Move over Beiber Fever, King James is back at the helm with his own prime time special to reveal where the King will hold his court. On Thursday, July 8 at 9pm EST, ESPN will air “The Decision” that comes with its very own sponsor, Bing. Bing is not only the sponsor of The Decision, they are reporting that they are the “official decision engine” for lebronjames.com.
Bing as a Search Engine
Bing has been gaining some ground in the search arena. It has been a very viable alternative for small business owners who are seeking to garner some authority with a targeted niche. Bing’s advertising platform has seen some very positive results for clients as the audience is smaller, competition is lighter and the ad prices are more within the reach of a small business owner as it relates to exposure.
Microsoft Bing’s Relationship with LeBron
While this seemed like Microsoft was jumping on the popularity circus of the where will LeBron go, Microsoft according to the Bing blog, has a long-standing relationship with LeBron which includes including the launch of LeBron.msn.com, an inspirational, storybook-style Web site for kids and teens. Interestingly enough, the site won a Webby, the Internet’s version of an Oscar, for “Best Visual Design” in 2007.
Microsoft Bing’s Community Support
The sponsorship of “The Decision” is certainly not coming cheap. And, as part of the sponsorship, Bing is set to donate an undisclosed millions to The Boys and Girls Club presumably on behalf of LeBron as his designated charity.
As a marketer, this is a good move by Microsoft Bing. The opportunity to reach millions of people who are sitting on the edge of their seat and visiting LeBron’s site is certain to attract new users to Bing. As a small business owner, the need to optimize for Bing has never been greater. Admittedly, I am not a regular Bing user as their search results to queries is lacking behind Google, however the snippet “More on this page” is very useful.
Google still remains high a top when it comes to user choice for searching however does King James have enough influence to crown Bing as the search engine King?
photo credit: StepForth
