Translation is the advertising and branding firm the Nets and Barclays Center hired to help make the transition from New Jersey to Brooklyn. Owned by founder Steve Stoute and Jay-Z, it's behind the ads that show arena chairs on the Brooklyn Bridge and on the Cyclone at Coney Island.
While some in the biz think it's going to be a big challenge, particularly with the Nets keeping the Nets, a "New Jersey brand", Stoute thinks the transition will be smooth, in part because the move has been anticipated for so long.
"I think because it's a move that everyone has been expecting for so long, there's a natural reset button," Stoute tells Adverting Age.
He adds that in selling Brooklyn, they'll be selling an image of a diverse, hard-working place known worldwide. As for the critics, he says, "It's the Barclays Center of Brooklyn. It's of the people. This is Bruce Ratner's gift to them. He is our generation's Robert Moses."
- Stoute's Plan to Market the Nets? Kissing Up to Brooklyn - Karem Ozkan - Advertising Age