Global Vision

The Chicago Bulls were one of the biggest catalyst in making the NBA into a global market because of Michael Jordan. Jordan became a worldwide icon in the 90's. His aerobatic playing style on the court and his mass appeal off it made people around the world want to catch a glimpse of his greatness. He became a brand of his own and helped globalize the NBA in places like Europe and Asia.


Today, the NBA is known worldwide and sells team merchandise and televises games throughout the world.  They have five European offices - London, Paris, Milan, Istanbul and Madrid and four offices in China. They even have an NBA GLOBAL website where people can visit the website and get news on the NBA in their own language. The NBA has even staged high-profile sell-out events in London with friendly preseason games being hosted at the 02 arena annually.  David Stern (Commissioner) has even stated that he would like to globalize the league by creating a team outside the America.

 

The NBA also has many stars that were born in foreign countries. They include Steve Nash from Canada, Tony Parker from France, Dirk Nowitzki from Germany, and Chicago Bulls own Luol Deng from Britain. With the inclusion of the Toronto Raptors the league also has a team from Canada. The NBA will continue to globalize throughout the year eyeing markets in India and continuing to have relationships in Europe and Asia.

 

The Marketing Environment

The Chicago Bulls, and the 29 other NBA teams, target the community in which they play. The Bulls market around the people that live in Chicago from all races and ages. The teams respective stadiums ( The United Center for the Bulls) are filled with all types of fans. Men and women of all ages can be seen around the stadium. But sometimes, like what happened in game four of the playoffs versus the Pacers at Indiana. The popularity of one team can be overwhelming.
As you can see, the majority of the fans have a red jersey (Bulls road jersey colorway) as opposed to Pacers jersey which is mainly yellow and white.

The Chicago Bulls, in association with the NBA, have campaigned to draw fans in of hispanic ethnicity. Every year they host Noche Latino or Latin Nights if you will. This program celebrates the NBA's unique and dynamic group of fan base. On this night the Chicago Bulls wear special jerseys for latin night as well as festivities inside of the stadium.



Athough, they mostly advertise for their male counterparts, 40% of the people viewing the NBA are females. Albeit, sports is considered an entertainment for men and going to a sports stadium or sports bar is considered what men do. Here is an article about female fans in the NBA.

All in all the Chicago Bulls target market is anyone and everyone. People from any type of background or heritage can sit down next to each other and watch a Bulls game while wearing their favorite Bulls jersey. 

Ethics & Social Responsibility

For the Chicago Bulls, ethics usually concerns how their players act on and off the court.  On the court, players cannot argue a call explicitly with a referee, or perform in any unsportsmanlike conduct including excessive taunting, fouling players above the neck, using profanity, etc. If they do they will be hit with a technical foul. Technical fouls usually end up with players paying thousands of dollars in fines and if they get 15 technicals they will get suspended. These rules are to ensure the integrity of the game as well as respecting it. Joakim Noah was the leader in technical fouls for the Bulls last season (6) which is fairly low. The Bulls, as a whole, did not get one player suspended for the 2010-2011 season. Off the court, players cannot use any kind of illegal or supplemental drugs. Players also have to control their off the court actions as well because kids look at these athletes as role models and the image that they send out to the community should be a positive one.

Fan conduct in the stadium is another ethnic code that is stated within the organization as seen in the website: Fan Code of Conduct

The NBA and the Chicago Bulls also celebrate NBA Green Week which generates and raises awarness to protect the environment.They also have a page dedicated to the community going green.

•  The Chicago Bulls Green Week
•  Chicago Bulls Going Green

The Chicago Bulls are aware of everything around them and the way they can influence the community. Going Green is a step towards the right direction in terms of building awareness throughtout the community. They players also fight their heart out trying to win games while still being able to mantain good sportsmanship. This is how a team and organization should run.

Bulls 1996 Legacy

For the past three years there has been a Chicago Bull inducted into the Hall of Fame. All three of these individuals were apart of the 1996 team that went 72-10 (NBA record) in route to a fourth Bulls championship. I believe this is the greatest team to ever play in the NBA. If you consider the way that team was brought together that summer with former Detroit Pistons "Bad Boy" Dennis Rodman, who feuded with the Bulls in the late 80's early 90's, and Michael Jordan entering his first full season after retiring, this is quite an accomplishment. In a Dennis Rodman interview he explains that when he was being recruited by Phil Jackson and the Bulls the first thing he told Rodman was to apologize to Scottie for a hard foul that made Pippen fall into the crowds. Pippen forgave him. Phil then asked Rodman if he wanted to be a part of the Chicago Bulls, he said i don't care if I'm here or not. Phil took this as a yes and a championship team was born. In the three years they were together they won three championships and combined for a regular season record of 203 wins and 43 losses. They are one of the greatest trios of all-time and one can only speculate what they would have done had they been together in their primes.(all three were 30 years or older)


Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman entered the Hall of Fame in 2009,2010, and 2011, respectively. They each had an illustrious career. A career of champions if u will. Michael and Scottie each have six while Rodman has 5 (winning 2 earlier in his career with the Pistons).  There is no doubt this is the greatest team of all time, even the greatest player agrees with me.

There is no arguing with the man in the video, or is there? If you think there is a better team out there then voice your opinions.

Strategic Planning

Gar Forman's (the Chicago Bulls current general manager) plan is to put out the best team that will make them contend for a championship every year. He has to talk every offseason with free agents and explain to them why the Bulls are the best team for him and not any other of the 29 teams. He also has to deal with resigning players that are important to the franchise. Right now the Bulls have a great team and it has made them relevant again as their stadium gets sold out on a nightly basis. Merchandise has also sky rocketed with Derrick Rose Jersey being the number 1 jersey sold in the NBA.

Chicago Bulls Mission Statement

According to the Bulls website:

The Chicago Bulls organization is a sports entertainment company dedicated to winning NBA Championships, growing new basketball fans, and providing superior entertainment, value and service.
We aim to achieve our mission by working hard to emphasize the following core values:

• Mutual respect for each other, and a commitment to excellence, innovation, integrity and quality in everything we do.
• By providing our guests with superior entertainment value in a clean, secure, and comfortable environment—win or lose—regardless of their interest level in basketball.
• By helping our sponsors build their brands and grow their business.
• By treating our respective constituencies with respect, appreciation, and as we ourselves would want to be treated and serviced. In other words, by putting our fans and sponsors first every single day—and meaning it.
• By making our community a better place to live through our support of worthy social causes.
• By involving our guests in the game as active participants—not merely spectators.
• By knowing who and where our fans are, and reaching out to them.
• By working hard to make NBA basketball the most popular sport in our community and by selling and humanizing our players to everyone we meet.
• By being proactive and accountable in carrying out our mission.

The Chicago Bulls organization! Many people working together in a fiscally responsible way to grow our customer base and to win more World Championships.
Many people. One attitude. To dazzle our fans and sponsors.

A Brief History on the Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are the third most successful franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in terms of Championships (6), behind the Los Angeles Lakers (16) and the Boston Celtics (17). The Bulls are well known for having one of the greatest dynasties in the 1990's with two of the greatest basketball players of all time at helm, Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and a Hall of Fame coach in Phil Jackson. Together they managed to win 6 NBA Championships in the 90's decade, including two three-peats.. During the 1990s, the Bulls helped spread the popularity of the NBA around the world. The 1998 NBA Finals was the most watched championship series in NBA history. They are also the only team in history to win 70 or more games in a single season (1995/1996).
 


The Founder of the Chicago Bulls is Dick Klein. He tried to purchase the team in 1963, but he failed, and the team left the city after posting a 25-55 season record. However, Klein was determined to bring professional basketball back to Chicago, and started recruiting local businessmen to help him support an expansion team. Most investors were skeptical of Klein’s request, given the failure of the Zephyrs (the team before the Bulls came into town) and their predecessors. But when Klein received the support of the American Broadcasting Company, who was negotiating with the NBA for television rights, the tides changed. ABC also joined the bandwagon and on January 26, 1966, his group was finally awarded an NBA expansion franchise at a cost of $1.6 million, and Klein was named general manager. Klein wanted to give the team a  new nickname. He wanted the team to represent images of the Chicago stockyards, which were close to the teams stadium. According to Klein, he had originally considered Matadors or Toreadors, but when his youngest son dismissed these nicknames as “a bunch of bull,” he decided to name the team the Chicago Bulls. He had one of his neighbors design the Bulls logo, which has not changed in 45 years.












The Chicago Bulls have returned to glory these past couple of years and are looking to make a run back to the top behind League MVP Derrick Rose and Stars like Joakim Noah and Luol Deng.