The Toronto Raptors teased fans with a short video Monday that promised the club would “unleash” its past. It quickly circulated on social media.
The team followed through Tuesday, unveiling a pair of alternate uniforms for the 2016-2017 season.
One is a replica of the uniforms the Toronto Huskies wore during the NBA’s inaugural season, and celebrates that squad’s 70th anniversary, while the second commemorates the Chinese New Year.
The new additions bring the Raptors’ roster uniform options to six: white for home games, red for the road, black for the road, OVO-inspired gold-trimmed home jerseys and the two uniforms made public Tuesday.
In introducing two new options into the rotation, Raptors officials say they’re aware of the balance they have to establish. While they’re cognizant of the brand equity that accompanies a uniform that never changes (such as Yankee pinstripes), they also see periodic updates as a chance to re-engage fans.
“I don’t think there’ll be an issue on recognizing what’s a Raptors jersey,” says Dave Freeman, MLSE’s head of brand marketing. “We’re continually giving our fans something new, something exciting. They’ve responded to us that they like that.”
The last time the Raptors wore an alternate Huskies jersey was in the 2009-10 season, during DeMar DeRozan’s rookie year.
The club plans to wear the Huskies jerseys for six home games next season, but Freeman says deciding which six is an ongoing process that depends on several factors, including Drake’s tour schedule. If the Toronto-born hip-hop star and Raptors Global Ambassador is in town the club is more likely to wear its OVO-themed uniforms, Freeman says.
Either way the Huskies jerseys hit retail in early October, while the Chinese New Year gear will appear in stores mid-January.
Sports marketing consultant Sunny Pathak says six jersey options are a lot for fans to keep track of, but doesn’t think variety dilutes the impact of the Raptors uniform.
“If you’re a fan and you’re going to pick a jersey, you’re probably going to default to the Drake 6 Cory Joseph,” said Pathak, president of NewPath Sports and Entertainment. “But the way that they market the Raptors, they will not have an issue selling jerseys across the board.”
The new jerseys make the Raptors the fourth NBA team to commemorate Chinese New Year via their uniforms, following Golden State, Washington and Houston, where Chinese star Yao Ming spent his career.
Freeman points out that the Raptors collaborated with NBA China to design the jersey, helping create a design whose colour scheme and characters would resonate with local fans of Chinese descent.
For a club that has marketed openly to the Chinese community, the New Year jerseys were a natural next step.
“We’re always trying to figure out: How does the Raptors brand connect with all these different people from different parts of the world?” Freeman said. “With the makeup of our city, we thought it was a no-brainer for us.”
Freeman says the Raptors will wear the jerseys two or three times leading up to Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan. 28 next year.