NBA brands trend this week after the restart of the season July 30, following a four-month hiatus after players tested positive for COVID-19. In early July, hundreds of players arrived in Orlando, Fla, and entered the NBA bubble. The Walt Disney World Resort is what NBA players, coaches, and league personnel will call home for the next three months. Everyone’s movements are restricted within the Walt Disney World Resort grounds, they also must undergo regular COVID-19 testing. The season began with a socio-political tone with players using their platform to speak up against police brutality wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ warm-up shirts, and personalized jerseys. The Bubble requires audience-less games along with limited media and team executives allowed in attendance.
Brands including the Utah Jazz, The Ellen Show, and many others trended on BrandGraph, IZEA’s social intelligence platform, over the week. Entertainment, drama, and controversy all caused a spike in social media content and engagement for these brands. See what got these brands trending by checking out BrandGraph’s Top Trending Brands for the week of Aug 3, 2020:
Trending Brands for the Week of August 3, 2020
- Utah Jazz (@utahjazz)
- LA Clippers (@laclippers)
- SpaceX (@spacex)
- The Ellen Show (@theellenshow)
- Disney+ (@disneyplus)
The Utah Jazz opened the restart of the NBA season on July 30 against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was a close game with the Jazz beating the Pelicans by just 2 points with a score of 106. The game was the first played within the NBA Bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Fla. Unlike the MLB, NBA teams are not traveling state to state for games. Instead, they’re staying in one place to prevent players from contracting COVID-19. Before tip-off, players from both teams wore ‘Black Lives Matter’ shirts and knelt in unison while the “Star-Spangled Spangled Banner” played. This did not go unnoticed as fans sounded off in the comments believing that kneeling is disrespectful to the American flag and veterans. Other fans maintain that this is a form of peaceful protest against police brutality America.
The LA Clippers trend after facing the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time since early March. Fans eagerly awaited the return of 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and All-Star LeBron James to the court. Clippers coach, Doc Rivers, linked arms with Laker, Anthony Davis while taking a knee during the National Anthem. Players also wore personalized jerseys with messages such as Respect Us, Justice, Equality, and Black Lives Matter in place of their last names. The Lakers beat the Clippers with a score of 103-101.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX aircraft Dragon made a historic return to Earth after a cargo resupply trip to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley safely returned home after launching into space in May. They successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico aboard the SpaceX crew capsule after their two-month mission. This is the first time in history that a commercial company carried NASA astronauts to and from the ISS. The success of the trip amplifies interest and concerns of the privatization of space travel.
In March 2020, rumors began to circulate on how the set of the Ellen Show was a toxic work environment. Former employees have come forward with allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct by executive producers. Other employees suggested Ellen Degeneres not only knew about the misconduct but witnessed it, only to turn a blind eye. On July 27, it was announced that WarnerMedia would conduct an internal investigation of The Ellen DeGeneres Show’s workplace. Fans are even calling for the show to be canceled and want a new host to take Ellen’s place. Celebrities, including Kevin Hart and Katy Perry, are coming forward in defense of Ellen tweeting their experiences with her while on set have always been great.
Disney+ trended over the weekend after Beyonce’s highly anticipated visual album “Black is King” debuted on the streaming platform July 31. Beyonce starred, directed, and produced the visual album that she describes as the reimagining of Disney’s “The Lion King”. Viewers seemed to appreciate the cultural value of the film and praised the overall cinematography. The visual album is especially loved by black viewers who admired the black excellence and beauty the film promoted. The film was also met with critiques with social media comments claiming the visual album is racist against non-black races. Disney+ continues to trend after it was announced the live-action adaptation of Disney’s “Mulan” will be available on the platform for a premium fee starting September 4, 2020. “Mulan” was meant to premiere on March 9, 2020, but was delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
BrandGraph Trends is designed to help marketers identify, compare, and contrast momentum among brands, topics, and concepts in social media. Powered by IZEA’s proprietary content classification engine, BrandGraph Trends allows marketers to benchmark any keyword against a brand or groups of brands in a general industry or specific category.
Those interested in learning more about BrandGraph Trends can request a product demonstration at izea.com/brandgraph/get-a-demo.
