About a year after Cronulla knocked back an $11 million sponsorship offer to get in bed with Ashley Madison, things got a lot worse for the infamous hook-up site.
In further proof that cheats never prosper, Ashley Madison was hacked in one of the most notorious data leaks in history. As those seeking extra-marital affairs were named and shamed, you could almost hear Sharks powerbrokers sigh in relief as companies distanced themselves from Ashley Madison.
That is, except for the Atlanta Hawks. The NBA franchise scoured the city for people called "Ashley Madison", promptly signed three of them up on an endorsement deal and built an entire ticketing campaign around the company's misfortune.
"We used Ashley Madison through these endorsees to do a play on words with this idea of starting a new love affair with this team in Atlanta," explained Peter Sorckoff, Atlanta's chief creative officer and executive vice-president for brand and innovation.
"So many people from Atlanta are from another city and have grown up with another team. So we had this idea of, 'cheat on the team you've grown up with your entire life and start the love affair'. It was like, maybe your life has become boring with the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics and come have fun on the side with the Hawks, who know what might happen?
"Is it risqué? It is. The deal was not with Ashley Madison but we used a story that was very relevant to capture everyone's attention.
"We know that reverberated with that young audience because most are not on Ashley Madison. They're laughing at the older generation who is. For us, it was on brand because it was playful and hopefully clever."
It is this type of cheeky marketing campaign that is the bold new direction of the Hawks. It is the result of a major re-branding exercise the franchise undertook to ensure it again became relevant to its fans. It followed an intense navel-gazing process, an exercise in "social anthropology", that began just over two years ago.
Wanting to know what the city thought of the team, the Hawks studied what was being said about them on social media, reviewing 1.7 million conversations about the brand over a 12-month period. The feedback was alarming.
This was a city out of love with its team. Supporters had yet to forgive the Hawks for the treatment of superstar Dominique Wilkins, who was unceremoniously traded to the Clippers – "they were the Siberia of the NBA at the time" said Sorckoff – two decades after the event.
"That was a statement about the culture of the organisation, that we would treat someone of his stature like that," Sorckoff said.
"So why would you think they would treat their fans and members any differently? People in the marketplace had become very disconnected from the brand. They didn't like how we traded our past heroes, they didn't connect with our current stars."
If you actually made a match at the game, there was a more exclusive suite you would get moved up into
Peter Sorckoff, Atlanta Hawks chief creative officer
And so began one of the most remarkable transformations in world sport. It's a story Sorckoff initially told to NRL chief executives at Rugby League Central this year and then to Fairfax Media.
On the surface, the plight of an NBA franchise valued at $825 million appears to have no relevance to that of rugby league clubs, all of whom – bar the Broncos – are operating at a loss.
However, the challenges both face – filling stadiums, converting fans into members, cutting through the rival entertainment options, making money – are much the same. In the case of the Hawks, there was a disconnect with their stakeholders before the re-branding process.
"For us, it's not about awareness, it's about relevance," Sorckoff explained. "People knew we existed, they just didn't care. Our mission was to make them care. We knew we had to get in front of a younger audience, a 30-year-old millennial."
Which is they staged the first ever Tinder night. There are 50 million Tinder users in the United States and 79 per cent identify as millennials. So the Hawks decided to tap into the popularity of the app that notches a billion swipes a day.
"The audience that we wanted to be relevant with, we knew we had to prove to them that we were understanding of how they were living their life," Sorckoff said.
"As we began to understand where they eat, where they go to buy their clothes, how they communicate and meet each other, we found Tinder was ubiquitous with this generation."
The Hawks spent $3000 advertising their first Tinder night on Facebook. In return, they generated $12 million of media exposure.
"It was a lot more controversial than what we thought it was going to be because a lot of people misinterpret Tinder as a hook-up site," Sorckoff said. "For some it is, but for many it's a way to meet people who are geographically close to you.
"Whatever consenting adults decide to do after they have met each other is up to them. But for us, it was using the technology as a tool. Whether you agree or disagree about how they are using it, they fact is they are. A lot.
So we built a night, we invited everyone to come, so when you came if you had the app on your device you got access to a separate suite so you could meet people also using the technology.
"We invited everyone at the game to download the app and find people to meet and connect with. If you actually made a match at the game, there was a more exclusive suite you would get moved up into. We had fun, there was champagne and roses.
"It was an atmosphere that was conducive to start moving forward with your relationship."
The relationship between the Hawks and their fans has also changed. They appeal to a younger, affluent set swiping right on its NBA team. This is reflected in their merchandise, the game-day experience – the Hawks were pioneers of "Kiss Cam" – and the way they communicate with their constituents.
"In our brand positioning, being playful and fun is a part of who we are and how we want to represent ourselves to our audience and city," he said. "We felt if we could make the team and the brand relevant to the young, the old would follow. For us it has been wildly successful. We have seen our business grow triple digits in most of the important categories we track, including members, retail, social space and TV ratings."
Sorckoff said the NRL and its clubs were receptive to his presentation. "The NRL guys were terrific, they wanted to share a spirit of innovation," he said. "It seems [NRL CEO] Todd [Greenberg] and his team want to find their place on that edge, the pointy tip of the spear.
"They are looking at how they reposition themselves going forward. They are looking at how the teams imagine that for themselves."
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