To accompany this year’s HEAT intro video, we created a series of Blue Note inspired “vintage album covers” to be used as sponsored giveaways for the fans at home games. The artwork will also be used for in-game graphics, on the arena’s new MediaMesh, as well as web graphics and computer & smartphone wallpapers. So kick back in your beanbag, slip on the headphones and take a gaze at the smooth visual stylings of the gallery above.
Art Direction:Manny “Fresh” Fabian Moral Support & All-Around Awesomeness:Tara “Groovy” Graber
For the last 11 years, Southern Brand Collective has helped the Miami HEAT set the standard for intro videos within the sports and entertainment industry - and this year was no exception. It started as a “simple” idea over a brainstorming session with HEAT Executive Marketing VP Michael McCullough (a music aficionado and avid vinyl collector) who wanted to do a “Blue Note” inspired look. It became, as they do every year, the benchmark for the NBA.
After creating mood boards & designing type treatments, we enlisted the help and cred of director Gil Green - known best for his work on videos for artists like Lil Wayne, Usher, Lil Jon, Akon, Rick Ross, Drake, Flo Rida and DMX as well as TV commercials for And 1. The final stylish touches came courtesy of Wade’s own professional stylist Calyann Barnett. The result is a 1-minute intro video that doesn’t just raise the bar - it pushes team intros to a whole new level that has other teams talking and even left the seasoned director with goosebumps. “I think the first time I saw it was opening night against the Knicks,” Green said. “I think that was the first time they used the new Jumbotron with high def. I got chills from watching it. I mean 10,000 to 15,000 fans screaming their heads off is very exciting and something totally new for me.”
The fan and internal reaction was great, so we took the rich, moody Blue Note look and made collectible album covers, wallpapers and merch for HEAT fans to dig. “We like to make our guys seem larger than life,” said HEAT Executive Marketing VP Michael McCullough, “Kind of like rock stars, or in this case, cool jazz icons.”
This idea started with last season’s Something To Prove Campaign and Dwyane speaking directly to the doubters. We wanted to continue that theme because it really resonated - not only with the team but with the fans. The job of this board was to start the conversation again. Get people talking. And smiling. The team proved a lot last season, especially Wade, but the detractors are still there. It’s in D.Wade’s DNA - he’s had doubters his whole career and he’s continually proven them wrong. Really to the point where it’s hard to doubt that man anymore. But Miami is a fickle town so we wanted to drawn a line in the sand. You’re either with the HEAT or you’re not. And we wanted to have some fun with it.
The original plan was to build a 40’ trough behind the bird silhouettes and fill it with bird seed to attract real birds as well. But there were some health safety concerns regarding the clean-up and the billboard company wasn’t comfortable doing that. So we did the next best thing and designed it to look as realistic as possible while exaggerating the size of the birds so they’d be readable from a distance while not being too big and cartoon-like. And it ended up attracting real birds anyway. Obviously HEAT fans.
We applaud the HEAT and specifically Michael McCullough, the CMO for lettin’ us do it. I’m sure it sounded a little crazy when we presented the idea - it’s not often you get to say “we’re gonna put more and more bird sh*t on your advertising” to a client - but he got behind it from the beginning. And it sets the tone for this year’s positioning. Wade played good enough last season to lead the league in scoring. The team played good enough to make the playoffs. Good enough to get people talking. Good enough to prove the doubters wrong…but good enough ain’t enough. Additional outdoor executions as well as TV, radio, print and online will support the campaign.
This season we unveiled the Miami HEAT positioning statement “Good Enough Ain’t Enough” - and that sentiment didn’t just apply on the court. Utilizing our versatile and “local celebrity” Dancers, we evolved the traditional and already highly-sought-after HEAT Dancer poster into a jaw-dropping, full-color, premium magazine.
Shot on-location at The Epic Hotel in downtown Miami, the HEAT Dancer magazine included the annual poster featuring bikini-clad dancers as well as individual shots of each girl in evening wear. This unique and novel approach to the traditional poster not only created an additional revenue stream for the HEAT group but also generated excellent PR and special event opportunities.
Last season, the HEAT played good enough to turn some heads, and break some records. Good enough to have the biggest increase in individual seat sales in the NBA. They played good enough to win 43 games, good enough to make the playoffs, good enough to earn some respect and good enough to get ‘em talking.
But, good enough ain’t enough.
Click the image above to see the presentation boards for the upcoming season.
It’s Playoff time! In an effort to activate the fans and turn the HEAT’s home court into the toughest place in the NBA for opposing teams to play, we are once again calling on the faithful to dress in black and come on out and rock the rafters! Here’s the presentation for this year’s Miami HEAT Playoff campaign.
Here’s the 08-09 Miami HEAT Team Poster (cropped). Based on the look for this year’s team intro film, also created by Southern Brand. Perry Ellis and custom clothier Ike Behar teamed up to outfit the players. Check out the behind the scenes video here.
In 2008, following the season ending injury to superstar, D. Wade and the trade of Shaquille O’Neal, the HEAT limped to their worst finish in franchise history. The fickle South Florida fan base jumped off the bandwagon as fast as they had jumped on. And the question on everyone’s lips was: “why should I care about the HEAT?”
The team needed to re-energize and reconnect with their fan base and give them a reason to believe again and to take an interest. Southern Brand Collective convinced the HEAT to face the problem head-on and positioned the team behind the idea that they had something to prove.
Something To Prove.
In this precarious but hopeful position we launched a unifying, multi-platform campaign that spoke to the human element of “something to prove” in all of us. This messaging resonated not only with the HEAT faithful but it engaged the doubters in a frank and intriguing way. And it ultimately served as a rallying point for the team and the entire HEAT organization – from ticket sales to customer service.
Online we created something2prove.com - a cost-effective, fully-interactive micro-site where HEAT fans as well as doubters could sound off on HEAT happenings, post videos, comments and more. We also created a cohesive radio, TV, print and outdoor campaign that drove to the site and ultimately drove sales. We set the bar for online advertising within the sports industry with an integrated online campaign that focused on highly segmented targeting and retargeting and incorporated animated banners and google ad words to great effect. We utilized twitter, facebook and message boards to reach more HEAT fans and greatly increase the online presence of the team. We created “digital shorts” that were used as rich media ads online and ultimately distributed virally between fans. We also created additional revenue streams for the HEAT organization through custom merchandise and corporate sponsorship opportunities for fan giveaways under the “Something To Prove” umbrella. And we infused the “Something To Prove” messaging into everything from direct marketing to in-game entertainment.
Campaign Results.
The HEAT experienced the largest increase in year over year ticket sales in the NBA. And by integrating all these mediums, we created a unified brand message so powerful that it resonated even after the season ended - and resulted in a 78% Season Ticket renewal rate despite the coinciding economic downturn.
Southern Brand recently created some digital shorts for the Miami HEAT featuring rookies Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers goofing on their “new guy” status and the fact that neither suffers from a lack of self-confidence. The Chalmers spot was a spoof on D. Wade’s Robbins, IL spot for Converse and the OTB spot was just Beasley being Beasley. Originally slated for internet only, the spots ran on HEAT.com and something2prove.com and after audience response, were re-cut to run as :30’s during game broadcasts.
