A Nostalgic Look at the Houston Rockets’ Branded Uniforms

Men and sports. Two things that go together like apple pie and ice cream. Since my dad and brother were sports enthusiasts, I would watch them glued to the T.V. any time a sports event was on.

When I was a kid I was lucky to get prime seats for some of the Houston Rockets’ basketball games. My cousin was a score keeper and my family knew friends that also had season tickets. It was most exciting for me to go and see the live games.

As a young marketer in training, I enjoyed looking at the uniforms and the brand that the Rockets had generated. Recently, when I heard about the unveiling of their new uniforms, I was interested to see them. I decided to go down memory lane and think back to history of their gear: The Rockets were the San Diego Rockets from 1967-1971, where they became the Houston Rockets in 1971 and remain today. The Houston Rockets’ colors in 1971 were red, white, gray, and yellow and have had variations over the years.

The new marketing campaign and brand that the Rockets fired up is called “We Are Red Nation” and included the unveiling of the new Rockets’ uniforms. The statement was intended to “Unite the Rockets global community and build on the ‘redification’ of the city of Houston….with the launch of the Rockets’ enormously successful ‘Get Red’ campaign,” said Rockets’ Marketing Director Ken Sheirr. With “Get Red! We wanted to stress fan, partner and community-wide activation.” Read More

The new uniform is somewhat retro with the ketchup and mustard color and bring back the nostalgia of the “franchise’s glory days of the early 80’s and mid 90’s when Ralph Sampson, Moses Malone and Hakeem Olajuwan patrolled the paint.” Read more

What do you think of the Rocket’s new gear?

Rockets unveil new uniforms @ Yahoo! Video

A Brand Built Around a Band. “Livestrong” Concept Branches Out.

Nike in 1996, was searching for “a way the company could recognize the cyclist ahead of his bid to win an unprecedented sixth Tour de France.” When the Nike executive made the proposal to Lance’s agent Bill Stapleton, he thought it was a “stupid idea”. Who knew the wristband would raise money and awareness in the battle with cancer?

As a marketer I was most interested in learning about the wristband supporters and media exposure. (and of course the money that was raised) Some of his supporters include: Nike, AMD, HP, American Century Investments, Oakley, and most recently Dick’s Sporting Goods. The media that raised awareness was the “Today Show”, Nike athletes, Oprah, Senator John Kerry, and many more.

Most people have a passion for Livestrong and the brand’s recognition is astronomical. “The brand’s success has allowed the Lance Armstrong Foundation to create its own endowment and raise more than $300 million to fight cancer.”

Read More

Who Said Commercials Lose Their Touch after 30 Years?

For an advertising junky, super bowl ads are some of my favorite. I have to admit that my breaks are NEVER during the commercials.

Who around the age of 40 and above does not remember 1979's famous "Mean Joe Greene” Coke ad? Admit it, you do! The price of a 30-second commercial in 1979 was a cheap $185K. Read the Stats:

This year was the 30 year anniversary of the Coke ad featuring Troy Polamalu and Coke Zero®. A average 30-second ad was a pricey $3 million. Read More:


Mean Joe Greene Coke Ad:


Troy Polamalu Coke Zero® Ad:

Is Social Media a Fad?

I saw a YouTube video that I found very interesting. It addressed the social media revolution. The video peaked my interest in learning more about how audiences today view social media tools.

The video provided statistics (not sure how valid they are) on how past media vehicles are rated such as television, radio, and newspapers compared to today’s social media. Wikipedia says that social media: “supports the human need for social interaction, using Internet- and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues”. Social media can cover anything from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, Myspace, YouTube, Bebo, Orkut, Flicker, Digg, etc.

When I saw the video over 400,000 people had viewed the video and over 1,800 rated the video 4.5 out of 5 stars. To learn more about the ratings I looked at the text comments.

Reponses to the video were all over the map. Some people said the information provided was inaccurate; social media will be the deterioration of human contact; many social media sites have not made any money; new media can not totally replace old mediums; from positive feedback such as social media is here to stay; offers new communications tools; and is a tipping point in communication.



If you have trouble viewing the video, click here.

What are your thoughts about social media?