New HEAT Uniforms Ignite Social Media Chatter

MIAMI, January 24th - The Miami HEAT announced today that last week’s unveiling of both the Back In Black and the 2012 Miami Floridians uniforms ignited chatter across the social media world with impressions for both initiatives totaling 30,021,121 according to data collected by tweetreach.

Back In Black
As part of a larger league-wide cultural uniform initiative, the HEAT unveiled the Back In Black uniforms during the nationally televised marquee match up against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 19. The HEAT began the conversation using the hashtag #BackInBlack. A total of 15,641 tweets were sent referencing the new black uniform—the largest number of tweets to date which include the mention of a HEAT initiative. Those tweets reached a total of 4,557,997 different people, with total impressions reaching 16,981,934. In fact, during the game, Back In Black was trending worldwide.

Notable Twitter users who tweeted about the Back In Black jersey include Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, CNBC’s Darren Rovell and Filipino Sportscaster TJ Manotoc.

2012 Miami Floridians
During last weekend’s back-to-back contests versus the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks, the HEAT celebrated “NBA Hardwood Classics Nights” by paying tribute to the American Basketball Association’s (ABA) 1971-72 Miami Floridians. During these 1970’s retro-themed games, the team wore a “white hot” version of the Floridians throwback uniforms featuring distinctive magenta and orange vertical stripes. A total of 5,359 tweets were sent mentioning the Floridians uniforms, which was driven by the team’s introduction of the hashtag #Floridians. Those tweets reached a total of 5,812,689 different people, with total impressions reaching 13,039,187.

The HEAT was recently awarded first place in social media growth by the NBA during their 2012 NBA Sales and Marketing meetings hosted in Brooklyn. Under the leadership of Jennifer Tobias, Director of Interactive Marketing and New Media, the team’s social media fan base has increased 500% in just 12 months.

The Miami HEAT is proud to have ASSIST-CARD as the Presenting Sponsor for the 2011-12 season.