Here’s something to think about for those of us who immediately think about Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal when we hear mention of the Harlem Globetrotters: At their peak of popularity — in the 1970s and ’80s — the Globetrotters were a multiplatform marketing marvel before anyone truly understood what that meant.
It wasn’t just getting a chance to see them live when their world tour came to the old Brendan Byrne Arena or Madison Square Garden, it was watching them on TV — whether it be on “Wild World of Sports” or a morning cartoon with Scooby-Doo.
It was seeing them on our lunchboxes, on a book we bought at the library fair, on a board game — or on a trip to the White House to see the president.
The Globetrotters were everywhere. And then, they weren’t.
The organization did not evolve with the changing media and digital landscape. That’s why our kids do not share the same affinity for the brand.
So said Keith Dawkins, the CEO of the organization — a veteran executive of the entertainment industry who was brought on in 2022 to reenergize the brand.
“The Globetrotters missed multiple generations of an audience by not going down all the pathways where that audience resides,” he said.
“We weren’t on TV. We weren’t on streaming platforms. We weren’t on gaming platforms. And the digital social media part of our business wasn’t as dynamic as it should have been when that part of the world was starting. So, we missed multiple generations of an audience.
“We don’t have another audience to miss.”
Dawkins is working to change all that — and already has had some big successes.
Last weekend, the team was on live TV for the first time in 40 years during a game at American Dream, where it is in the middle of a 16-game, 10-day residency that will wrap up this week (single games during the week, doubleheaders on Friday-Sunday — ticket info here).
Even more, big sponsors are paying attention.
“The good thing about the journey we’re on is that our brand awareness is massive,” Dawkins said. “We don’t have to explain who we are, anywhere on the globe.
“The decision-makers at key places grew up on the Globetrotters. They understand the product and they have an affinity for the brand. The biggest question always is: Where have you guys been?”
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Dawkins is a Jersey guy through and through. He lives in Ridgewood, where he grew up, and went to school at Ramapo College of New Jersey. And, while he was a two-sport star in high school, his calling was more in entertainment than athletics.
Dawkins bring more than 25 years of experience in media/entertainment, professional sports and philanthropic industries, including 17 years at Viacom, where he helped oversee TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick Jr. and NickMusic channels as an executive vice president.
He served as CEO of the First TEE, the global nonprofit connected to all of the major players in the golf world that aims to improve the lives of youth through golf (it has worked with more than 3.6 million kids globally).
Dawkins also has his own media company, Rock Hill Media Ventures, which has worked with a number of global brands, including the National Basketball Players Association, since it was founded in 2018.
Dawkins feels all of these experiences will allow him to properly reposition the Globetrotters while working for their parent company, Herschend Entertainment Studios, which bought the franchise in 2013.
His first goal is making the brand a multiplatform entertainment property more than just a band of players competing around the world.
“We’re not just a tour-only entity, but I think that’s the way it’s been operated for the last 20-30 years,” he said. “We’re a beloved global intellectual property, and we should be thinking of ourselves as such, whether its through our social media channels, our philanthropy or our corporate social responsibility.”
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The 10-day residency at American Dream is truly a win-win.
For the Globetrotters, which do two annual tours (one of North America; one of the rest of the world) it provides stability to a tough travel schedule — and does it in an area where so many of its brand partners and sponsors are located.
“We never stay in one spot for too long,” Dawkins said. “This has been a great way to hunker down in one location, engage with the fans and work extensively with our social media and merchandising partners.”
For American Dream, it’s a way to further demonstrate its ability to bring top-level sports events to the facility.
American Dream recently hosted the Arena Football League Championship Game, the U.S. Curling Championships, games from the Professional Women’s Hockey League — as well as FanFest activations for Copa America and the NHL Stadium Series, among other sports-related activities.
“We are always looking for new and exciting ways to entertain our guests, so, adding more sporting events makes perfect sense,” American Dream spokesperson Greg Schwartz said. “The USA Curling National Championships in the winter demonstrated just how electric our center can be with a live sporting event, putting us on the map as a unique and desirable sports venue.
“You can now officially say that American Dream is a destination for entertainment, retail, dining, and sports.”
The connection to the Globetrotters may run deeper, too.
In addition to a potential return next year, the team could be involved with the other megamall facilities owned by the Triple Five Group: the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, and a similar property in Edmonton, Alberta.
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Dawkins, 54, doesn’t run from the Globetrotters’ brand that he knew and loved as a kid. He embraces it.
His role is not to reinvent the brand as much as it is to reinvigorate it — and he aims to do it with an update that recognizes the legacy of the Globetrotters.
Fans of his generation will get reminders of their childhood, he said.
“On some level, it will be comfort food,” he said. “If you haven’t seen the Globetrotters in a long time, there will be so many things that you’ll remember. But, at the same time, it’s evolved. The athletes are different, the music’s different, the rhythm is different — it’s a modern take on a classic franchise.”
It will be what the Globetrotters have always been: a blurring of entertainment and sports done in a family-friendly atmosphere.
Few have done it better. And no one has done it as long.
The Globetrotters turn 100 in 2026. Dawkins and his team already are working with their strategic partners to celebrate the milestone while preparing for the next 100 years.
“We feel we have something for everyone in the family,” he said. “We have 100 years of history, but we’re also current — we’re now: We have new stars, new talent and a vibrant entertainment brand.”
One that needs to connect to the current generation, Dawkins said.
“We’re like a 100-year-old startup,” he said. “We have a way to go to kind of get back to the prominence that we had in the ’70s, but we know we have the product to do it.”
