I work in marketing at one of the Rockets Broadcast Sponsors, we have the halftime sow. I was talking to some of the guys here and we came to a question I wanted to get some input on. Seeing how Yao might be like Kwame Brown and need a full year and off season to get acclimated to the NBA, do you think it was a mistake to center the marketing around him? I mean, by giving him so much exposure and notoriety, did they set him up to disappoint the fans? I mean, I am sure many people on this board complaining about him and calling in to 610 haven't cared about the Rockets since Barkley left. Now that they have this ad campaign, and people are seeing Yao not setting the world on fire and the team really doing the same old mistakes of years past, I am concerned that these "returning fans" might just be turned off to the product. Just a concern, hopefully this is a change of pace from all the "Trade Mobley", "Start Yao", "Steve Sucks" threads that seem to monopolize the board this season. I am going to be around regardless. Eating those stale Nachos, drinking the Beer, and cheering on my team with the rest of the upper deck Crazies.
All eggs in one basket can offput fans, obviously, when the basket is not full. Today, anyway. Get the team to act excited, and win -- and watch the turnstiles click.
People are still excited about him and it gets people in the seats to see the rest of the rockets live. There is nothing like watching a game live with all the exitement and all the people around you. The first home game was great and lots of fun.
I didn't follow the Wizards last year, but their marketing centered around Jordan not Brown. I wish the Rockets had remembered their franchise player is Francis not Yao. Having this year's marketing campaign 'Be Part of Something Big' around Yao did it's job by getting people excited about the Rockets. I don't blame the marketing dept for doing its job. Now its up to the product on the court to deliver.
Good observation, but when we know that Yao would have to go through an extended adjustment period, shouldn't we have centered the campaign around a healthy Francis, Mobley and Griffin? And then next year really pump Yao along with the new arena? Again, I am not bashing anyone, just trying to get some feedback for my own education.
I think you need to edit that a bit: As far as the marketing this year goes, they really had no choice but to put Yao Ming front and center in some of the spots. No matter what the team did or did not do, everyone (nationally and internationally) was interested in the 7-foot-5+ Chinese fellow. The SI cover would have happened, and the media attention would've been exactly the same. Might as well take advantage of that buzz. If it does take YM a full season to get acclimated (I don't think it will), it might disappoint some fans. However, winning (assuming they can keep it together enough to play .550+ ball, and earn a playoff spot) cures many ills. Incidentally, it could be argued that with perhaps the exception of the "Ming standup at the Galleria" spot, the marketing has been spread around pretty evenly. "Be Part of Something Big," features Mooch in the billboard campaign just as much as the big guy. Similarly, the two recent "public service-ish" spots are entirely Ming-free.
thanks edc. Thoughtful response. If the team doesn't do well this year, it won't be because of how good or bad Yao plays anyway. It is only natural to hype up a #1 draft pick. Thanks
Filming a mobile poster of Yao in a local mall before his arrival didn't nothing to quell expectations.
Hindsight is 20/20. If the Rockets had to do it over again, I don't think they would have pushed Yao as much. I'd pull the Yao vs. big man ads however...
I don't think there was any marketing mistake nor do I think the Rockets would have done it any differently. I was at the home opener. The place was packed. It was because of excitement of having Yao Ming on the team. Everytime he came on the court there was a lot of cheering. Everytime he touched the ball in the post there was a lot of cheering. And when he was able to finish a move to the basket there was even more cheering. It was an electrifying atmosphere. I think most fans are realistic and much more tolerant than this board would lead you to believe. I think they are just excited about the potential that Yao Ming brings and at the prospect of watching him develop that potential. I don't think that most fans are nearly as uptight about Yao Ming at all as some on this board are and that the ones that are had their minds made up already about Yao, their own axes to grind, or their own agendas underlying their complaints.
I think the issue is not Yao per se, but the possibility that we may not make the playoffs for the 4th consecutive years is starting to lurk in people's mind.....and that's causing so much frustration. I think it just too early to get too depressed. Give guys till game 20 or 25 before making your minds....whether it is on Yao or the team.
Hey, if marketing around Yao was wrong, then I hope they do it right with the Franchise, oh wait, he has a billboard.
Good feedback from all. For what it's worth, our marketing has featured Yao, Steve and Cuttino in major roles, spread out about evenly, with Moochie and Eddie playing roles so far as well. Other players will be brought in throughout the season. The media hype has been predominantly about Yao, which may be why many people think of Yao as the centerpiece of our marketing. The media blitz was inevitable (it's a big story), and we don't resent it one bit. The marketing plus the media hype made for a fantastic opening night, we probably convinced more than a couple people to come out for more games, and we sold a lot of ticket packages that will help put more people in the building. Would we do it differently? Sure, if we got to do things over again, there are always things I think we could've done better. But would we have de-emphasized Yao Ming? Absolutely not. We're in the hero business. He's already a hero to lot of people, and he's only going to get better. Tim P.S. -- Don't forget to buy your tickets for Hakeem's retirement on Saturday vs. Golden State. Tickets have started to move well the last few days.
