Bill Laimbeer On Expecting Great
The WNBA is marketing towards men. Does Laimbeer believe it’s working?
Bill Laimbeer, Pistons great, is an alpha-male. When thinking back to his playing days, many things come to mind: bruises, blood, broken bones and Bad Boys. This is the reason it’s surprising to some to see him walking the sidelines as Head Coach of the Shock, Detroit’s WNBA franchise.
Yet, Laimbeer brought his physical style of play with him to the WNBA, winning the championship in 2003. His abilities and tendencies as a player have made a huge impact on his squad, as well as the league and his presence is always felt, if not heard.
As the league sets out to garner more male attention to the women’s game, Laimbeer briefly discussed the topic with Stephen Litel.
Litel: The new “Expect Great” ad campaign seems to be geared towards grabbing more of a male fanbase. Why do you believe the league has such a difficult time connecting with younger men who are, in fact, a huge market?
Laimbeer: Well, I think the WNBA is such a young product that it’s going to take time to grow to the level of where I think it needs to be. Also, the players have gotten so much better exponentially the past few years, I think that once more people see the product as it is they’ll come, enjoy it and come back.
Litel: So, in essence, you believe the WNBA doesn’t need to target a certain demographic, but let the play on the court speak for itself?
Laimbeer: There’s nothing you can do. You can market all you want to, but the bottom line is it’s the player’s game. The players are the ones who sell the show and there’s no question that today’s WNBA is the best it has ever been.
Litel: Is this new crop of young stars, such as LA’s Candace Parker, Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus and Cappie Pondexter from Phoenix, the group that will break through those barriers and bring in more fans?
Laimbeer: It’s a possibility. Candace Parker is obviously the marquee name out there as far as the flashy style of play and she’s very good at that. If every little bit like that draws more attention to our product, it’s all the better.
20 Responses to “Bill Laimbeer On Expecting Great”
May.22 at 2:35 pm
B. Long says:
Candace Parker:”I’m so much better than ever woman on this planet that its not eve fair.”
She wouldn’t say that. Would You?
Me:Yes.
May.22 at 9:23 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
I don’t think it’s working.
May.22 at 11:38 pm
Loonie says:
The WNBA needs a top-notch marketing agency to take over. The commercials are ridiculous, the theme is lacking on so many levels, and this league and the likes of Parker, Fowles, Wiggins and all the “greats” before them and to follow deserve the respect of decent marketing for them and their sport! Step up W!
May.23 at 1:23 am
warr says:
I watch a wnba game for the first time since cynthia cooper was playing miss parker was amazing if they was dunking on a regular basic people would watch . The players in wnba are more skilled than the nba players, post players actually have post moves in the wnba, nba is just athletic from a basketball standpoint wnba play is better nba more exciting.
May.23 at 1:59 am
hoop says:
I don’t think the ‘Expect Great’ commercials are as bad as some people make them out to be, but they could be better. I think the WNBA was trying to do something different and innovative and I applaud them for that. Not to mention, I’m all for any WNBA commercial that isn’t set to lame pop music (although I really like the Alicia Keys song they are using this year).
May.23 at 8:44 am
Myk says:
Sorry to beat a dead dog, but is it really “surprising to some to see him walking the sidelines as Head Coach of the Shock”? Laimbeer’s “style” of play was frankly something opposite to male, let alone “alpha-male”. Not surprising he fit in so well in a women’s league, didn’t take too long for him to understand the players’ mentality.
May.23 at 1:31 pm
B_Easy24 says:
I think it’s not working, because their style of play is boring, and besides who wanna watch a bunch of bull dykes play(with the exception of Candice, Swin, Cappie, Candice Wiggins and all the other beautiful women in the WNBA. And one more thing I’m surprised as hell that Bill Lambieer is a coach for a womens basketball team.
May.23 at 3:46 pm
mamadou n'diaye says:
What’s with the urban myth of wnba ball being more fundamentally sound, less sloppy, etc. I can recall a couple years back it was a huge deal when Sue Bird (barely) managed a 2 to 1 assist/turnover ratio for the year. And to my knowledge she’s one of the top pg’s in the league?
May.23 at 7:36 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Honestly, I think when most NBA fans hear the new ads, they think “yeah…yeah…yeah…EXACTLY.”
May.23 at 8:01 pm
Maree Trice says:
Laimbeer’s style was: do what you gotta do for your team. He wasn’t pretty, he filled the lane, he scrapped for the ball, loose or not. He brought the lunchbox. He didn’t backstep; he just came to work. Now, one may not like his style as a coach, but the one thing Bill Laimbeer brings is a work ethic and tough mindedness. You might want to review the film.
May.24 at 9:58 am
Hoopla says:
Bill is be da man. Absolutely no money has been spent on WNBA marketing since 1996 the inaugural year. Remember the commercials when there were two leagues (ABL). There was competition, now there’s none. They have the same ole’ crew in those offices doing nothing and getting a pay check and it makes me ill. You see Donna Orender, president promoting her face more than the players. Val Ackerman at least had sense enough to keep a low profile. When they get serious things will change. They’re too busy hiring friends and Stanford graduates to care.
May.24 at 1:21 pm
abe says:
If the NBA played a 40-minute game some teams wouldn’t score 60 points. The WCF Finals last year produced two high-scoring, high offense games. Girls don’t dunk. But outside of that they do as much or more than the NBA. The NBA is “pop culture.” It’s cool to be seen at a game. Anyone who says the Silver Stars and Mercury were boring last September — isn’t a basketball fan.
May.25 at 10:08 am
overandback says:
@mamadou n’diaye : They play defense in the W. There is a lot of room for improvement in the women’s game, but when I want to watch basketball played as a team sport, with players working together to break down a defense (or disrupt an offense), the W is where I look. NBA games are generally one isolation play after another, which I find boring. If you prefer that kind of play, fine, but it’s not fundamentally better just because more points are scored. @B_Easy24 : So you like to watch the NBA because you find the players attractive?
May.25 at 1:54 pm
Check Yo Self says:
The opening game between the Sparks and the Mercury was as good as any of the NBA playoff games. Some guys will never recognize because they need their He-Man Woman-Hater Club membership to feel good about themselves. But over time, real basketball fans will see what’s up.
May.25 at 8:31 pm
Marmaduke O'Reilly says:
Donyell Marshall used to play in the WNBA, didn’t she?
May.26 at 2:06 pm
Sharon Dalton says:
Here’s a marketing commercial: Lisa Leslie in the kitchen preparing a meal, her baby in the high chair, her husband comes in kisses his family, Lisa turns to the camera and say…”This is not all I do. I’m the center for the Los Angeles Sparks. Come see me play.” The marketing department needs to make these women real. They teach school, get their nails done, shop, etc. Shoot a player at lunch with some girlfriends, on a date. At the end of the commercial, let her introduce herself, her playing position and who she plays with and invite the public to come see her play. That will peak the public’s interest.
May.27 at 9:23 am
Jan Schmidt says:
I have been a season ticket holder since day one of the WNBA. I have seen the talent level of all the teams increase each and every year. If I recall it took many years for the NBA to gain any status and/or viewers. It will still take some time for the WNBA to get to that level. Some of the comMents made by our male friends are uncalled for. They can not seem to get it through their thick heads that women can play this game at a high level. They have to make nasty comments about some of the girls to try to take away from their abilities as athletes, they need to grow up and get into the big adult world. As to Bill. he helped bring the NBA into the league it is today, every body hates him, but everybody wanted him on their team. Wonder why? Yes the ads for the WNBA could be better, but they will get there. GO SHOCK
May.27 at 5:10 pm
Sinbad says:
When i look at the comments, i can see that the NBA lovers are actually looking for the show,this fact changing of the rules to make the offence more ” efficient” . that’s why the us national team has problems in the international games. remember Tim Duncan ” fiba rules suck”.
For the reall basketball lovers the wnba is the game to watch.
it is after with college ball the only high level basketball game to look at.
As for the Laimbeer haters if that guy was in your team he was probably one of your beloved players.
The fact is you hate him what he did as an opponent but you would love him to have him in your team.
i remember that the women game was “soft” and Laimbeer did bring that physical play to the wnba, which increased the game intensity.
Now with Poindexter,Taurasi,Fowles,Jackson,Augustus,Parker,Nolan,Ford to name a few, the game is going to step up more
Look at the season opener, 99-94 in 40 minutes, and there was alot of basketball in it. the only shame there is that the playofs are best of 5 / 3 .
May.30 at 3:31 pm
Jerrie Mason says:
Deanna Nolan, Simone Augustus, Diana Taurasi and a host of other mid-sized athletic types in the WNBA actually have games similar to males-and that’s not a sexist criticism but a compliment. Dunking just isn’t part of their game. But then, 140-miles per hour tennis serves and 300-foot off-the-tee drives aren’t part of the women’s games in tennis and golf respectively, yet they have no problem garnering male interest. I think part of the problem with lack of male interest in the WNBA is that a lot of men don’t find it sexy enough, and I think that’s a darn shame because these women are a quantum leap above their male basketball counterparts in terms of being good role models. Future generations of young female basketball players aspire to be just like the women in the WNBA. Some disinterested man’s daughter or niece may very well become the next Lisa Leslie or Sue Bird ten or fifteen years from now. And that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, given the alternatives of becoming the next Brittany Spears or Lindsay Lohan.
Jun.2 at 11:39 pm
Nathalie says:
bottom line the ‘expect great’ campaign is horrible…
they need to do a campaign that differentiates the women’s game from basketball, that would be true and interesting…