Simpatico

Licensing / co-brand · Chicago Bulls → target #2 of 8

Mitchell & Ness

A premium heritage brand offering authentic, high-quality reproduction sports apparel for fans and streetwear enthusiasts.

Founded 1904 · Parent: Fanatics · Competes with New Era, Starter, Champion, Nike · Partnerships: NBA, MLB, NFL

Corporate details are Qloo entity data.

Advance
75.3F / 100
100% of the weighted evidence measured

Why this verdict

F 75.3 >= 67 and no red flags.

Scores, flags and verdicts are computed in code. The agents can only argue with the ledger; they never set the score.

Six audience metrics

Bar = this target; tick = shortlist average.

m1 Two-way audience affinity
0.87
Harmonic mean of the buyer audience’s affinity for the target and the target audience’s affinity for the buyer’s brands.
m2 Taste-profile overlap
0.55
Rank-weighted overlap of the two audiences’ top-50 cultural taste tags.
m3 Cross-domain agreement
0.89
How strongly the target’s audience embraces the buyer audience’s favourite artists, shows, films and podcasts.
m4 Demographic alignment
0.96
Similarity of the two audiences’ age and gender over-index profiles.
m5 Geographic footprint
0.45
Correlation of metro-level audience affinity, relative to the screened cohort.
m6 Momentum
0.57
Trending rank change over the last 4 weeks vs the 8 before, relative to the cohort.

How F is built

Points each metric adds (weights for Licensing / co-brand, renormalised over what Qloo could measure).

MetricWeightPoints
Two-way audience affinity0.3530.4
Taste-profile overlap0.105.5
Cross-domain agreement0.2017.9
Demographic alignment0.109.6
Geographic footprint0.209.0
Momentum0.052.9
F75.3

Qloo explainability: the buyer-side signals driving the forward affinity are Chicago Bulls (1.00).

Where the audiences meet, across culture

The buyer audience’s top titles in each domain, ranked by how strongly Mitchell & Ness’s audience embraces them.

Music0.92
Embraced: Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q, Gucci Mane · Least shared: Offset, Quavo, Kodak Black
TV0.92
Embraced: Ballers, Colin in Black & White, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty · Least shared: Break Point, Tiger, The Last Dance
Film0.87
Embraced: Coach Carter, Iverson, Hustle · Least shared: Shooting Stars, Creed III, Stephen Curry: Underrated
Podcasts0.86
Embraced: Jalen & Jacoby, The Right Time with Bomani Jones, All The Smoke · Least shared: ESPN: The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons, The Starters, The Chronicles of Redick

Taste profile overlap

33 of 67 top taste tags shared.

Both over-index on
Hip HopAmericanafrican americanbasketballraptrapfriendamerican football
Buyer only

Ice Cream Sandwich, chicago

Mitchell & Ness only

Apple Strudel, california, Dirty South, dysfunctional family, dark comedy

Audience shape

Chicago Bulls (buyer) Mitchell & Ness
-0.81-0.410.00+0.41+0.81≤2425–2930–3435–4445–5455+MenWomen

Relative over-index (+) or under-index (−) of each aggregate audience, from Qloo. Not individual data.

Momentum

z = 0.45 relative to the screened cohort (2025-10-01).

prior 8 weekslast 4

Footprint overlap for distribution

White space: Mitchell & Ness strong, buyer weak Shared stronghold Other metros
White space

Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, San Jose, Baltimore, Cleveland

Shared strongholds

Chicago

Bull vs bear

6 of 10 claims survived the judge; 4 rejected for citing numbers not in the ledger or misreading them.

Bull: for the deal

  • Taste-profile overlap is a clear strength: 33 shared tags out of 67 in the union, a 0.5455 overlap versus a shortlist average of 0.3546, with shared tags including Hip Hop, basketball and american football.

    t6-m2.value = 0.5455t6-m2.sharedCount = 33t6-m2.unionCount = 67

  • Demographic alignment is the strongest reading, with a cosine of 0.9251 against a shortlist average of 0.3767, indicating the two audience profiles share the same gender skew and age shape in aggregate.

    t6-m4.cosine = 0.9251t6-m4.value = 0.9625

  • Momentum is positive: the recent mean of 0.5814 sits above the prior mean of 0.5724, with a z-score of 0.4494 against a shortlist average of 0.1143, and the composite fit score of 75.29 exceeds the shortlist average of 70.61.

    t6-m6.z = 0.4494t6-m6.recentMean = 0.5814t6-score.F = 75.29

  • Aggregate audience affinity between the Chicago Bulls and Mitchell & Ness is strong: the two-way affinity sits at 0.8697 and the Bulls appear as the reverse-direction match at the same level, though it reads slightly below the shortlist average.

    t6-m1.value = 0.8697t6-m1.reverse[0].affinity = 0.8697

    Rejected by the judge: cites m1 Two-way audience affinity "value" = 0.8697 as a strength, but it is below the shortlist average (0.8918)

  • Cross-domain agreement is high at 0.8935 against a shortlist average of 0.8841, with the TV and podcast domains showing the strongest aggregate scores, consistent with the audience's basketball-centred media interests.

    t6-m3.value = 0.8935t6-m3.domains[1].score = 0.9221t6-m3.domains[3].score = 0.8619

    Rejected by the judge: cites m3 Cross-domain agreement "domains[3].score" = 0.8619 as a strength, but it is below the shortlist average (0.8623)

Bear: against, or diligence first

  • Two-way audience affinity between the Bulls and Mitchell & Ness is 0.87, below the shortlist average of 0.89, so the direct cross-audience overlap is a weakness relative to other shortlisted targets.

    t6-m1.value = 0.8697t6-m1.shortlistAverages.value = 0.8918

  • The cross-domain agreement's Music domain score of 0.916 sits below the shortlist average of 0.916 to the Music domain, and the Podcasts domain is also a weakness, so the overlap is concentrated in film and TV rather than in the music and podcast audiences a co-brand would most depend on.

    t6-m3.domains[0].score = 0.9157t6-m3.domains[3].score = 0.8619

  • The demographic cosine of 0.93 looks strong, but the audience's largest gap is in the 45-to-54 bucket, where the target's share is 0.30 against the Bulls' 0.01, and the target skews more male than the Bulls, so the fit is aggregate and may not extend to the buyer's core base.

    t6-m4.biggestGap.target = 0.3t6-m4.biggestGap.buyer = 0.01

  • The Bulls' top-20 taste profile has a 0.1 missing share against the shortlist's 0.3375, which reads as a strength, but the target-only tags such as Dirty South and dark comedy show the overlap is partial, with 5 target-only tags against 2 buyer-only tags.

    t6-m2.buyerTop20MissingShare = 0.1t6-m2.sharedCount = 33

    Rejected by the judge: cites m2 Taste-profile overlap "buyerTop20MissingShare" = 0.1 as a weakness, but it is above the shortlist average (0.3375)

  • The Chicago stronghold is the only metro where the Bulls' footprint sits clearly above the target's, and the geographic correlation is negative at -0.097, so the target's reach does not track the Bulls' strongest markets; seven white-space metros, including Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles, are not yet covered by the target.

    t6-m5.correlation = -0.09731t6-m5.whiteSpaceCount = 7

    Rejected by the judge: cites m5 Geographic footprint "correlation" = -0.0973 as a weakness, but it is above the shortlist average (-0.1309)

IC memo

Number check passed: 19 number(s), all in the evidence ledger.Written by claude-haiku-5-5

Mitchell & Ness: ADVANCE

Recommendation. Advance Mitchell & Ness to the next screen. The verdict rule was a composite fit score of at least 67 with no red flags. Mitchell & Ness scores 75.3, ranks 2 of 8, and has no flags. The score clears the shortlist average of 70.6, but the direct cross-audience overlap is weaker than the shortlist norm, so the case rests on taste and demographic fit rather than on direct overlap.

Where the audiences meet.

  • Taste profile: 33 shared tags out of 67 in the union, an overlap of 0.55 against a shortlist average of 0.35. Shared tags include Hip Hop, basketball and American football.
  • Demographics: The strongest reading. The cosine is 0.93 against a shortlist average of 0.38, so the two audiences share a similar gender skew and age shape in aggregate.
  • Momentum: Positive. The recent mean sits slightly above the prior mean, and the z-score is above the shortlist average.

Risks.

  • Direct overlap is weak: Two-way audience affinity between the Bulls and Mitchell & Ness is 0.87, below the shortlist average of 0.89.
  • Music and podcast audiences: Both domains read as weaknesses against the shortlist. The overlap is concentrated in film and TV, while a co-brand would depend more on music and podcast audiences.
  • Age and gender gaps: The audience's largest gap is in the 45-to-54 bucket, where the target's share is 0.30 against the Bulls' 0.01. The target also skews more male than the Bulls. The demographic fit is aggregate and may not extend to the buyer's core base.
  • Red flags: None.

Diligence questions.

  • What would a co-branded pilot between the Bulls and Mitchell & Ness show in direct cross-audience engagement, given the weaker two-way affinity?
  • Does the film and TV overlap carry into music and podcast audiences in a pilot?
  • Does the 45-to-54 gap and the male skew limit reach into the buyer's core base?

Aggregate audience affinities from Qloo, not predictions about individuals. Not investment advice.

Provenance: 26 Qloo calls behind this target

Requests as sent (the API key travels in a header and is never logged). Responses are cached privately on the server.

PurposeEndpointStatusResultSource
/v2/insightsok18 of 18 candidates scoredlive 99 ms
/v2/insightsok18 profile(s)cache
/v2/insightsok50 taste tag(s)live 850 ms
/v2/insightsok25 recommended movie(s)live 1392 ms
/v2/insightsok25 recommended tv_show(s)live 1463 ms
/v2/insightsokdemographics for 9 of 9 entitieslive 1515 ms
/v2/insightsok25 recommended podcast(s)live 1791 ms
/v2/insightsok25 recommended artist(s)live 3353 ms
/v2/insightsok8000 heatmap cell(s) in United Stateslive 3816 ms
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)cache
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)live 324 ms
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)live 324 ms
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)live 346 ms
/v2/trendingok47 trend point(s)live 349 ms
/v2/insightsok50 taste tag(s)cache
/v2/insightsok4347 heatmap cell(s) in United Statescache
/v2/insightsok1 of 1 candidates scoredlive 7430 ms
/v2/insightsok25 of 25 candidates scoredlive 7706 ms
/v2/insightsok25 of 25 candidates scoredlive 7953 ms
/v2/insightsok25 of 25 candidates scoredlive 8242 ms
/v2/analysis/compareok0 shared catalogue tag(s)live 9178 ms
/v2/insightsok25 of 25 candidates scoredlive 9293 ms
Evidence rows (what bull, bear and the judge see)
[
 {
  "id": "t6-flags",
  "label": "Red flags (code rules)",
  "data": {
   "flags": []
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {}
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m1",
  "label": "m1 Two-way audience affinity",
  "data": {
   "a": 0.8696910054460224,
   "b": 0.8696910054460224,
   "ratio": 1,
   "value": 0.8696910054460224,
   "reverse": [
    {
     "id": "D4AD32CC-571E-4DBC-AD6A-D9C53D98D999",
     "name": "Chicago Bulls",
     "affinity": 0.8696910054460224
    }
   ],
   "coverage": 1
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "a": 0.8917794070251019,
   "b": 0.8917794070251019,
   "ratio": 1,
   "value": 0.891779407025102
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m2",
  "label": "m2 Taste-profile overlap",
  "data": {
   "value": 0.5454545454545452,
   "shared": [
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:hip_hop",
     "name": "Hip Hop",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:place:restaurant:american",
     "name": "American",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:place"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:african_american",
     "name": "african american",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:basketball",
     "name": "basketball",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:rap",
     "name": "rap",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:trap",
     "name": "trap",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:friend",
     "name": "friend",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:american_football",
     "name": "american football",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    }
   ],
   "coverage": 1,
   "buyerOnly": [
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place:ice_cream_sandwich",
     "name": "Ice Cream Sandwich",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:chicago",
     "name": "chicago",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    }
   ],
   "targetOnly": [
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place:apple_strudel",
     "name": "Apple Strudel",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:specialty_dish:place"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:california",
     "name": "california",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:genre:music:dirty_south",
     "name": "Dirty South",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:genre:music"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:dysfunctional_family",
     "name": "dysfunctional family",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    },
    {
     "id": "urn:tag:keyword:media:dark_comedy",
     "name": "dark comedy",
     "subtype": "urn:tag:keyword:media"
    }
   ],
   "unionCount": 67,
   "sharedCount": 33,
   "buyerTop20MissingShare": 0.1
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "value": 0.3545728547479838,
   "sharedCount": 26.125,
   "buyerTop20MissingShare": 0.3375
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m3",
  "label": "m3 Cross-domain agreement",
  "data": {
   "value": 0.8935081150040466,
   "domains": [
    {
     "type": "urn:entity:artist",
     "clash": [
      {
       "name": "Offset",
       "affinity": 0.8835099788898089
      },
      {
       "name": "Quavo",
       "affinity": 0.8876415535466263
      },
      {
       "name": "Kodak Black",
       "affinity": 0.8896720226161906
      }
     ],
     "label": "Music",
     "score": 0.9156884017353206,
     "shared": [
      {
       "name": "Jay Rock",
       "affinity": 0.9541472756403674
      },
      {
       "name": "ScHoolboy Q",
       "affinity": 0.9496903524500909
      },
      {
       "name": "Gucci Mane",
       "affinity": 0.9417780891098583
      }
     ],
     "expected": 25,
     "returned": 25
    },
    {
     "type": "urn:entity:tv_show",
     "clash": [
      {
       "name": "Break Point",
       "affinity": 0.9015878130122124
      },
      {
       "name": "Tiger",
       "affinity": 0.9022835638541489
      },
      {
       "name": "The Last Dance",
       "affinity": 0.9035968517646307
      }
     ],
     "label": "TV",
     "score": 0.9220874434263573,
     "shared": [
      {
       "name": "Ballers",
       "affinity": 0.9815765001186946
      },
      {
       "name": "Colin in Black & White",
       "affinity": 0.9411342390657539
      },
      {
       "name": "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty",
       "affinity": 0.9398385238764682
      }
     ],
     "expected": 25,
     "returned": 25
    },
    {
     "type": "urn:entity:movie",
     "clash": [
      {
       "name": "Shooting Stars",
       "affinity": 0.8473371666146493
      },
      {
       "name": "Creed III",
       "affinity": 0.8544833975367446
      },
      {
       "name": "Stephen Curry: Underrated",
       "affinity": 0.8554533371456754
      }
     ],
     "label": "Film",
     "score": 0.8743610479585775,
     "shared": [
      {
       "name": "Coach Carter",
       "affinity": 0.9100116433763101
      },
      {
       "name": "Iverson",
       "affinity": 0.9015206663255318
      },
      {
       "name": "Hustle",
       "affinity": 0.8930275634479807
      }
     ],
     "expected": 25,
     "returned": 25
    },
    {
     "type": "urn:entity:podcast",
     "clash": [
      {
       "name": "ESPN: The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons",
       "affinity": 0.8317579761679198
      },
      {
       "name": "The Starters",
       "affinity": 0.8320900441081567
      },
      {
       "name": "The Chronicles of Redick",
       "affinity": 0.8322507661295153
      }
     ],
     "label": "Podcasts",
     "score": 0.8618955668959313,
     "shared": [
      {
       "name": "Jalen & Jacoby",
       "affinity": 0.9307858375166237
      },
      {
       "name": "The Right Time with Bomani Jones",
       "affinity": 0.9160854181003283
      },
      {
       "name": "All The Smoke",
       "affinity": 0.9147497449174203
      }
     ],
     "expected": 25,
     "returned": 25
    }
   ],
   "coverage": 1
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "value": 0.8841334655475053,
   "domains[0].score": 0.9164584390301476,
   "domains[1].score": 0.9181011755683315,
   "domains[2].score": 0.8396970546564967,
   "domains[3].score": 0.8622771929350453
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m4",
  "label": "m4 Demographic alignment",
  "data": {
   "buyer": {
    "male": 0.55,
    "female": -0.55,
    "25_to_29": 0.21,
    "30_to_34": -0.81,
    "35_to_44": -0.56,
    "45_to_54": 0.01,
    "55_and_older": 0.02,
    "24_and_younger": 0.02
   },
   "value": 0.9625477329902097,
   "cosine": 0.9250954659804195,
   "target": {
    "male": 0.78,
    "female": -0.78,
    "25_to_29": -0.07,
    "30_to_34": -0.72,
    "35_to_44": -0.51,
    "45_to_54": 0.30000000000000004,
    "55_and_older": 0.12,
    "24_and_younger": 0.18
   },
   "coverage": 1,
   "biggestGap": {
    "buyer": 0.01,
    "bucket": "45_to_54",
    "target": 0.30000000000000004
   }
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "value": 0.6883574717414059,
   "cosine": 0.3767149434828121
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m5",
  "label": "m5 Geographic footprint",
  "data": {
   "value": 0.4513469132286235,
   "coverage": 1,
   "metroCount": 55,
   "whiteSpace": [
    {
     "lat": 39.9526,
     "lon": -75.1652,
     "buyer": 0.8906865048842285,
     "metro": "Philadelphia",
     "target": 0.9371000149712283,
     "buyerRel": -0.06004835577736978,
     "targetRel": -0.01363484569036999
    },
    {
     "lat": 40.7128,
     "lon": -74.006,
     "buyer": 0.9374205437764477,
     "metro": "New York",
     "target": 0.9142626523278358,
     "buyerRel": -0.0268733302748424,
     "targetRel": -0.05003122172345431
    },
    {
     "lat": 34.0522,
     "lon": -118.2437,
     "buyer": 0.9416455233001693,
     "metro": "Los Angeles",
     "target": 0.9025819276578476,
     "buyerRel": -0.024511878244730223,
     "targetRel": -0.06357547388705187
    },
    {
     "lat": 29.7604,
     "lon": -95.3698,
     "buyer": 0.9304519701414031,
     "metro": "Houston",
     "target": 0.8826280363982738,
     "buyerRel": -0.02195922804123185,
     "targetRel": -0.06978316178436117
    },
    {
     "lat": 37.3382,
     "lon": -121.8863,
     "buyer": 0.8724995966915574,
     "metro": "San Jose",
     "target": 0.8281579369890179,
     "buyerRel": -0.05794092425712394,
     "targetRel": -0.1022825839596635
    },
    {
     "lat": 39.2904,
     "lon": -76.6122,
     "buyer": 0.8461888373210822,
     "metro": "Baltimore",
     "target": 0.7992373284533911,
     "buyerRel": -0.06358960664175106,
     "targetRel": -0.11054111550944212
    },
    {
     "lat": 41.4993,
     "lon": -81.6944,
     "buyer": 0.9110856126618676,
     "metro": "Cleveland",
     "target": 0.8251726110857714,
     "buyerRel": -0.025409880345924618,
     "targetRel": -0.11132288192202078
    }
   ],
   "correlation": -0.09730617354275295,
   "strongholds": [
    {
     "lat": 41.8781,
     "lon": -87.6298,
     "buyer": 0.9992549190995342,
     "metro": "Chicago",
     "target": 0.9030803891187353,
     "buyerRel": 0.031641279905371134,
     "targetRel": -0.06453325007542776
    }
   ],
   "whiteSpaceCount": 7,
   "relativeToCohort": true
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "value": 0.4345477483481854,
   "correlation": -0.1309045033036292
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-m6",
  "label": "m6 Momentum",
  "data": {
   "z": 0.4494154926447558,
   "value": 0.5749025821074593,
   "priorSd": 0.007330744350927676,
   "coverage": 1,
   "priorMean": 0.5723689122598115,
   "normalised": true,
   "recentMean": 0.5813572221127066
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "z": 0.11430341929896531,
   "value": 0.5190505698831609
  }
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-profile",
  "label": "Qloo entity profile: Mitchell & Ness",
  "data": {
   "name": "Mitchell & Ness",
   "drivers": [
    {
     "name": "Chicago Bulls",
     "score": 1
    }
   ],
   "ownership": "part_of_other",
   "keyMarkets": [
    "United States",
    "Canada",
    "United Kingdom",
    "Japan"
   ],
   "popularity": 0.9725381837907477,
   "screenRank": 6,
   "foundedYear": 1904,
   "priceRangeUsd": [
    35,
    300
   ],
   "ultimateParent": "Fanatics",
   "forwardAffinity": 0.8696910054460224,
   "competitorBrands": [
    "New Era",
    "Starter",
    "Champion",
    "Nike"
   ],
   "sharedCategories": [],
   "knownPartnerships": [
    "NBA",
    "MLB",
    "NFL",
    "NHL"
   ],
   "marketPositioning": "A premium heritage brand offering authentic, high-quality reproduction sports apparel for fans and streetwear enthusiasts."
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {}
 },
 {
  "id": "t6-score",
  "label": "Composite score",
  "data": {
   "F": 75.29082145024904,
   "points": {
    "m1": 30.439185190610782,
    "m2": 5.4545454545454515,
    "m3": 17.87016230008093,
    "m4": 9.625477329902097,
    "m5": 9.02693826457247,
    "m6": 2.8745129105372964
   },
   "coverage": 1
  },
  "shortlistAverages": {
   "F": 70.6104596381021
  }
 }
]