To Linfinity and Beyond!
We were able to experience Linsanity the other night at Madison Square Garden as Jeremy Lin (and the rest of the Knicks) served the Hawks. As sweet as it was (at least for Knicks fans), the game was almost beside the point from a branding perspective. It was amazing to see how quickly (or Linstantly) the Knicks have managed to incorporate Lin into their branding. His presence is already integrated into all of the videos shown on the scoreboard and on signage around the stadium. Lin jerseys, sweatshirts and hats were literally flying off the shelves. And everyone was wearing them. And going nuts whenever Lin made a move.
Lin’s presence on the court has also had a dramatic impact on social media. During the week of February 6-14, Jeremy Lin was mentioned 2.6 million times on Twitter. For that week, he outpaced President Obama. Since the start of 2011 the NBA has garnered more mentions than any other sport. In other social media news, Delta is the regular spotter of the Knick’s “Tweet Up” during the game. The contest of the day was to devise a nickname for Steve Novak, the Knicks’ 3-point wizard, who along with Lin, lit up the scoreboard that evening.
