This story was originally published in the 2024 Winter issue of strategy magazine
At first blush, the clean-cut, affable, and family-oriented basketballer Gradey Dick is a brand natural.
On NBA draft night, the Kansas native went viral with a sartorial nod to his home state and The Wizard of Oz, rocking a ruby red Dolce & Gabbana-sequined shirt and jacket. And when the 6’7 small forward was seen attending Caribana, he once again became a social media sensation for donning a pink-and-blue Toronto FC jersey. Dick’s affinity for the flamboyant caught the eye of Holt Renfrew, which quickly profiled the hooper in its video series “What Do You Wear?”
Last year, after one NBA start, the Raptors demoted Dick to its development league, where in two games, he made six out of 33 attempts at the net. Now with Dick temporarily toiling in the minors, are brands with more investments in him quaking in their high-tops? Adidas, for example, signed the rook to a multi-year footwear contract and Gillette put him in a shaving ad. Also, Canadian energy drink Guru announced that Dick is both a share-holding investor, as well as its brand spokesman, as the company looks to sports relationships to build more brand equity in eastern Canada.
When it comes to these kinds of athlete deals, it’s a roll of the dice, says Matthew Kelly, managing partner with Level5 Strategy. Contrast Dick’s performance with the team-up between the NHL’s Connor Bedard and Hyundai Canada, which had its eye on the young Vancouverite since draft night. Bedard is living up to the hype. And the Chicago Blackhawks are reporting that merch sales have doubled over the same period last year, likely due to the teen lighting it up on the rink. As Kelly points out, “Bedard was in a class of his own,” while every sport and city has its rookies like Gradey Dick, and few if any are touted as the Next Big Thing.
Kelly says marketers need to ask, “Is the relationship doing any damage to the brand or my organization?” Then, they need to consider whether an athlete deal was meant as a revenue driver, relationship builder, or sales enabler. “If that isn’t coming through, you need to pivot to plan B very quickly.” If Dick is out of the limelight, and not putting up points, the value is simply not there, Kelly says, unless he suddenly succeeds and achieves a kind of underdog status redemption arc and earns back what’s been temporarily lost.
“Why cut bait?” asks Dustin Rideout, partner, and chief strategy officer at The Hive, who points out that it is common for rookies to struggle mightily. Also, as Rideout notes, the Raptors overall have been languishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, which is not doing any favours for more well-known Raptor multi-brand pitchmen like Scottie Barnes (Google Pixel, Subway and Bitbuy) or Pascal Siakam (McDonald’s and Frito Lay).
When a brand is linked to an athlete, the challenge is figuring out how to make them relatable with those you’re trying to influence. And Dick’s struggles, Rideout says, could actually resonate. “A narrative of setbacks and mental fortitude, and listening to yourself and having confidence, those are broad narratives that all of us can relate to,” he says.
As a marketer, rather than risking the vicissitudes of linking a brand to a particular athlete – which could be hampered by on-court/ice/field performance issues, injuries, trades to a different geography entirely, misconduct issues – Rideout advocates supporting grassroots sports.
He cites Michael Bartlett’s “transformational” work as president and CEO of Canada Basketball, which supports education of coaches and officiators, youth sport leadership (off the court), developing sustainable and inclusive basketball programming for kids, with an emphasis on girls and women, a Unified Assist Program, identifying and supporting non-profit community programs and initiatives focused on increasing access to the game. The community work they do, Rideout opines, is incredible and supported by the likes of Sunlife and Toyota, and is something “more brands should be getting on board.”