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LeBron James "sips" a beer during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals game against Toronto on Monday at The Q.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - LeBron James pretended to sip a beer courtside during Cleveland's victory over Toronto on Monday. But the impact the moment has for Great Lakes Brewing Co. is very real.

During the fourth quarter in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, which the Cavs won 116-105, James had what he called a "spur of the moment" decision.

It came seconds after Serge Ibaka fouled James, who was racing down the left side of the court. His kept running, tossed the ball up, and ran over to the sideline, where he spotted a courtside vendor with the beer. He picked up the bottle and pretended to take a sip.

The beer turned out to be Dortmunder Gold from Great Lakes, the state's first craft brewery. The brewery is well known throughout Greater Cleveland; it has been around since 1988. But the craft-beer market, both nationally and especially locally, is extremely competitive. About a fourth of the state's 200 breweries are in Northeast Ohio.

Jim Ganzer, director of media strategy at The Adcom Group in Cleveland, said Great Lakes stands to gain from the spontaneous promotional boost from Cleveland's biggest superstar athlete.

"They really walked into a gold mine," he said. "Ultimately if it translates to sales you have to wait and see. With time and attention, social media does a really good job - this is definitely one of those situations - you caught LeBron not actively promoting a brand.

One of the challenges is when you attach a person of his magnitude to a brand, it is a significant investment. When you put yourself into a position to capitalize on this, it really attaches a lot more - not necessarily credibility but more attention.

"This is going to catch fire in the shareability of the content - people sharing it, on social media, talking about it."

Ganzer said the question to ask is "How can you capitalize on that moment, if you're Great Lakes? ... Capitalizing on these moments, it does a ton in terms of attaching some kind of brand equity to a popular sports personality, which is something that is incredibly expensive and difficult to do."

Here's one way: The brewery is offering a deal Tuesday, offering Dortmunder discounts.

"Jokingly, my thought was we had an opening to take on Gatorade," said Great Lakes CEO Bill Boor. "When we see Great Lakes on the sidelines instead of Gatorade, that's when I know we've made it."

Boor said he wishes "there was a way to quantify the value" of the national exposure the brewery received, but added it's "good attention especially in markets where Great Lakes is known." Great Lakes distributes in more than a dozen states, and its taproom regularly draws visitors from across the country.

There's a simple reason why scripted product placement in movies and television shows has been used for decades: It's another avenue for companies to get their product seen. But the LeBron-Dortmunder moment's spontaneity helps. Another plus is the outcome was positive. What if the beer had been full and James had taken a swig? What if the play incurred a technical? What if it had been a game-changer and the Cavs had lost?

"There's an old saying 'any publicity is good publicity'," Ganzer said. "But you have to take into account the context. The Cavs are winning. It would be interesting, would this story be the same if he were playing a game in Cleveland for the Miami Heat four years ago? ... He's got the good fortune (Monday) of being in the context of the first game of the series, the team is starting to gel, he mimics taking a drink and people love it."

It comes down to the fact that "the stars aligned."

And if the previous round of the NBA playoffs is any result, a lot of people were watching. With one round of the playoffs done, postseason ratings appear improved over a lackluster regular season when it comes to viewers.

Great Lakes maintains a strong presence in downtown Cleveland sports venues. In addition to the beer being served at The Q, the brewery has at least three concession stands of varying sizes at Progressive Field with beer and food. And while it doesn't have dedicated kiosks at FirstEnergy Stadium, its beers are on draft, and this season it will introduce cans at Browns games.

It's not the first time a player shined a national spotlight on a beer. During Super Bowl 50 postgame interviews, Denver's Peyton Manning mentioned Budweiser twice. Anheuser-Busch later said Manning was not paid to tout their beer.

Ganzer said a similar parallel to James' beer "quaffing" moment came last season when Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott jumped into a Salvation Army kettle after scoring a touchdown. In less than a day, the non-profit garnered $180,000 in donations.

The authenticity of James' moment is crucial, Ganzer added.

"A lot of us as consumers have become trained to smell a rat in product placement in our favorite shows or even YouTube clips," he said. "When you see the genuine article happen it gives more magnitude to it. ... It was clearly unplanned."

James could have used a cold beer after his performance last night; he put in a game-high 41 minutes and led all scorers with 35 points. He had 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.

Pat Conway, co-founder of Great Lakes, enjoyed James' moment.

"I think he wisely chose to wait and have his Dortmunder Gold with his teammates when they win their gold for the second year in a row," he said. "Like LeBron's game, not selfish. He wants to include everyone. Nice touch."

Dortmunder Gold has its own bit of history.

The lager is the brewery's flagship. Originally, it was named The Heisman as a tribute to legendary football coach John Heisman, whose house is in Ohio City and whose name graces the trophy awarded to college football's best player each year. A potential legal conflict forced the brewery to change the name, and it became Dortmunder. Soon after, in 1990, it took gold at the Great American Beer Festival, and the rest is history.

Ironically, the brewery's tasting notes suggest Dortmunder pairs with "salads, fish, chicken, and pretty much any social function." The folks at the brewery might have to amend 'social' to 'sports.'

Toronto plays at Cleveland in Game 2 at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Q.

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