Last Friday night I was catching up with a long time friend over dinner. The restaurant we were in had many television screens, some showing the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics and others telecasting the celebrity all star game as part of the US NBA All-Star Game Weekend. While I was much more interested in viewing the parade of countries entering the Olympic stadium, I could not help but notice that Mark Cuban was playing in the celebrity basketball game. Why not, as owner of the Dallas Mavericks and host of the weekend, he can probably do pretty much whatever he wants.
Like many people my thoughts on Cuban have ranged over the years, but I have never doubted his ability to live his personal brand or that of the many organizations that he has championed. He has a loyal following of brand champions. From fans to players and other NBA owners many people champion the Cuban brand. Others find him offensive, rude and simply do not like him. I anticipate that Cuban does not spend many sleepless nights wishing everyone was his brand champion. Cuban knows who he is and what he stands for.
Organizations that try to be all things to all people, and attempt to recruit and retain everyone as their brand champion are doomed to fail. We can learn some brand champions lessons from Mark Cuban.
Rex Whisman
Brand Champions Blog
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