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Golden State Warriors Marketing Report
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Institutional Affiliation
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Golden State Warriors Marketing Report
Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Assessment of Branding Strategy ................................................................................................................. 4
GSW’s Brand Building Strategies .............................................................................................................. 5
Quality of Sport Experiences Delivered ........................................................................................................ 6
Experiential Marketing Strategies................................................................................................................. 7
Rational and Emotional Engagement ....................................................................................................... 7
Demand Forecasting ................................................................................................................................. 8
Optimizing Resource Utilization................................................................................................................ 9
Sponsorship Strategies.................................................................................................................................. 9
GSW’s Sponsorship Deals........................................................................................................................ 10
Action Plan & Evaluation......................................................................................................................... 10
References .................................................................................................................................................. 12
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Executive Summary
This marketing report offers a description and evaluation of the Golden State Warriors, an
Oakland, California-based National Basketball (NBA) franchise. Research conducted in the
preparation of this report places the team’s on-the-court performance at the cornerstone of its
branding strategy. No team in the NBA has enjoyed the same level of on-the-court performance
as the Warriors over the last decade.
The report finds the marketing prospects of the organization as positive, at least in the
short and medium terms, due to the continued on-field success coupled with the establishment of
a $1 billion-dollar arena which has stimulated fan and athlete experiences. However, there are
available opportunities to exacerbate consumer engagement. In particular, this report
recommends several experiential marketing strategies in the form of demand forecasting as well
as banking on rational and emotional engagement.
In addition, the report finds that the Golden State Warriors has a list of sponsors made up
of international firms. To enhance effectiveness in marketing and to increase sponsorship
attractiveness, the report recommends the adoption of a multi-channel marketing approach. Such
an approach can be assessed by keeping track of key performance indicators (KPIs), for example,
qualified leads, conversion rates, and site traffic. The analysis conducted has limitations,
including the specific agreement details in the signed sponsorship deals.
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Introduction
The significance of marketing in sports cannot be overstated. Marketing in sports plays a central
role in mitigating competition by not only determining the key selling points but also in the
development of strategies on how to outmaneuver competitors in terms of portrayal. In simple
terms, it should concern a sporting organisation how its players are portrayed in the media, for
instance, vis-à-vis how other players in the league/tournament or competition are depicted. Even
more, the sport industry, like any other business, is concerned about profitability. In recent years,
the sports industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing business sectors with revenues
accrued from fans and endorsements as some of the major revenues sources for the industry
(Kasemsap, 2014). Sports marketing activities are thus a precursor for profitability.
This report underscores the importance of marketing in sports by offering insights into
the management of the Golden State Warriors brand (hereafter GSW). The Oakland- based
(formerly based in San Francisco) sporting organisation competes in the National Basketball
Association (NBA) and is a member of the entity’s Western Conference Pacific Division.
Assessment of Branding Strategy
A brand encompasses a set of functional and emotional aspects (Erkmen, 2018). Put differently,
a brand constitutes of functional and emotional elements whose interaction allows an
organisation to deliver on its promised experience. A brand can also be described as the way a
product, service, or organisation is perceived by consumers (Răzvan and Cătălin, 2018).
Deductively, each consumer has a unique perception of a brand. The consumers’ perceptions can
either be positive or negative. The role of appropriate branding is thus to stimulate positive
consumer perception. Essentially, as equally outlined Răzvan and Cătălin (2018), suitable
branding strategies can stimulate sales not only for a single product/service but also for other
products/services associated with the brand. In the context of this report, the performance of the
GSW brand can impact the performance of other brands associated with it, such as players, and
vice versa.
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GSW’s Brand Building Strategies
Success on the basketball court has been at the core center of GSW’s marketability, at least in
recent years. To offer background, the team was acquired by venture capitalist Joe Lacob in
2010. As a team owner, Lacob prioritised enhancing the team’s on-the-court outcomes besides
renegotiating local TV rights, boosting sponsorship revenues, and offering an improved sporting
arena (Foster and Luther, 2011). Since the takeover, GSW’s performance in the NBA has
improved dramatically. To crystallize, the team won the NBA title in 2015, 2017, and 2019. The
team’s success, according to analysis conducted by the Bleacher Report, has been influenced
strongly by the performance of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, arguably some of the bestshooters the game has ever seen (Cherin-Gordon, 2013). In essence, success in the league has
played stimulated the attractiveness of the GSW brand as intended by Jacob.
GSW equally depends on players to strengthen its brand image. None of the GSW
players has performed this role better than Stephen Curry in recent years. A two-time Most
Valuable Player (MVP), Curry is described as an eminently likeable player (Shields, 2016).
Additional information presented by Kurtenbach (2021) shows that Curry has made the GSW
brand cool, specifically among young people. His jersey has ranked consistently high as one of
the league’s top sellers. The brand has become so powerful during Curry’s time that the
management of the company had to forego the idea of renaming the team when plans to move to
San-Francisco were initiated in the 2014/15 season when he won his first MVP trophy
(Kurtenbach, 2021). In essence, GSW leverages the strength of athlete brands, specifically the
superstar players on its portfolio.
Logo and Slogan: The GSW case epitomizes that logos and slogans can affect the
performance of a brand. The organization’s success coincides with a logo change that took effect
in 2010; a key element in the logo is the slogan “Strength in Numbers” which according to Arena
(2019), was incorporated to instill a global feel. The new strength in numbers logo has featured
heavily in apparel products, billboards, commercials, and social media posts (Arena, 2019).
Therefore, on a broad scale, although not the central element in the organization’s success, the
change of logo has played a considerable role in enhancing GSW’s brand performance. More
people are likely to recognize the GSW logo and associated slogan today than was the case a
decade or so ago.
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Cumulatively, on-the –court results which have made the made the Warriors the mostsuccessful NBA team over the past decade coupled with likeable players and effective
sloganeering have made the GSW one of the strongest brands. The improved brand equity has
had a significant impact on the organization’s market valuation. Based on current NBA franchise
valuations, GSW is ranked second with an enterprise value of $4.7 billion only behind the
Knicks which has a $5 billion valuation (Badenhausen and Ozanian, 2021). With the team
recording impressive on-court results early in the season, there is a likelihood that the
organization will soon emerge as the highest-valued brand in the league.
Quality of Sport Experiences Delivered
In sports marketing, core product quality and perceived event value are key elements in
the customer satisfaction matrix (Uzir, 2020). Because sport-related activities are conventionally
unpredictable, they are beyond the control of managers. As such, guaranteeing a certain degree
of customer satisfaction is almost a near impossibility. In the context of the NBA, it would be a
daunting task for the Warriors to win all their games in a season. Therefore, at certain times,
depending on a host of factors such as the quality of opposition and stage of the season, the
quality of sport experience is likely to fluctuate among consumers.
But while sport is largely unpredictable, certain attributes that affect the quality of
experience can be controlled. To this end, available research has shown that athletes’ effort
during games is a primary factor in influencing the level of satisfaction among sport consumers
(Biscaia, Yoshida, & Kim, 2021). GSW’s on-the-court success over the last decade indicates
that player effort across the season has been impressive more often than not. In the absence of a
sustained degree of effort, it would have been impossible for the team to win three titles and
reach the national finals in five consecutive seasons.
Complementarily to the success of the team on the court, the involvement of the
management in strategic decision-making has equally impacted the quality of service delivered.
As aforementioned, as a new owner, one of Jacob’s targets was to improve the team’s arena. In
2019, Jacob attained this target as the team moved from its San Francisco arena to a new center
in Oakland. The $1bn valued Chase Center matches both the demands of the modern-day
consumer with elements such as luxury suites as well as those of a 21st – Century professional
athlete such as state-of-the-art locker rooms (Gordon, 2019). The move, which Gordon (2019)
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describes as precedent-setting, is thus likely to enhance the level of satisfaction among the
organization’s consumers due to the increased comfort and allure associated with high-quality
sporting arenas.
In addition, according to Biscaia, Yoshida and Kim (2021), the unpredictability in sport
can also be alleviated through means such as effective promotional campaigning, implementing
suitable recruitment policies aligned with organizational values, and reinforcing athletes’
commitment to the organization. Towards this end, the “Strength in Numbers” slogan coined in
the GSW logo underscores an appreciation for its fan base. In other words, the slogan encourages
more people to support the team. The organization has also demonstrated commitment to its
athletes by offering them some of the best deals in the industry. At the beginning of 2021, for
instance, the team agreed to a $215 million record deal with Stephen Curry making him the first
player in the league’s history to sign a deal worth more than $200 twice (Murray, 2021).
Strategic decision-making has therefore contributed to enhancing the quality of experience
delivered by GSW as a sporting organization.
Experiential Marketing Strategies
As the name suggests, experiential marketing banks on consumer experiences derived from
purchasing/acquiring a product or service. Scholars define experiential marketing as the
perception that consumers develop about an organization after interacting with products/services
(Urdea, Constantin, and Purcaru, 2021). Information presented above indicates that GSW fans
across the world have enjoyed a good, if not the best, experience owing to the team’s success on
the court. The strategies highlighted below are specifically aimed at leveraging the mentioned
success in the NBA to generate more revenues for the organization.
Rational and Emotional Engagement: One of the strategies that can be used to
stimulate experiential marketing in the information age is enhancing customer engagement by
focusing on both rational and emotional cues (Urdea, Constantin, and Purcaru, 2021). Economic
theory propounds rationality as a central tenet in the consumer decision-making process.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, external benefits such as price discounts are likely to influence the
level of consumer engagement (Chen, Dahlgaard-Park, and Wen, 2019). In the same light,
consumers have emotional concerns. Emotional attachment in this case refers to psychological
association with the focal object, in this case, the product/service or organization (Urdea,
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Constantin, and Purcaru, 2021). The perception of feeling being wanted, as highlighted by Chen,
Dahlgaard-Park, and Wen (2019), for instance, is an emotional cue that contributes to stimulating
consumer engagement.
In light of the above findings, the management of GSW can spur consumer engagement
by adopting strategic decisions associated with consumer rationality and emotion. For instance,
the management could consider sponsoring events and foundations whose work is in-line with its
values and resonates with the needs of its audience. In Oakland, where the team’s arena is based,
one of the concerning issues is homelessness with the number of homeless people doubling over
the last decade (City of Oakland, 2021). Supporting such a social course is therefore likely to
enhance the attractiveness of the GSW brand among consumers.
When it comes to banking on consumer rationality, the management of GSW should
consider adopting dynamic pricing plans. Such plans can be developed by employing artificial
intelligence (AI) as demonstrated by Branda, Marozzo, and Talia (2020). In their model, Branda
et al (2020) developed an algorithm for generating even logs that mimic real ones. The algorithm
was used to assess the overall impact of a pricing strategy after incorporating several factors such
as the number of tickets sold, the nature of the event, and total revenue accumulated. Applying
the same logic, GSW can develop an algorithm to assess the likely impact of pricing plans after
integrating elements such as the nature of the event, stage of the competition, participating
athletes, the price charged, complimentary services offered among others. Results generated
from the algorithm are likely to play a significant role in enhancing value generation in ticketing,
which is a major revenue stream for a sporting organization.
Demand Forecasting: As the name suggests, as an experiential marketing strategy,
demand forecasting entails making projections related to the shifting consumer demands. In
sports, consumers are more likely to attend competitive games as compared to friendly games.
Similarly, fans would be expected to show more interest in games featuring superstar players. In
the context of the NBA, games against the Los Angeles Lakers, a historically successful
franchise, are likely to attract a considerable audience at GSW’s Chase Center. The management
of the organization can therefore use such factors for strategic decision-making.
Demand forecasting is not a new phenomenon; it has been tested across other industries.
Abdelghany and Guzhva (2010) utilized a time-series methodological approach to perform short-
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term demand forecasting in the airline industry. Their model incorporated different aspects such
as seasonality, volatility in fuel prices, airline strategies, and economic conditions and assessed
their impact on the degree of airport activity. Mumbower, Garrow and Higgins (2014), on the
other hand, used demand forecasting to gauge volatility in flight prices using a database of online
prices as well as seat map displays. Their model revealed how airlines can develop optimal
promotions by incorporating elements such as booking season, departure times, and day of the
week. In essence, demand forecasting, as an experiential marketing strategy can assist the
management of GSW in developing informed dynamic pricing plans. More importantly, demand
forecasting is recommendable to the organization as it creates an opportunity for the
interrogation of various aspects that characterize regular operations.
Optimizing Resource Utilization; the appropriate utilization of an organization’s
resource base influences brands performance in diverse ways. In the context of GSW, as
mentioned above, the organization has recorded significant success owing to the attractiveness of
its players, specifically Steph Curry. In marketing terms, the organization has effectively
leveraged the strengths of the Steph Curry brand. Such gains can be reinforced even further. In
particular there, opportunities are available to the organization to stimulate the use of the $1bn
value Chase Center arena. To this end, the organization should ensure that the level of
complimentary services is ramped up during the post-season, which according to Poole (2020), is
typified by an upscale in the number of attendees. These activities should specifically spur
consumer engagement. For example, fans could be picked to participate in lottery competitions
entailing making basketball shots at various points of the basketball court. In addition, the
organization should consider entering into partnerships that are likely to meet the concerns of the
consumers during high traffic seasons. For example, the organization could partner with local
food joints to offer snacks during games. The incorporation of such complementary services is
necessary for maximizing resource usage.
Sponsorship Strategies
The importance of sponsorship in sports cannot be overstated. Conventionally, sponsors provide
sporting organizations with the much-needed finance while the sponsor gains access to a targeted
consumer base in return. For the sponsor, sports sponsorship is particularly attractive because of
its unique capabilities in overcoming linguistic and cultural obstacles (Melovic et al., 2019). In
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essence, effective sponsorships should be mutually beneficial to the sports organization and its
partner in the deal.
GSW’s Sponsorship Deals
Due to the attractiveness of the brand, GSW has entered into sponsorship agreements
with several companies. The list of companies includes Rakuten, JP Morgan Chase& Co,
Accenture, Oracle, Adobe, Google, Kaiser Permanente, United Airlines, Nike, PepsiCo,
Ticketmaster among others. Notably, the corporate entities in the GSW’s sponsor list operate in
various industries. The incorporation of non-competing sponsors is an effective strategy as it
mitigates the issue of cannibalization.
Of the listed sponsors, Rakuten fits the description of the main sponsor due to the
incorporation of its brand in the team’s official jersey. The sponsorship deal between Rakuten
and GSW was initiated in 2017. The original deal, according to information provided by Sports
Pro-media was worth $20 million annually, making it one of the most lucrative patch deals in the
league’s history (Jones, 2021). As a sponsor, Japanese-based B2B e-commerce firm, Rakuten
enjoys several privileges including as the team’s official video-on-demand partner as well as
having rights to the practice facility. Deductively, as a result of the sponsorship, Rakuten and
GSW, can access markets in foreign markets. On the one hand, Rakuten enhances GSW’s
visibility in Japan across the larger Asian Peninsula. The GSW, on the other hand, offers
Rakuten an opportunity to reach the California consumer base, and the wider US market.
Action Plan & Evaluation
There is limited information to suggest ineffective sponsorship deals between GSW and
its partners. The listed companies are likely to enjoy some degree of increased market visibility
due to the team’s impressive performance and value-based management under Jacob. However,
some additional measures can be implemented to enhance the visibility of these brands. In this
regard, a multi-channel approach for advertising is recommendable to GSW. Under this
approach, the sponsors should be advertised across virtually all media forms, specifically across
the team's social media platforms. The proliferation of ads incorporating the brands of sponsors
is in-line with the habits of the multi-tasking modern-day consumer generation. The more
exposed the consumers are, the more likely they are to recall add. In essence, therefore, the
success of this approach can be assessed by keeping track of key performance indicators (KPIs)
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such as online marketing return on investment (ROI), site traffic, organic search, qualified leads,
and conversion rates.
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