Good Week/Bad Week in Branding

Good Week: The NBA – Pretty much the only major professional sports league willing to really leverage – and risk – its brand power in the socio-political arena, “the Association” threatens to move its scheduled 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte after the North Carolina House passed legislation that prevents cities in the state from passing their own anti-LGBT discrimination laws.

Bad Week: The NFL – The steadily growing number of stories and reports linking football to concussion, CTE and other traumatic brain injuries has become THE story of this off-season. And while the NFL maintains that it has been devoting attention to the issue, its general response has been one of denial and blame-evasion. Or as we Redskins fans call it: "situation normal."

Who’d have thunk it?: Retreats – For very different reasons, two high-profile organizations are walking away from the iconic commodities most associated with their brand images. But for very different reasons. The Rockefeller Family Fund is divesting from investments in fossil fuel, most notably dumping its massive Exxon-Mobil holdings (because they feel it’s the right thing to do). SeaWorld will phase out its whale program by 2019 (because they were forced to finally do the right thing).