Kobe Bryant scored 60 points Wednesday night, in a come-from-behind win for the Los Angeles Lakers in the final game of Bryant’s 20-year career.
He delivered an even better performance as a spokesman for Kobe Inc.
After the game, Bryant stood at center court draped in a towel emblazoned with the the logo for Body Armor, a sports drink in which he is an investor. Over the course of his a two-minute and 54-second nationally televised farewell, Bryant thanked his fans, teammates and family — and generated more than $833,000 in media exposure for the brand, according to Apex Marketing Group Inc.
Paul Swangard, formerly the managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, said the marketing message in Bryant’s farewell was perfect. “His exit plan was flawless as was his execution,” he said.
Bryant in 2014 started Kobe Inc., which was created to develop a plan for his post-career business initiatives. Bryant’s first investment was in Body Armor, an upstart sports drink whose investors include Mike Repole, who co-founded Vitaminwater and Smartwater.
“I am excited to watch his future as a great marketer and entrepreneur,” Repole said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “Even though he’ll go down as one of the all-time basketball greats, I am positive he will be even more successful in business than he was on the court.”
Bryant ended his on-court farewell speech by saying, “Mamba Out,” a play on his nickname, the Black Mamba, and another commercial coup. The minute the ex-Most Valuable Player dropped the mic, ”Mamba Out” T-shirts were available for sale on Bryant’s official online store. As of 10 a.m., the site had sold “a ton,” a customer service agent told a Bloomberg News reporter.
Bryant’s marketing efforts are getting a boost from his famous friends, some of whom were sitting courtside last night. Jay Z, whose official Twitter account has been silent since before Christmas, last night posted “Mamba out!” to his 3.2 million followers.
At online retailer Fanatics, demand for Bryant-related merchandise was up 500 percent Wednesday compared with Tuesday, the company said, and by Thursday morning, sales had almost equaled the day before.
“On-court, it was Kobe’s ultimate sendoff,” said Scott Becher, executive vice president of sports and entertainment at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based Zimmerman Advertising. “But off-court, it was a coming out party for Kobe Inc.”
