved with - not just involved with, but actually runs. His organization skills must be off the charts.

I agree with nate - to the extent that he has to wait. But if the team isn't doing great with Arenas, it's not going to damage his reputation to trade him. People understand that he's said over and over again that the team is in rebuilding mode. If it looks like Arenas staying is a hindrance to that goal, then he basically would be showing integrity by trading him.

[Ruzious]

OK. My main response would be ain't it like that
in every arena in the league? Seems like they
all play the same music. I bet the league did
some research into that kind of thing and gave
the teams a list of songs. It's almost like you
hear the same songs at the same time in
all arenas.

Yes, and it's a shame. That would be a very good thing to e-mail Ted about. No pumped in applause and no crappy music. We're not a K-Mart franchise.

[keynote]

Or, if you're gonna play music, how about some DC music? A generous dosage of Chuck Brown would give the Phone Booth it's own unique atmosphere.

I compare it to the Charlotte Hornets' use of Ric Flair's "Woo!" as a chant for the crowd to get into. That made sense, since Flair is from North Carolina. Of course, the New Orleans Hornets still use it - and it makes far less sense now.

[BanndNDC]

Yeah a lot of other teams do the same thing and it's a crying shame. It's lowest common denominator appeal and not only does it feel tacky it prevents development of a unique local identity and promotes a passive crowd atmosphere. One of the things Ted did with the Caps was to severely cut down on the "entertainment" which allowed a crowd based atmosphere to develop.

It may take awhile but it will improve the long term value and desirability of the franchise. in the meantime all i want is to feel like im at a Washington wizards game and not a wizards (currently based in washington) one (oh, and that stupid hype man to be fired). all of that is part of building a "brand". our brand hasnt been unique it's been basically a cookie cutter NBA frnachise and that's what needs to change. we need an identity and an identity cant be manufactured it has to develop.