CLEVELAND -- If Cavaliers fans were thrilled by LeBron James' 48-point performance against Detroit, just imagine how Nike executives felt. Their $90 million investment never looked better.
"The world changed for a lot of us at Nike in that Game 5," said Brian Fairben, Nike's business manager for James.
For the 22-year-old James, who has stated that he wants to become a "global icon" and the world's first billionaire athlete, a trip to the NBA finals is a step toward those goals. It will raise his already hyped profile even higher, and marketers are prepared to take advantage.
Fairben has been with Nike Inc. for 15 years and has worked on James' marketing campaigns since the high school phenom signed in 2003. He admits to giddy excitement and feverish text-messaging with co-workers as James almost single-handedly beat the Pistons in double overtime on May 31.
Nike is seizing the moment by revisiting its "Witness" campaign with a black-and-white commercial that will air during the finals. It shows James in slow motion, dunking on the Pistons in the first overtime. As he soars, the late gospel singer Marion Williams soulfully sings "I Shall Be Released."
"It's a goose-bump moment," Fairben said.
James is closer to fulfilling his prophecy as "The Chosen One," something that Nike is counting on, said Paul Swangard, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, located not far from Nike's suburban Portland headquarters.
"They invested an enormous amount of money up front betting this would eventually occur," Swangard said. "It's a validation of not only their efforts but their investment."
James' exposure in the finals will take him beyond basketball fans, helping him reach a mass audience. It's an important leap in selling Nike sneakers to consumers who will buy them as a lifestyle purchase, not to run up and down a basketball court, Swangard said.
Nike is looking to expand James' influence in Asia by launching a version of his signature shoe there, the first time it has ever done so overseas, Fairben said. The company's next growth market for James is Europe.
That the finals is viewed in 205 countries in 46 different languages won't hurt those goals.
A stunning performance, like the one Miami's Dwyane Wade put on last season, would help.
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