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Lucid Swaps the Red Carpet for the Hardwood with NBA Stars
Lucid Motors partners with New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart to expand its marketing into professional sports and culture.
Key Points
- Lucid Motors partners with New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart to expand its marketing into professional sports and culture.
- The collaboration follows a campaign with actor Timothée Chalamet as part of a broader strategy to position Lucid as a lifestyle brand.
- This move aims to increase brand visibility and connect with new audiences in the competitive luxury electric vehicle market.
Lucid Motors is expanding its celebrity-driven marketing by partnering with New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, aiming to connect its luxury EV brand with the world of professional sports and culture.
Hollywood to hardwood: The move follows the August launch of Lucid's "Driven" campaign with actor Timothée Chalamet and kicked off with a blitz of billboards and social media activations timed to the Knicks' October 22 home opener. Akerho “AK” Oghoghomeh, Lucid’s marketing head, said the move connects the brand with the precision of elite sports, positioning the EV maker at the crossroads of sports and culture.
The brand play: The strategy is clearly aimed at building a lifestyle brand, not just a car company. The players echoed the campaign's themes, with Brunson stating, “To be one of the best, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes.” Hart added that he sees the same drive at Lucid, saying, “they push boundaries to create the best cars in the world.”
A crowded court: In a fiercely competitive EV market, aligning with cultural figures is a key play for consumer attention. According to industry analysts, the high-profile partnership is a strategic play to cut through the noise in a crowded EV field and connect the Lucid brand with a culturally-attuned audience.
Lucid is betting that a high-wattage presence in culture—from film to sports—can build the brand loyalty needed to compete with established luxury and EV automakers.
This partnership is just one of several moves for the key players. Josh Hart is building a personal brand off the court with deals including Mike and Ike candy and Heineken. The Knicks collaboration follows Lucid's initial campaign launch, which featured a cinematic, movie-like ad with Timothée Chalamet directed by James Mangold. Beyond marketing, Lucid is also expanding its operational footprint through a technology collaboration with Uber announced earlier this year.
