Detroit Pistons: Quarterly Season Review
Front Office
The Pistons front office has done one of the best jobs at branding and marketing their team when compared to all major professional and collegiate sports teams. They have taken the “Detroit versus everybody” mentality and ran with it in all of their strategies.
It’s clear that their goal is to unite the city as Detroit moves forward to clean up the downtown area and rebuild Detroit into a great city.
The front office created a campaign that for every Pistons three-pointer that is made, the team will donate $15 to an organization that is planting trees in the heart of Detroit. At the games fans are asked to “stand up for Detroit” and remain standing until the Pistons score their first points of the game.
They have also done a great job with their promotional videos. One of the most popular commercials in the metro Detroit area is a promo for the Pistons. Their in-game promotional videos promoting different theme nights, or the jersey retirement packages that feature Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups have also been great.
The Pistons have developed a social media presence that is consistent with other professional sports teams and leagues. They are using graphics effectively, but could be more frequent, videos have been effective and they are engaging with their brand by using hashtags such as #DetroitGrind or #DetroitMuscle.
Overall, the front office has done one of the best jobs of branding a team with a clear goal of uniting the city. Through the first quarter of the season, the Pistons have kept the in-game entertainment value at an all-time high and are driving attendance up this year.
Front Office Grade: A
Next: Who is the Long-Term X-Factor?
The Pistons are off to a 14-11 start, which nets them eighth place in the Eastern Conference. They are only 2.5 games behind the conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. Detroit has a team that embodies the brand identified by the front office with aggressive play, high energy and strong willpower.
Through the first quarter of the season, the Pistons are in great shape going forward. They will get healthy with the return of Jennings and eventually Meeks will re-join the team too. They are poised to make a postseason push throughout the rest of the season.