What the Brooklyn Nets Can Teach You About Identity Marketing

Ask me where I live and I’ll shout a resounding, “Brooklyn!” Mark thinks it’s funny that I don’t say New York or New York City. But why would I? I’m proud as heck to live in the best borough around — Brooklyn!

Our new NBA basketball team the Brooklyn Nets knows this!

The new franchise understands harnessing often fanatical Brooklyn pride is a key strategy in getting the borough to have it’s back in this important inaugural year. That’s how they got me — a luke warm basketball fan – into the stadium and rooting for Deron Williams and the rest of the team. (The potential of a Jay-Z spotting didn’t hurt either).

This great article explores how the Nets won over Brooklyn in 6 steps.

Here are three takeaways for non profits:

(1) Put your audience’s passion and identity first and your organization second. The focal point of everything the Brooklyn Nets do — from advertisements to apparel — is on Brooklyn. Make sure your focus is on what your audience cares about most.

(2) Choose messengers that reflect your community’s identity. From Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz to Jay-Z, the Brooklyn Nets have chosen champions who reflect the borough.

(3) Connect to your history. The Brooklyn Nets weren’t shy to point out that the last time a professional team called Brooklyn home was 55 years ago when the Dodgers were shipped off to L.A. Think about how your organization can bridge it’s history/wins/achievements/disappointments into a narrative about what the future can and will bring.

I might be fairly new to Brooklyn, but I feel Brooklyn through and through. How does your audience feel?