The Rockets marketing campaign for the season has begun. The slogan is still Live It but check this video out I received from the Rockets today. Look deep into Yao's eyes. http://click.nba.com/index.cfm?n35009s590c2759020t587o1 "I like those guys. Bet on us."
I like it. Yao looks tough in the add and the photo on the website. Did the Rockets hire a new marketing director?
OOOH....that was an awesome video.....JVG saying "Bet on us" is a great statement....I AM READY !!! Let's get this party started RIGHT NOW ! DD
Yao looks like one pissed off mofo, Kick ass video! I loved the opening shot of slowly zooming towards Yao's pupils. Really dramatic. I'm stoked for the season to begin. Props to whoever put this flash video together.
Eyes on the Prize New branding campaign focuses on team's determination for postseason run New Web site: Rockets.com has new, user-friendly look. Damien Pierce Rockets.com Staff Writer HOUSTON -- Yao Ming is back in Texas and once again looming large over his peers. He didn't even have to return from China to do it. The 7-foot-6 big man is instead towering over Houston on a billboard that was unveiled Tuesday morning. On the giant sign, Yao's piercing set of black-and-white pupils -- and little else of the center -- is intently glaring down at the cars that pass below him on I-45 and other locations throughout town. The organization behind the massive pair of focused eyes believes in this case a simple look speaks volumes. "We've got a number of pairs of eyes looking down on traffic around town just like it," said Rockets Vice President of Marketing John Dillon, referring to the outdoor billboards featuring Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier and Yao that kick off the the team's 2006-2007 marketing campaign. "By design we start by focusing only on the eyes," Dillon added. "We picked these powerful images because we believe it simply and clearly communicates where we are as an organization as we head into the year. There are all kinds of different ways to say it, but out of the gate there’s really no better way to communicate where the Rockets are and what we’re thinking than to see the look in these guy’s eyes." No flexing muscles. No flashy dunks. No smirks after a big play. Just intense, focused sets of eyes. The Rockets have chosen such a simple, focused way to begin their marketing campaign because the team is returning one of the NBA's best duos with Yao and McGrady and the addition of Battier and others has created excitement and a win-now philosophy at Toyota Center. Houston was expected to make plenty of noise in last year's playoffs heading into the year, but injuries derailed those hopes midway through the season. The franchise is counting on the intense focus of its star players to deliver the message that the Rockets are determined for a postseason return. "Coming off last season, we felt it was important to make a very clear statement to our fans that we haven't lost our focus. The focus is there in the eyes," Dillon said. "Without question this team is determined to not just make the playoffs, but to make a deep postseason run." The first television spot, which is set to premiere next week and can already be viewed on Rockets.com, takes fans inside the eyes of the players showing their intensity, focus and desire to win now. The franchise's marketing slogan, "Live It," has returned with some tweaks and the organization launched a redesigned Web site featuring the same eye-catching images as the billboards sprinkled around the Houston area. Over the next several weeks, the Rockets will expand their campaign beyond the outdoors to include newspaper, television advertising, interactive and direct mail. After the billboards and Web site, the franchise's new marketing effort will continue to engage fans by shifting beyond the eyes in television and newspaper ads. The television commercials and other campaign elements will evolve over subsequent weeks to eventually have players and season-ticket holders share what "Live It" means to them so that fans can get to know the team better, and vice versa. "We're doing something quite a bit different than traditional sports marketing," Dillon said. "People know we’re a basketball team, so we’re not going to waste people’s time by telling them that. We want to engage our fans and the city. We're starting by getting people's attention, which is what the ‘Eyes' will do. Through the coming weeks and months then we’ll add different elements with a different feel – it’ll be engaging in a completely different way, but a way that people will appreciate and definitely notice." So what happens next? Dillon provides a clue. “Top to bottom we have an organization maniacally focused on doing what it takes to get better every day," he said. “We have an absolutely amazing group of loyal fans and customers. And we have a group of guys on this team that despite being some of the top superstars in the NBA are fun, focused, and genuinely good people. These are all areas we’ll be focusing on over the coming weeks and months." Until then, Yao and Co. will be staring down traffic in Houston with a message that can’t be ignored. It’s in their eyes.
I thought the ad's music was horrible, and maybe they shouldn't focus on specific players(mcgrady, battier, yao) and start focusing on the whole team.
I think it's logical because these are the GUARANTEED faces of the season. With training camp coming up, do you want to see Casey Jacobson, JLIII, and Azibuike on the billboards? Come on.
Great ad by Rockets. I hope Yao can keep that look throughout the year and kick a$$ all season long. Can anyone explain the Rockets black and white jersey on the Rockets site online store? Will that be the road uniform for this coming season??
