Jay Deutsch once rented a private plane, but he never has actually flown on one.
Yet, in a race against time, a Citation 3 Learjet without any seats saved Deutsch and his merchandising company, Bensussen, Deutsch & Associates (BDA), from catastrophe on the biggest scale.
For BDA, nothing is bigger than supplying fan giveaway items for a playoff or championship game.
When the 1992 NBA Finals headed to Portland, BDA was in overdrive, and the pressure was on to deliver items to the 12,888 screaming Blazer fans at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Turning merchandise around for playoff games is much different than during the regular season, as there are only a few days of production time, at most.
While supplying the Blazers with promotions for Game 3, BDA was already preparing for Games 4 and 5.
For Game 4, set to take place on June 10, BDA was supplying light-up buttons for the crowd. The supplier for these buttons was based in Chicago, hometown to Portland’s opponent.
The buttons were scheduled to be flown into Portland on June 9, but “mysteriously” missed the flight, Deutsch said.
“Somewhere in O'Hare (International Airport), they were lost,” Deutsch said. “And we're like, what!? So we are blowing everybody up. This can't happen.”
Later that day, the buttons were found and supposedly were going to be put on an overnight flight to Portland, arriving the morning of Game 4. However, when the flight from Chicago reached Portland the next morning, there were no buttons.
“You cannot miss promotion day,” Deutsch said. “That's like the big no-no in sports promotions.”
Deutsch had to pivot ... and quickly.
Game 5’s promotion was scheduled to be a rally towel. Minutes after discovering the buttons didn’t make it to Portland, Deutsch called the towel supplier, which was based in Orange County, California.
The towels were supposed to be shipped that day anyway, for Game 5 on June 12, but they weren’t scheduled to be shipped that morning.
Today, all orders are automated and BDA can track everything in real time. That wasn't the case in 1992, as Deutch remembers using fax machines and phones the size of bricks to complete orders.
On that phone, Deutsch urgently asked the supplier to double the towel order, and they had to be ready that morning. The supplier rushed the request and hurried the towels to Van Nuys Airport. There, Deutsch had arranged for a Citation 3 Learjet to fly the towels to Portland.
But the jet wasn’t large, so as a precaution, Deutsch had all the seats removed except for the pilots’ chairs in order for the towels to fit.
Still, there wasn’t enough room for the boxes.
“Take them out of the boxes,” Deutsch remembered relaying over the phone. “Just stuff the towels.”
The jet, overflowing with Trail Blazers towels, departed from Los Angeles at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, Deutsch rented a U-Haul truck and raced from Seattle to meet the jet on the runway.
“Everyone in Portland was so cool,” Deutsch said.
When the jet landed at 4:25 p.m., Deutsch was waiting there with the truck, along with several airport employees to help transfer the towels from the plane to the U-Haul.
“We opened up the door (to the plane), and literally, the towels just start falling out,” Deutsch said. “It was like a wall.”
Quickly, Deutsch and the airport employees loaded the towels into garbage bags and stuffed them into the truck. As soon as they were packed in, Deutsch raced from the airport to the Coliseum, a 12-mile drive.
The gates to the arena were scheduled to open at 5 p.m., but the Blazers held until 5:10 p.m. to wait for Deutsch, who pulled into the parking lot at 5:03 p.m.
“Everyone got a towel,” Deutsch said. “Nobody knew anything different. ... When somebody calls us and says, ‘Are you going to get it done?’ And we say, ‘Yes, it's going to get done.’ It gets done,” Deutsch said.
Wally Scales, who was the director of promotions at the time for the Trail Blazers, gifted Deutsch tickets to Game 4 for his unyielding efforts.
BDA co-founder Eric Bensussen couldn’t make the trip, but was getting as much information as he could about the day’s events. When he turned on the TV to watch Michael Jordan battle Clyde Drexler, he saw a familiar face sitting courtside.
“There's Deutsch, right there, courtside for an NBA championship game,” Bensussen said. “This is incredible.”
“I literally couldn't raise my arms because I had sweated the entire day,” Deutsch said. “I mean, I was filthy, right. I mean, dirty, smelly. ... But I sat and watched the game and was just relieved.”
The buttons arrived in Portland the next day, in time to use for Game 5.
So, what (or who) prevented them from reaching Portland in time for Game 4?
“It's the mystery that will never be solved,” Deutsch said. “(But) you go through the fire, you come out of it a trusted partner.”
That sense of responsibility is something shared by the entirety of the staff at BDA, said Deutsch, who created the company with Bensussen, his best friend and neighbor, when they were just teenagers in 1984.
And the towel saga became the standard for the lengths which BDA will go to in order to fulfill their promise.
Now, ahead of the company’s 40th anniversary, BDA sits atop the summit as one of the world’s largest merchandising agencies. And they’re not slowing down.
BDA will top $500 million in sales this year, with more than 1,200 employees and 50 locations worldwide.
Amid all the accolades, the care for each product, each partner, each consumer and each co-worker is why Deutsch and Bensussen believe they’ve had the success they have.
"I'm proud of my company,” Deutsch said. “I'm proud of my peeps, I love what I do. I love who I do it with and who I do it for.”
Humble beginnings
Like many kids, Bensussen and Deutsch’s friendship blossomed from growing up on the same street.
When Bensussen, 60, was just 4, his parents built a house in Seward Park, a neighborhood nestled in southeast Seattle, just west of the park which shares the same name. Three years later, Deutsch, 57, and his family moved in two houses down.
“We just instantly became friends,” Bensussen said.
The pair spent their days shooting hoops, rolling dice and playing Strat-O-Matic baseball. By the time they were 12 and 9, respectively, baseball cards consumed much of their interest, but also spawned an interest in business, through trading.
“Wouldn’t it be fun to have a business someday?” Bensussen remembered asking Deutsch at the time.
Within three years, the two began selling buttons and pins at the Seafair hydroplane races in Seward Park. Deutsch and Bensussen originally sold to attendees, but then began actually selling to the boats as well.
Originally, the two wrote to sponsors of the races asking for buttons, and would then sell them. But shortly after, they began making their own buttons and cutting out the need for supply from sponsors.
It was their summer job. And before either man was old enough to get his driver's license, Deutsch and Bensussen already had begun accumulating business skills and merchandising experience.
The seeds of the business had been planted.
The eagle’s born out of thunder ... and Alaska
There are few fan bases in the world like that of the Seahawks.
The 12s — as they’re called due to their noise acting as a 12th man on the football field — once owned the Guinness World Record for loudest stadium crowd in history. Among these rabid fans, some of the most passionate hail from Alaska.
“You've got an army of people up there,” said Mike Flood, the Seahawks vice president of outreach and external affairs. “They care about their community, care about the team. ... It's really special up there.”
Alaska doesn’t have any professional sports teams; and despite the state's most populous city, Anchorage, sitting nearly 2,300 miles away from Seattle (via ground travel), further than the distance from New York City to Mexico, the state happily adopted the Seahawks as its team decades ago.
But when Alaska fans attended Seahawks games, they were buying “Seattle Seahawks” merchandise. The team was their own, but the city wasn’t.
“We said there's an opportunity here to tap into a loyal fan base and make them feel like it was their team,” Deutsch said.
In 1984, at ages 16 and 19, respectively, Deutsch and Bensussen obtained licenses from the Seahawks and the NFL to create “Alaska Seahawks” merchandise, eventually evolving it into “Alaska’s Team” with a Seahawks logo.
From that idea, BDA was truly born as a company.
“It was born from that creativity,” Deutsch said. “It was born from that tenacity. Don't tell us no, we can do this.”
The two sold their “Alaska’s Team” crewnecks at Pay-n-Save, a Seattle-based drugstore that is now defunct, for $15 a piece.
The success from the Alaska’s Team campaign springboarded the duo to an NBA market and the country's most popular rivalry at the time, Lakers-Celtics.
It's Showtime
In June 1985, Deutsch and Bensussen approached the NBA about creating merchandise for each team. The league liked the duo’s “Alaska’s Team” sweatshirts, but reveled in the philanthropic component, as part of the proceeds went to charity.
The NBA approved, but the Celtics weren’t interested. The Lakers were.
Heading into the 1985 NBA Finals, Los Angeles was trying to avoid becoming the first team to lose three straight NBA Finals since 1968-70, when the Lakers lost three straight, two to Boston and one to New York.
Plus, the year prior, Boston narrowly edged L.A. in a brutal seven-game series, improving the Celtics’ record vs the Lakers in NBA Finals to 8-0.
Ironically, it was the Seahawks who inspired the Lakers’ T-shirt design.
While they aren’t division rivals anymore, the Seahawks and Raiders donned one of the NFL’s best rivalries of the 1980s, and in 1983, Los Angeles defeated Seattle in the AFC Championship Game en route to winning Super Bowl XVIII. L.A. then trounced the Seahawks again in October 1984.
When the Raiders visited the Kingdome on Nov. 12, 1984, for a "Monday Night Football" rematch, they were met with a total whiteout in the crowd. More than 60,000 strong littered the stadium with white shirts that said “Raider Busters”, with Los Angeles’ logo crossed out in the middle.
Bensussen remembered watching the Seahawks triumph that night (they would also take down L.A. in the playoffs that year) and thinking BDA should copy that model.
So when the Lakers expressed their interest, the pair already had the perfect shirt in mind: “Celtic Busters."
Quickly the pair went to work. They enlisted the help of a local deejay and had a song done for promotion, and they printed 20,000 shirts. But fear set in shortly after.
“We were just two kids down in L.A. like, ‘Boy, I hope the Lakers win this thing’”, Bensussen said. “You start panicking. ‘It's like, 'Wait, we’ve got all these shirts. They got to win this thing, right?'”
Luckily, for Deutsch and Bensussen, the Lakers delivered, defeating Boston in six games. And ultimately 20,000 shirts weren’t enough. BDA sold more than 50,000 according to Deutsch.
“We learned about inventory in that scenario,” Bensussen said. “Don't make too many, but be ready to turn the machines on.”
In 2023, Bensussen was surfing eBay one day when he came across one of the Celtic Busters shirts BDA created. Despite selling more than 50,000, the company didn’t keep any. One $45 purchase later, the shirt now hangs in BDA’s office.
“It was the mark of our ‘OK, this could really happen’”, Bensussen said. That really did lay the foundation for the rest of the business.”
Taking Flight
“Please don’t fall down the stairs. Please don’t fall down the stairs.”
That was the only thing Bensussen could think of as he and Deutsch followed Boeing employees down into his parents’ basement in 1986.
To this point, the young duo had focused their merchandising efforts in sports retail, but was looking to broaden their clientele at the suggestion of Bensussen’s father, who worked for Boeing for 35 years.
“Sports promotions are great,” Bensussen remembered his father saying, “but what about doing merchandise for corporate enterprise clients.”
Bensussen arranged for an initial meeting at Boeing’s production center in Everett, Washington, about an hour north of his home in Seward Park.
The Boeing facility, which is the largest production facility in the world and used to build the world’s first jumbo jet, gives daily tours and sells promotional items such as hats, T-shirts and sweatshirts.
Bensussen’s pitch wasn’t to create these items for the cheapest price. It was to create the highest-quality product and to be the best representation of Boeing.
“It's a privilege to work with these brands,” Bensussen said. “Let's come up with designs and colors that really match what they're trying to accomplish. ... That’s where they gained confidence in us.”
That conviction ultimately led to a follow-up in the basement of Bensussen’s parents’ house, where he and Deutsch began truly cultivating the relationship with Boeing.
The following summer, Boeing gave BDA their biggest opportunity yet. The company was hosting a family day in Everett to celebrate the launch of a new 747 plane. With 60,000 people in attendance, Boeing wanted company painter’s caps for everyone.
“It wasn't just somebody at a gift shop,” Bensussen said. “It was representing Boeing and their families.”
That statement manifested itself shortly after. Following the family day success, Boeing asked BDA to produce calendars for the entire staff, upwards of 40,000 employees.
During the press checks, a Boeing designer noted the color scheme looked off. But the printers wanted to move on with the process and complete the calendars. Bensussen ordered the printers to stop immediately; and they were “pissed," he recalled.
“That's when you realize who you're working with and who you're working for, and you stop and say, ‘No, it's got to be done correctly,’” Bensussen said. It's on everyone's desk at the company.”
Luckily for BDA, after the fix, the calendars turned out great, Bensussen said.
That mindset and that belief from Boeing then led to deals with Nintendo and Microsoft, cementing BDA as a rising merchandising power in the industry. But it certainly did cause stress in the moment.
“That’s the only time I smoked a cigarette,” he added. “It has to be right. I don’t care what it costs.”
Bringing Players to Life
Deutsch hates the word “tchotchkes." He thinks it discredits what the items really are, which for BDA is months of work on a single item.
Bobbleheads, for example, are a huge part of BDA’s portfolio in sports merchandising, and each takes four to five months to create, Deutsch said. Every bobblehead, made out of a polyresin mold, is individually hand-crafted, hand-painted and approved.
And for good measure. Bobblehead nights consistently lead to higher ticket sales than any other merchandising promotion.
Today, BDA produces more than 6 million bobbleheads per year. But bobbleheads weren’t always in the mainstream of collectibles.
Twenty-five years ago, the Giants began the phenomenon by launching a Willie Mays bobblehead day in 1999.
By 2000, eight more MLB clubs were on board. BDA did not create the Mays bobblehead in ‘99, but the company was certainly on the scene the next year, with its prize being a Cal Ripken Jr. bobblehead, one whose design piqued interest and business from teams around the league.
“I thought it was pretty cool but also a little bit goofy,” Ripken told cllct, “I never knew that my bobblehead was anything special, but if it played a role in launching such a fun collectible that’s great.”
Back then, Ripken said, players always had fun with each other when new bobbleheads would come out. Today, players still have that same fun, but there’s also much more desire to have a bobblehead of your own.
Deutsch has spoken to players who specifically have asked him when they may be getting their own bobbleheads. And those who do receive them, take the design immensely seriously, but for good reason.
“It immortalizes them,” Deutsch said. “A lot of these players are blessed with the money that they make and the notoriety they have. (But) can they get their own bobblehead giveaway.”
The continued success in bobbleheads has led BDA to global partnerships in creating these pieces. For example, BDA is the only company Major League Baseball allows to produce Marvel-themed bobbleheads.
And Marvel has led to some of their most viral creations.
When the Mets held a bobblehead night for Noah Syndergaard in 2017, he was dressed as Thor for his love of the character and resemblance to the God of Thunder.
It was so popular, the Mets followed it up with a sequel in 2018, with Syndergaard in a different pose.
“I don’t think anyone could have predicted how big they would become,” Ripken said. “And now they go into all sports and even way beyond sports.”
When BDA first approached the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx about implementing bobblehead nights, the concept was overwhelming, said Courtney Brown, the teams’ creative projects manager. It required some convincing from BDA.
Now they’re a staple.
“BDA brings our players to life,” Brown said. These bobbleheads are now a must-have item for our fans.”
Every year Steve Avanessian, BDA’s executive vice president of client services and sports, is asked by different publications what the “next bobblehead” will be; and every year his answer is the same.
“It’s a bobblehead,” Avanessian said. “You've created an iconic item that's now endemic to baseball, actually across all sports. ... It’s part of the framework of the game.”
But it’s not just that.
On a Monday afternoon, Avanessian and I were speaking about a myriad of topics from a licensing deal with Major League Baseball to what makes for a good listener in client relationships and everything in between.
I asked him what was the most important thing about a bobblehead, what I believed was a fairly rudimentary question, and I was fully expecting an answer in similar taste.
Avanessian, who speaks quickly, but passionately, with frequent hand gestures and funny tangential anecdotes, paused.
Storytelling, he said. Creating lasting memories.
One in particular stood out. It was hearing from someone who accidentally broke a bobblehead and they were wondering whether they could get a replacement because it was from the last game they ever attended with their dad.
“Those are kind of heartbreaking,” he said, before shedding a few tears.
“I can't believe I'm tearing up on that,” Avanessian said. “But it's true. It means something... When you look at a fan, how few fans, percentage wise, actually get a chance to go sit in the stadium of the team they love? It’s really a unique thing.
That's a lot of responsibility to make sure that they have an unbelievable experience, and they take something away that matters.”
Forward thinking
This past summer, ahead of its 40th anniversary, BDA celebrated the 30th anniversary of its “Think Tank," a multi-day conference bringing marketing specialists from across the sports world together to collaborate on new promotions and activations.
What began in 1995 as a small way to discover best practices to drive attendance through activation in MLB, has now expanded into one of the company’s premier annual staples, involving executives from across various major sports leagues.
“Think Tank has sparked lifelong connections,” Deutsch said, “and launched careers throughout the sports universe.”
The Seattle Kraken, the NHL’s newest franchise — of which Deutsch is a part-owner — began integrating giveaways in their second season and places a huge emphasis on collectibles.
In 2023 the Kraken won Best Campaign at the BDA Think Tank Honors for their creation of the Grubi Stein, a German beer stein celebrating their goalie, Phillip Grubauer, a native of Rosenheim, Germany.
“We worked hand in hand with BDA to design and develop an authentic German beer stein that not only we were proud of, but Grubauer was as well,” said Nicole Shabaz, the Kraken’s entertainment experience and promotions specialist.
And this commitment is being done for teams across the globe. Today, BDA is an official partner of the biggest leagues worldwide, including the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, FIFA, PGA Tour, UFC, Premier League, IOC and more.
But they also represent enterprise clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Mercedes-Benz and The Home Depot.
Nearly everywhere he looks, Deutsch sees a partner and still gets as excited as he did when he was securing NFL rights while learning to drive a car.
“It sounds silly. I've been in this business 40 years. I still geek out when I see people wearing the merchandise that I did,” Deutsch said.
That enthusiasm has never dimmed from day one.
Bensussen remembers every milestone from one year to 10 to now 40. He relishes clients’ major anniversaries, awards, company milestones. But above it all, he savors the story.
“What a blessing to have a lifelong friend and have a 40-year business with that same person,” Bensussen said.
The relationship that began when Deutsch’s family moved onto his street in Seward Park, has now blossomed into a titanic global merchandising business, with Deutsch’s eyes now set on the next 40 years.
Despite the ascension among the globe’s leading agencies, Deutsch wants to maintain the same family atmosphere as when he and Bensussen were scrapping along as teenagers.
Every year, BDA brings members of its family on vacation. Previous trips have included Italy, France and Hawaii. This year, Deutsch took his crew to the Dominican Republic. It’s Deutsch’s favorite week of the year because it’s a chance for co-workers to truly become family, he said.
Last year the BDA team went to Spain, with the highlight being a night clubbing in Ibiza into the wee hours of the morning.
“We probably had 50-plus people come up and go, ‘Who are you guys? You guys are great,’” Deutsch said. “They're looking at our group going, ‘I want to be part of that group.’”
The trip is a reminder. It’s a reminder of 40 years of building a company, building an identity and building a family, with the latter being the most pivotal of the three.
“When you start seeing people come to work and they're getting their first car or buying the first house or starting a family or getting married, or unfortunately, having challenges in their life with family members or their own health, you realize we're all just people,” Deutsch said.
“We all work our tails off, and we do it. We need to make money, but don't you want to do it with people you like and care about and care about you?”
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct.