Anyone have an issue with the A.I. / Hawks promo ?

[JRid]

I have to admit I thought it was an odd choice when he was a commentator for a game and I thought this promotion seemed a bit odd too. TI went to prison for buying a lot of assault weapons and then got in trouble again after that so what example is that sending to kids?

I think after going to prison for weapons it seems weird he would put a gun on his album. I imagine it's mostly for controversy so he will get more publicity or maybe it is some kind of symbol for a positive change. The problem is when kids see that they unfortunately just see a rapper holding a gun.

I don't think the whole thing is horrible, but I just think it's an odd choice. Hopefully he has turned his life around. I will say I thought he did a pretty good job commentating for that one game. He seemed to know a lot about basketball and the Hawks.

[phoostal]

wonder if he went old school last night with rubber band man

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I'm sorry . . . but it's not like the Hawks promoting this great "family atmosphere" is bringing the "families" out on a nightly basis. Believe it or not, the only game we've almost sold out this season, was the season opener vs the Houston Rockets. I guess people were eager to see the "new" Hawks without JJ and Marvin. And with that game being on a Friday night, it made it an easier game to go to. But for the most part, Hawks games are poorly attended, especially during the week and when we play a bad team. Hawks home game attendance this year - Houston: 18,238 ( Fri ) - Indiana: 10,684 ( Wed ) - Miami: 16,785 ( Fri ) - Orlando: 15,066 ( Mon ) - Washington: 11,338 ( Wed ) - LA Clippers: 16,024 ( Sat ) - Charlotte: 10,162 ( Wed ) - Cleveland: 13,094 ( Fri ) - Denver: 14,101 ( Wed ) - Washington: 13,067 ( Fri ) - Charlotte: 13,090 ( Thurs ) - Golden St: 15,145 ( Sat ) - Oklahoma City: 16,284 ( Wed ) - Chicago: 17,782 ( Sat ) So here's the reality folks. We're one of the poorest drawing home teams in the NBA, despite having one of the top 8 best records in the league. And it's universally said by most fans that the Hawks marketing team is very poor in promoting this team to the city. Knowing all of this, I have no problem with the Hawks turning to arguably the most popular celebrity in that city, to sell tickets and bring awareness to the team. And for all of you who were worried about T.I.'s performance last Saturday, here it is:

A 5 minute, abbreviated set of his 2 most recent songs . . "Go Get It" and "Ball". 2 songs that are nowhere near "Gangsta Rap" songs, although T.I. likes to brag and talk tough in them. And in a game with no Derrick Rose there to provide the superstar that everyone comes out to see, T.I. helped the Hawks gain their 2nd most attended game of the year. T.I. got to cross promote his new album, while the Hawks probably brought in an extra 2,000 to the game and took in an extra $100,000 at the gate + concessions. Mission Accomplished by the Hawks, in my opinion. The bad thing is that the Hawks come nowhere near close to tapping into the African-American celebrity element that's in that city. A city that is not only one of the centers of hip-hop these days, but also of R&B AND Gospel music. Plus a lot of actors and actresses live in the city. Why they do such a poor job in tapping into this element of the city, I do not know. 5+ million people in the metro area. Almost 2 million African-Americans in the metro area. Plus a top 10 basketball team. And we're one of the worst drawing basketball teams in the NBA? That makes absolutely no sense to me. Yeah, the fans ( both die hard and casual ) play a significant part in this, but the Hawks marketing machine does too. LOL . . do the Hawks even have any idea how many Black women with MONEY are in that city? They'll damn near break their necks to see their favorite celeb. Even the ones without a lot of money would do it. British actor Idris Elba ( a big time favorite actor amongst Black women ) has what looks like will be a blockbuster action film coming out next year ( Pacific Rim ). Any of you guys with Black wives or girlfriends know exactly how women act, when they see Idris.

Shoot, if I'm the Hawks, I'm calling that dude up and paying him about $25,000 ( or whatever his appearance fee is ), to promote that new movie + take some pictures with "Hawk fans" ( i.e. - Idris groupies ). You may not even have to pay that dude much, if they called up Warner Bros to do a big cross promotion of the movie in the arena that night, along with Idris being there. I'm just focusing on one demographic the Hawks could really target. Basically, they need to target EVERYBODY, even if you have to target specific groups on specific nights. They've done it in the past, but they don't do it enough. There is simply too many hip-hop, country, R&B, and rock talent in and around that city, for the Hawks to NOT take advantage of that. If people won't come out to see actual basketball games, see if they'll come out to see other forms of entertainment for 5 - 10 minutes. The T.I. affiliation with the Hawks is a good one, not a bad one. And they need to do it more often.

[Swatguy]

17,782

the promotion was for gate. simple

[tbhawksfan]

Instead of a concert during the game, maybe it should be a Bball game during a concert....

[ATLJA316]

Instead of a concert during the game, maybe it should be a Bball game during a concert....

I'd go to that concert.