What Style Can Do

About a month ago I posted an entry on style, and how it does not win championships for teams or in itself make a businesses successful. This remains true.

But today, we get to see that style does have its role….buzz creation…i.e., awareness.

10 years ago no one cared about the University of Oregon. Now, they are getting some of the best recruits from all over the country and are consistently ranked in the top 10. From half a world away, 18 year old boys are leaving Texas, Alabama, Florida, and so on to move to the Pacific Northwest and play on the gridiron.

Remember last years’s National Championship? Texts and tweets filled our phones with talk about the neon green cleats the Ducks were wearing. I was privileged to be at the game. It looked like their feet were wrapped in tennis ball fuzz. I now own 2 Oregon shirts, my wife has an Oregon shirt, and today I’m flying an Oregon flag outside of my home in Texas. Look at what neon green cleats started.

Today’s matchup of Oregon and Wisconsin could not be more Mac vs. PC., and it will be very easy to see who owns the style points when the teams hit the field. Oregon is reportedly wearing silver cleats and black chrome helmets.

There will be future University of Oregon players watching the current talent in today’s Rose Bowl. And no matter who wins, the future players will go to bed and dream of one day wearing silver cleats and black chrome helmets.

What can style do?

• Put you on the map.

• Get people talking.

• Bring talent your way.

• Create buzz.

And today the buzz is a black chrome helmet.