HOUSTON - The Houston Rockets introduced "We Are Red Nation" as its new marketing campaign for the 2009-10 season during the team's annual Tip-Off Party at Toyota Center this evening.? The new advertising campaign follows last season's highly successful "Get Red" initiative and builds upon the momentum of last year's playoff campaign.?
The citywide marketing campaign officially begins on Sept. 24, featuring a series of advertising billboards with bold statements from Rockets fans declaring what it means to be a passionate member of "Red Nation."? One billboard will declare "Wanted: Fans as Loud as Us" while another will read "Sitting is for the Ride Home."? A third board in the series will include a call to "Join the Movement."
"Last year's 'Get Red' campaign was focused on encouraging our fans to display their passion and get involved in creating a home court advantage for our team at Toyota Center," said Rockets CEO Tad Brown.? "The entire city embraced our franchise and that fan support was a vital part of our on-court success.? Our approach this year with 'We Are Red Nation' is to build off last year's success and encourage an even larger community of fans to display their loyalty and passion for our team."
As part of the Tip-Off event, over 2,000 Rockets season ticket holders were on hand to usher in the unveiling of the first alternate uniform in team history.? Current Rockets players Shane Battier and Luis Scola modeled the new uniforms, which are scheduled to debut for the team's Nov. 6 home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.?
In an effort to tie the team's current look to its storied past, the new uniform features elements which are both new and old.? The familiar "ketchup and mustard" color scheme used during the team's back-to-back championship seasons has returned - along with the name "Houston" on the front of the jerseys.? The font used for the letters and numbers is the same that is used on the current home and away uniforms, which were introduced prior to the 2003-04 season.? Additionally, the team's familiar "R" logo appears on the front collar as well as centered above the player name on the back of the jersey and on both side panels of the game shorts.? The red jersey also features yellow piping that extends all the way to the shorts.?
"We are excited about these new alternate uniforms and we know that our fans will share that enthusiasm every time we wear them," said Brown.? "Mr. Alexander wanted to bring our Championship past together with our very bright future and we think this design is a perfect match for our fans, team and organization."
