A conversation with Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael McCullough and Creative Director Manuel Fabian about the latest and greatest City Edition uniform launch.
Back in action with Miami Mashup, Vol. 2. What makes this new version so special?
Michael McCullough: The most obvious change between Miami Mashup and Mashup Vol. 2 is the color flip from black to white. This version of Mashup looks so fresh and so clean, clean! Yes, that song popped right into my head the first time I saw the actual uniform in person. Super clean with the Miami wordmark and the number styles literally jumping off the background. All the details seem to pop a bit more on Vol.2 because of the lighter color background.
Talk about the thought process when it came to designing Miami Mashup, Vol. 2.
Manuel Fabian: When thinking through how to approach Mashup Vol. 2, we knew we wanted to carry over all the coolness from the first iteration - that part was simple. The challenge was how to keep the narrative going and we did that by "unlocking" new number styles. Not only did the players choose new numerals, but fans will have the ability to customize both the black AND white version of the jersey with the new "unlocked" numbers.
Explain the importance/coolness of players (and fans) being able to choose their own numeral styles.
MM: The fact that we are “unlocking” four new number styles takes Vol. 2 places where Vol. 1 couldn’t go. The addition of the ViceVersa, Floridians Home, Association and White Hot number styles gave our players more opportunities to express themselves and provides more options for the fans to customize their own version of Miami Mashup Vol. 2. For me, seeing some fans walking around in the “player’s choice” jersey, while others are sporting their own customized creation…that’s the best thing about Mashup…there is no “one right way” to experience this uniform.
What's your favorite hidden gem of the uniform?
MF: Not many people know, but there's a shiny satin strip running down the side of the uniform, in between the gold trim. It celebrates our very first opening night back in 1988. It was a black-tie event and we handed out tuxedo t-shirts. Don Johnson was there. It was so "Miami."
What are you most looking forward to about seeing these on court?
MM: Watching the guys win wearing these fresh new unis! Seriously, though, we haven’t had a new white uniform since we dropped the original Vice back in 2017. We’ve gone all around the color spectrum since then, so it’ll be nice and exciting to see this new uniform take its place on the court.
Talk to fans about how the Miami HEAT changed the game when it comes to jersey releases.
MM: Our thing with these new uniforms is that we recognize that they are opportunities to extend the Miami HEAT brand. Most people focus on the uniform design, which, clearly is the start for it all, but the devil is in the details of the work that goes into supporting the uniform design. The meetings where we’re laying out the campaign and the content to support the launch are these massive strategy sessions, where multitudes of voices in the Marketing Division speak up and take the lead in their respective areas. Seeing how all of our efforts start to mesh into a cohesive, comprehensive campaign designed to get our fans excited about the new uniform and then to see how the fans engage with the content and the retail assortment…that’s the sh*t right there!
What are you looking forward to most about this uniform release?
MF: The uniform itself is badass, but what I'm most excited about is the Mashup universe we've created to support the concept. It's not like anything we've ever done as a brand and I'm proud of the work the creative team did to bring it all to life.
Being the 35th anniversary of the franchise, what are you most excited about with this season overall?
MM: This is my 26th season with the HEAT and what has me most excited about this season is how my group is focused on finding unique and creative ways to get HEAT fans excited about our 35th Anniversary. The way we’re approaching this anniversary season is to, first, remember that many of our fans are young, so they may not have directly experienced some of the early moments of the franchise, and second, we’re focused on intertwining the pop culture from each of the decades of the team’s existence with HEAT history. In some cases, we’ll turn the “nostalgia-meter” waaaay up, in other cases, there may just be a hint of the past tucked in there nicely with some HEAT basketball. Either way, fans can make that emotional connection to their team and our history through the experiences they remember directly or from what they’ve seen and heard from back in the day.