The Brand Called Me

Jordan’s journey started his freshman year of high school during basketball season. “He (Michael Jordan) did not make the basketball team at Laney High School his freshman year.” (Jhonson 1) The first tryout of his high school career, he didn’t make it. That would absolutely demoralize a person and break down their self esteem. But Jordan kept at it and kept training to be the best player he could be. “Jordan was only 5’11 his freshman… He grew 3 inches his junior and senior year , making him a final height of 6’6.” (Jhonson 1). With his final height, Jordan would be able to excel at many levels of his game. Making him a national force at the high school level. Jordan would go on to play college basketball at the division one level at the North Carolina University, and then get drafted by the Chicago Bulls. “Jordan is considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of the twentieth century” (Jhonson 1). With Jordan getting a mega deal with Nike to manufacture shoes and many other products, Jordan would go on to make a fortune. Jordan won 6 NBA championships and a 5 time NBA MVP award recipient. Jordan started from not making the freshman basketball team to being named on of the best basketball players of all

Michael Jordan, a man who is idolized for his athletic prowess, once said “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed” (“Michael Jordan Quotes”). 2.5 million dollars is an insane amount of money, so imagine how twenty-one-year-old Jordan felt signing this deal with Nike.inc; who used this as an opportunity to launch the Air-Jordan shoe, with the iconic Jump-man logo on the side. The popularity of these shoes led people to stand in lines and even steal them from others. Jordan’s immense talent earned him over thirty million dollars per season, but his businesses earned him a large chunk of money as well. MJ became the star of the hit movie, Space Jam, and endorsed products such as McDonalds, Hanes, and Gatorade. Three years after his retirement from the NBA, Jordan became an owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, currently the Hornets, becoming the first former player to own a franchise (Dodds, Colin). MJ supports over fifteen different charity cases, and some of them being: LIVESTRONG, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Special Olympics. His good-natured attitude and morals off the court added with his immense skill on it, firmly place him as one of the best players ever (“Michael Jordan: Charity

In 1984, after he won the championship at North Carolina, Michael Jordan was signed to a five year endorsement deal by Nike. The contract was worth about 2.5 million dollars. A lot of people were very judgmental because of the huge endorsement given to a rookie. I am surprised as well because in this day and age, a company would never do that. However, because Michael Jordan had so much skill, he made all of the skeptical people eat their own words.

So Jordan was coming off a very great season at the University of North Carolina. He also led the USA to a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics. A lot of people believed that is market value was at a high.That is when Nike got on track. Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, put together a group to brainstorm the most profitable way to market Jordan to basketball fans. In fact, Nike had a plan for promoting Jordan even before Jordan played on NBA hardwood. Nike was taking a big risk on someone who was not set up to be a star or even someone in the NBA. Nike offered him a deal that would earn him $7 million over five years. So then the most recognized basketball shoes ever to be created, the “Air Jordan 1!” The original black shoes with a red swoosh and a creamy white laces to go with it. Those shoes went off blew the

Whoa!!! Did you see that! Michael Jordan never seemed to stop stunning us every time he stepped on that court. From dunking when taking off from the free throw line (that is fifteen feet), to having back to back fifty plus point games in the playoffs, and now being in Forbes billionaires in the world. Michael Jordan was for most people the greatest basketball player to ever step on a court. But what also stands out is his fortune; and how at one point he was the best paid athlete in the world, has his own shoe brand teaming up with NIKE to do so, and as if it wasn’t enough he owns a NBA team The Charlotte Hornets. Its never been easy for Michael Jordan but failure has helped him to be where he is at now, one of the richest athletes in the world.

He Gained power and influenced a world of youth through numerous forms on national level coverage. Michael Jordan continues to be a social influence. The Jordan shoe continues to sell at alarming rates when there is a release date for a Retro Jordan. These shoes continue to sell because of his social influence. There was a time when we saw Michael play in those shoes, and now the Jordan shoe brand has not only solidified itself in the game of basketball, but now it is found in almost every major sport. Michael Jordan currently sponsors 21 active NBA players, including Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony. These players also endorse Jordan Brand products. The Jordan brand is also sponsored in the WNBA. The Jordan brand is not just for basketball anymore. The shoes are sponsored in other leagues such as the MLB, NFL and NASCAR. The brand has also weaved its way into the sport of boxing with one of the most notable sponsors being Roy Jones Jr. Transcending from a shoe and clothing brand. Again he displays his power to influence without being in the room. Michael Jordan has the ability to inspire followers with devotion and enthusiasm. As stated in Whetten and Carmeon (2011).

Jordan is involved in a number of business ventures, including several restaurants. Michael Jordan has a lot of success. Michael Jordan qualified for forbes list of billionaires. Nike paid Jordan $480 million between 2000 and 2012.He received $18 million from Gatorade, $14 million each from Hanes and Upper Deck, and $10.6 million from fragrance company XEL. Jordan own most of the charlotte basketball team which is worth 725 million. Not only is Michael jordan the best basketball player, but he is also a great motivational speaker. For example he said “I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” I will apply this to my life because when I start baseball season and I am struggling in either hitting or fielding I will just think of Michael jordan quote.Whatever I am doing in my mechanics needs to be changed because I am failing, but once I change my mechanics I will succeed. Another quote that he said was that “ some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it

The use of specific athletes in marketing campaigns really began to show promise when athletes like Jordan began wearing their own brands of shoes. The idea to consumers or fans of the NBA that they could wear the same shoes as Michael Jordan, and somehow play like him was an easy sell by Nike. Today it is now common for marketable athletes in almost all sports to wear their own style of shoes, spikes, or skates. An interesting point to make is that through Nike Michael Jordan eventually launched his own clothing line called Jumpman23 that makes everything from socks and underwear to winter coats. Even though Jordan has been retired since 1999 the Jumpman23 company has continued to release a new shoe every single year that are simply called “Jordan 24”, an increasing corresponding number to the number of years the shoes have been produced. The new Jordan shoes still retails at over $150 a pair even though Mike hasn’t stepped on the court in 11 years! After retirement and becoming the CEO of the Jumpman brand Michael Jordan has been able to court other famous athletes from a variety of sports to wear his brand. A few examples of the athletes include Derek Jeter (baseball), Dwayne Wade (basketball), Jason Taylor (football), and April Holmes (track and field). The wide range of athletes in all different sports who now market a brand for arguably the greatest athlete of all time truly shows the money, power, and influence an athlete can experience

All the new and upcoming players had something to strive for, and someone to look up to as a role model and strive to be as great as him. Jordan has many accolades, including the best all around competitor at the game, and was the 3rd overall pick of the NBA Draft. Jordan didn’t play on the Bulls throughout his whole career; in fact he actually played 2 seasons with the Washington Wizards. Jordan was respected by many because of his outstanding skill level. Jordan once scored an incredible 63 points in a playoff game and still made it to the cover of sports illustrated at 50 years old. Michael also created his own shoe brand called Nike Air. Jordan set new standards for players because of how good he was at the

Personal branding is a concept that is geared for all people.  It is not just for famous people. Suze Orman started off like a normal person, but now she carries a strong name brand.  A simple person who wants to be successful and start branding their name.  Years later, they  may become a normal brand name in someone household.   The high increase in online searches and social media platform, personal branding, is relevant. According to Cohen (2014), personal branding is a necessity and marketers need to learn to understand branding.   Cohen (2014) stated personal branding  is required to establishing a good reputation with the consumers, with a good reputation that will be credibility, and personal branding is about enhancing longevity.   This paper will discuss what is needed in personal branding to be successful and why personal branding is important.

Personal branding as an activity has also been criticised on moral grounds and described as a blatant manifestation of the rampant cynicism of commercialism (Klein 2002; Rosen 2004; Lair, Sullivan et al. 2005; Conley 2008; Klein 2008) that equates “complex human beings” with “something like Kleenex” (Conley 2008) thus resulting in “a crude attempt to provide regulated forms of self-exposure”

Since an increasing number of people focus on brand names instead of product, brands become important elements for customers to choose products (Carroll, 2008). When customers trust the brand, the benefits for the manufactures are generated. In the first place, brands can be used by products as the tool to identify and differentiate themselves from various products. Secondly, brands are helpful for companies to build a competitive advantage (Bick, 2009). Therefore, organisations take more attention to branding.

The iPhone has significantly changed the way consumers purchase brands; it has enabled them to rely on the company behind the phone making the customer ‘ Brand sensitive’. According to Arvidison (2006) the rise of brands did not only target the consumption of brand culture but it also took in the ‘ world of make’. In the early 80s companies discovered the term ‘ organizational identity’ as a way to direct and adapt a style of command, however, it became important for companies to sell their ‘values and goals to employees, to make them

“Whether you use your personal brand to consult, freelance, or drive more traffic and trust to your company, it 's vitally important to establish one to stay competitive” (Demers, 2014). For

In recent times, branding has played a pivotal role in some brands’ success. This has been made possible through the ability of some marketers to capture the essence and minds of people (consumers), and put the trends and characteristics into the personality of a brand. Customers have always found ways to identify themselves with certain products, and on several occasions, branding campaigns