Any marketing ideas that help the Rockets sell more tickets, attract more fans, gain more coverage or in general, make them more attractive etc... I hope this can be helpful for the management personnel that view this board. My take is: In order to honor Yao Ming's arrival, the Rockets should change its official mascot from Clutch-bear to Clutch-panda.
My only idea is to keep things as simple as possible and let the play of the team speak for itself. Going to a Rockets game in the past 1-2 years been kind of disappointing as far as crowd excitement and there are many obvious reasons for this that do not need to be explained. But there are a few things that a somewhat annoying as far as trying to get the crowd "hyped-up". That man who comes on the PA System and yells a cheer during time-outs is just unneccessary and it gets more laughs than cheers. And the pre-game opening act where Clutch the Bear comes out in the motorcycle and all that stuff where they do the crazy dances kind of makes you think you are at a circus. This is just my opinion everyone, and I know that during the championship years obviously we all felt alot more excitement at the games because winning makes everything golden. But the last few years has been lacking as far as going to Compaq Center and the crowd being in the game. Any thoughts?
To be honest, that Clutch Bear has not been around all that long and Pandas are kinda cool anyway. That really isn't a bad idea at all. Plus, it actually makes sense, I have no idea why the Clutch Bear is even a bear? I hope your idea makes it to someone who A) Cares and B) Can make decisions. Maybe when they shoot those t-shirts out of the air canon, they could should out a few Pandas with Yao jerseys on them. Maybe all the players could have animals associated with them. Mobley/Cat Francis/Fox Norris/Ferrit Cato/Donkey etc..... This might work for the kids. Beer Stines for the Adults, but it really doesn't matter what you put on em', it's what's in em' that counts.
By having a raffle every ten games or so at the game would be a pretty good marketing gimmic. Instead of winning money though the winner would able to pick a player that they would want to spend a day with, or just lunch would be nice. This would get alot more fanactics to the game just to be able to meet there favorite player. Even though I know this wouldn't happen for various reasons maybe the raffle winner could just win a team autograph ball.
We have some good ideas here. I especially like the "Clutch the Bear Jeff the Panda" part. I don't know how the players would think of it, being associated with a bunch of animals, but I think it certainly works for the kids. That's something new. Winning a meeting with a player would be cool, especially for gold diggers lol. I don't think the players want it though. A team autographed ball is a great idea. Think about it it's kind of hard to come by for an item with a whole roster's signature, might even add Les, CD and RT's to top it off. Hm... how about some more Asian babes as the Rockets power dancers? I mean I don't care but I'm sure Yao Ming would appreciate it , and make it mandatory that the cameramen fix the focus on them during short timeouts for the home audience!!! The moral of this thread is, Mark Cuban's free burrito crap is no match against our collective originality.
I'm sure they'll plan a Chinese heritage night or something if they don't have one already. Also they can maybe add some mainstream Chinese food to concessions. Maybe they can play a little tune of Chinese music every time Yao scores a basket, kind of like they play those littles tunes for Steve and Cat. I can just see Mac trying to get Yao into a Gallery Furniture add. It really will SAVE YAO MONEY!!!! I can't even imagine Yao Ming bobblehead night. Can you say... sellout?
That guy is so annoying, they could get rid him and that rally crew that goes around the upper sections. I bet Clutch the bear will add some kind of Yao influenced costume to his wardrobe.
Save Yao Money!! /Mac jumps up and down, but still doesn't get close to Yao's head.. You just invented Mac's next marketing campaign.
I wouldn't mind if there was more 'color' in the Rocket's TV ads. Dang, other than Rockets, the ads are mostly white people. This does not truly represent the fan base, imo. People may be a little more accepting of the Hip Hop culture if organizations inserted more images into the mainstream. Would it hurt the Rox do like Budweiser or ATT long distance and feature another community. 'Pitch people (which is a great movie, by the way)' come in all varieties...ask Cedric 'The Entertainer', Orlando Jones, Carlos Alazraqui (taco bell) and D.L. Hughley!
Okay, first, I love seeing all the ideas shooting around. And I was going to avoid saying anything, because sometimes it's best just to let people toss ideas around ... to use an analogy, sometimes even half-baked ideas can turn into something great when you let them bake in the oven a bit. Please, please, keep the ideas rolling. However, Another Brother, I did feel compelled to respond to your message immediately. Just going through a quick mental checklist of the most recent ads that have gotten attention -- the "Be Part of Something Big" billboards and, say, the bobblehead TV ads from last year, and even ones earlier than that -- and I'm not sure which ads are driving your observation. Feel free to respond via e-mail (timm@rocketball.com) if that's more appropriate. I will say that we develop the tone of our marketing for our overall fan base. It's no secret to anyone that the Rockets fan base is, just like Houston, very diverse. Hip hop culture is part of that, but just one part of many. Now, what's that I hear about pandas shooting burritos out of cannons? Tim McDougall Vice President of Marketing Houston Rockets and Comets timm@rocketball.com
Geez dude thanks for getting back. Most of the commercials I refer to are Reliant energy commercials. Though pretty funny, I think that casting of the actors could be a bit more diverse. Hec Tim, what would be wrong with featuring a black, latino or woman in a 'Rocket's Fan' commercial? I could come up with more than a few funny situations, and if allowed, would love to submit..multiracially! I guess I'm saying that my friends and I sometimes feel that the Houston sports scene doesn't figure our dollar into all the equations, whether or not this concern is legitimate has yet to be determined. Anyway thanks tremendously for reading and hanging out in the community.
Win a chance to change seats with the owner! Have a nosebleed person get a chance to change seats with Les for a game! AND Les has to make it through the whole game in the nosebleeds.
Is there park and ride's to the game? I sure would go to more games if I didn't have to drive my lazy butt an hour to get to the game. Maybe only do it on Friday and Saturday games when the weekend traffic is bad. PS: How about if you actually use someone's idea on the board, they score a couple of free tix? Or maybe donate some tix to Clutch so he can auction them off to pay for the site or something?
Seeing as though marketing is a fairly developed field, and one that is clearly managed in an attempt to maximize profits, I would have to imagine that the demographics targeted in the ads are those that deliver the most value to the Rockets and their advertisers' bottom line. This in turn allows the Rockets and their advertisers to become more profitable and ultimately to enhance their product offering. Another Brother -- I don't know how much thought you gave your original message that Tim quickly responded to, but representing the fan base and profit maximization could be two independent, unrelated goals. Certain demographic groups are viewed as being more profitable that others, when marketers make decisions about messages. We've had this argument before, but showing images of the "hip hop culture" I believe has a devisive effect on fans. Some love it, some hate it, some love the Rockets so much they don't care at all about the marketing efforts (myself). My guess is that advertising firms and the Rockets marketing department have considered such ads and apparently did not think the economics made sense.
Chinese National Team basketball cards. Free 8 x 10 Houston Rocket mug Shots - It's different and funny. Cheerleader Trading cards Funny Rocket Fortune cookies Rocket Stress balls
With all due respect TJ, I think that what you infer is a little unwholesome. Panda originally asked about marketing ideas that would help sell more tickets, attract more fans and/or gain more coverage, he didn't ask about 'profit margins'. They may be synonymous to some, but not to all. To ignore "certain demographic groups" has proven to be detrimental to more than one organization. I also believe that if a "certain demographic group" was being ignored because it was deemed to be less profitable endeavor, the PLAYERS of "a certain organization" may want to address and comment on it, because after all...
