SAN DIEGO — From Spider-Man to holograms, marketing, incentives and promotions were heavily discussed last week at Sports Facilities & Franchises 2004. Teams, leagues and venues must find a way to market themselves to attract the casual and/or non sports fan in order to generate revenue, according to speakers at the sessions.
Among the highlights:
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Jim Bloom did not need a live demo of text messaging by wireless marketer txtstation to know what it could mean to the future of sports marketing. “The results are measurable and it’s going to be able to drive promotions,” said Bloom, director of consumer marketing for the Toronto Blue Jays. “It’s money you’d never even imagine.”
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“You have to market your team to all the groups, from the kids to the parents. The baseball purists will follow the game and tell you who is hitting clean-up for their team. I don’t know who bats clean-up for any of our teams.” — Howard Nuchow, president of business operations for Mandalay Baseball Properties, which owns five minor-league baseball teams.
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The exposure of Janet Jackson’s right breast during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show made New Hampshire Fisher Cats president Shawn Smith think about how live entertainment affects his product. “I never realized until then that our (sports franchise) mascots don’t wear pants.” Smith said that will be taken into consideration with the first-year Fisher Cats’ create their mascot.
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Added Nuchow: “It made you sensitive to all your game day material, and it woke up our fans. Things as simple as an appearance by the San Diego Chicken make us nervous.” Nuchow added that fans are also taking more initiative to lodge complaints if they weren’t happy with an in-game promotion.
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Venues are trying to market themselves as a place to go even when a game or concert is not scheduled. Ford Field in Detroit, for example, is open weekdays for walkers, and they can purchase refreshments at the stadium’s concession stands, reported director of operations Chuck Cusick.
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Fleet Center president Richard Krezwick said that about 40% of people buying Boston Bruins playoff tickets this season chose to print them at home. “They don’t want to be bothered by stopping at will call, and they don’t care about having the stub as a pretty little souvenir.”
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Though 60% of Golden State Warriors season ticket holders renewed their plans online at www.warriors.com this season, they don’t want their e-mail boxes cluttered with junk. “One thing we found out about the Internet is you can send too many e-mail blasts,” said Warriors President Robert Rowell. “They don’t want a game-day blast sent if they’re going to be at the game anyway.
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San Francisco Giants COO Larry Baer said that Major League Baseball teams need to take advantage of excess inventory, also known as unused tickets. “We need to do a lot more with our companies and business partners to provide these tickets to underprivileged and low-income families, and to other people who are not getting out to the ballparks.”
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Ernie Hahn, general manager of San Diego Sports Arena, said he sees LED ribbon boards replacing static stadium and arena signage, offering more sponsorship opportunities per event. Steve Violetta, executive VP of the San Diego Padres, proved that point during a game played Wednesday at its new home, PETCO Park, with nine rotational ads on its ribbon boards. “It’s been done in the other sports, where there are periods and quarters, but no one has tried to do this in baseball, where they can be changed every inning.”
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