The Coyotes Look to Draw Fans with "We Win, You Win" Offer

Are you looking for new ways to bump attendance at home games this season? Are you looking for ways to rejuvenate excitement amongst your fans?

Heading into the 2009-10 season, the Phoenix Coyotes are offering a "We Win, You Win" promotion designed to drive attendance at select games tis season. As part of the team's "Join the pack" season marketing initiative, the Coyotes have designated five (5) home games this season where fans can win a free ticket to a future home game if the team wins.

The Coyotes will be distributing a voucher for a free ticket to an upcoming game to fans attending one (1) of the following five (5) Saturday games. If the team wins, fans can redeem their voucher for a free ticket exclusively at the Jobing.com Box Office.

• Saturday, October 24th vs. Los Angeles Kings
• Saturday, November 14th vs. Dallas Stars
• Saturday, December 5th vs. Ottawa Senators
• Saturday, January 16th vs. Minnesota Wild
• Saturday, February 15th vs. Dallas Stars

The team's 2009-10 marketing efforts are designed to strengthen the relationship between the organization and its fan base after a rocky summer of buyout and relocation talks. It will be interesting to see if Coyotes fans respond favorably to the promotion and whether it is a move that will either generate incremental ticket sales or backfire down the road (e.g. fans waiting for another free offer to attend games vs. taking action and purchasing). Nonetheless, it is a creative way to drive interest in the team and fill the seats at the Jobing.om Arena.

Marquette Uses Social Media to Sell Ticket Plans

Are you looking for new ways to drive interest in partial season ticket plans? Are you looking to create a rewards program for season ticket holders?

Marquette University recently launched an extensive social media ticketing strategy that is cutting edge in the collegiate sports space. The site, www.marquetteminiplans.com, was created to provide fans with extremely affordable mini-plans that offers prize rewards for spreading the word virally with family and friends. The site organizers have developed an impressive scheme to encourage fans to make the site as viral as possible.

How does the site work?

• Fans are asked to create a user name, soak in the excitement of Marquette basketball, and earn prizes for doing so
• The more videos fans watch, the more people they share the site with, and the more tickets they purchase = MORE PRIZES
• Fans receive prize points for a variety of tasks:
  • Signing Up (500 points), Watching a Video (100 Points), Finding a Bonus Video (1000 Points), Passing Along the Site to Friends (2500 Points), Posting the Site on Twitter (2750 Points), Connecting with the Page on Facebook (2750 Points), Submitting a Personal Video (4000 Points), Buy a Mini-Plan (3000 Points), Buy Season Tickets (4000 Points) 
• Just for participating, fans can win a variety of prizes:
  • Commemorative 2003 Final Four Ring (2500 Points), Travis Diener Bobblehead (5000 Points), Fleece Blanket (10,000 Points), Winter Hat (15,000 Points), Mini Backboard and Hoop (20,000 Points), Al McGuire Statue (25,000 Points)

The site offers a ton of information on ticketing plans (in the lower left corner of the screen, in a non-intrusive manner) that enable consumers to explore their options and choose which plans might work best for them (and get rewarded for it).

The site is extremely well done and is a "must-see" for sports business professionals working in all aspects of the industry because it serves as a terrific example of ways to leverage social media to drive your business. Marquette's prize structure (providing fans with points for spreading the site virally and the chance to redeem those points for quality prizes) is a terrific benchmark for brands and sports organizations looking to rewards fans for their call-to-action.

Marquette is leveraging its Twitter page (@MUAthletics) to drive awareness to the page with posts that say, "Watch videos, earn prize points, spread the excitement of #mubb basketball" and "100 reasons to Experience Marquette Basketball. Have fun and let us know what you think".

The Utah Jazz Offer Free Tickets on Twitter...

Are you looking for new ways to drive team buzz online? Are you looking for ways to reward your organization's most avid followers online?

The Utah Jazz recently drove buzz for its '09 preseason home opener against the Denver Nuggets by offering thousands of free tickets to fans who signed up to follow the team on Twitter. On the day of the game, fans that went to the ticket office at Energy Solutions Arena and showed a tweet containing the offer (and proving that they were a follower on Twitter) could receive a free ticket to the game.

Here is a quick breakdown of how the team promoted the offer on Twitter:

Are You Using Sex Appeal to Sell Season Tickets?

Are you looking for new ways to get fans to pick up the phone and order season tickets? Are you looking for new ways to leverage your organization's cheerleaders or dance team?

The Phoenix Suns are currently leveraging the sex appeal of their dance team to drive traffic and interest in season ticket packages. The team prominently features pictures of their dance team wearing headsets (mirroring a practice used by adult hotlines) to drive click-thrus to landing pages that respond to inquiries and provide additional information.

Check out their persuasive messaging tactic below (and click through the image to see the landing page the Suns organization are directing fans to):

Brewers Fans Receive Dollars for Dingers...

Are you looking for new ways to reward fans at the ballpark? Are you looking to create new ticket promotions based on team performance?

This season, the Milwaukee Brewers are running a "Dollars for Dingers" ticket promotion where fans can save $1 off a Loge Outfield ticket (regularly $28) for EACH Brewers home run hit over a 10-day stretch of the season. The promotion offers fans the chance to save a lot of money on their tickets based on the team's performance (if the team hit 28 home runs during the stretch, fans would receive tickets for free).

When the team offered the promotion from June 15 - June 25, the Brewers' power hitters slugged 12 home runs, discounting the price of the $28 loge seats to just $16 ($12 off) during a 2-game July homestand against the St. Louis Cardinals. Earlier this season, the team sold out their Dollars for Dingers ticket inventory in just 30 minutes, demonstrating the strong support the promotion has received.

Look for more teams to showcase discounted tickets based on team performance!

 

The Astros Let Kids Get in Free All Summer...

Are you looking for ways to fill the stadium seats at your ballpark amidst the current economy? Are you looking for ways to make your stadium facility more kid friendly?

In an effort to boost attendance numbers at Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros recently announced that fans will receive two (2) free tickets for kids 14-and-under with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket for games throughout the summer. Fans can capitalize on the offer between June 23 - August 23 by purchasing a ticket in either the mezzanine level ($20), view deck 1 ($15), or view deck 2 ($15)to receive the free kids tickets.

The "Kids Get in Free" promotion is being supported by both the Astros and Minute Maid, who are looking to attract families with budget constraints to the ballpark for some family entertainment. While the move is considered pretty risky, it will be interesting to see if other MLB / MiLB organizations will follow suit as attendance numbers continue to linger.

The Astros are also offering a number of other ticket promotions, including:

• Price Matters Days
  • On select game dates, fans can receive a ticket, hot dog, soda, and chips for only $10
• Double Play Tuesdays
  • POWERade's Double Play Tuesday's let fans purchase two (2) outfield deck tickets for just $2 by bringing in two (2) labels from any two (2) POWERade bottles
• All You Can Eat Thursdays
  • On select game dates, fans can enjoy an all you can eat experience for just $20
• Coca-Cola Value Nights
  • On Coca-Cola Value Nights, fans can receive four (4) mezzanine tickets, four (4) hot dogs, four (4) 20oz Cokes, and two (2) Astros baseball caps for $75 (a $70 savings)

Infineon Drives Ticket Sales with Driver Specials...

Are you looking for new ways to drive attendance and incremental interest in your events? Are you looking for ways to incorporate athletes into business driving initiatives?

Infineon Raceway is currently offering two (2) exciting ticket sales offers for the upcoming Toyota/Save Mart 350 race. Both offers are unique in that they offer fans the chance to capitalize on a discount ticket offer as well as a unique fan-driver experience:

"The 24 Special"

Infineon Raceway representatives are offering 750 fans the chance to purchase a ticket for just $24 when purchasing another at full price ($119) and additionally receive a front-row spot for a Q&A session with Jeff Gordon. Gordon, a Vallejo native who holds the track record for wins at the racetrack, will be hosting the special chalk-talk session for all fans to enjoy at 10:30am on raceday, but only the fans who purchase the "24 Special"will have up-close access.

"The 48 Special"

In April, Infineon Raceway announced the "48 Special", a unique ticket offer that made 480 seats available in Turn 7 for the price of $48.48 (a 50% savings). Fans who purchased the seats, located in rows 4-8, between April 1st and April 15th were treated to an exclusive chalk talksession with Jimmie Johnson on April 16th. Track representatives collaborated with Johnson, a California native and three (3) time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series defending champion, to put the exclusive package together. The promotion attracted fans from as far away as Oregon and sold nearly 1,000 tickets for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 race.

Dodgers Fans Love Mannywood...

Are you looking to create new venue destinations for fans to enjoy? Are you looking for new ways to leverage your team's star players?

The Los Angeles Dodgers recently announced that they are capitalizing on Manny Mania by creating an exclusive section near the left-field foul pole called "Mannywood". The Dodgers turned sections 51 and 53 into Mannywood, a move that is sure to generate incremental revenue for the organization (artificial ticket demand, merchandise sales, media coverage, etc.).

The organization is selling a pair of field box tickets to the exclusive section for $99 - withan extra bonus,free Manny Ramirez t-shirts. The $99 ticket price tag is symbolic of Ramirez's number (#99). The Dodgers celebrated Cinco De Mayo by distributing "Yo estuve en Mannywood" (translation: "I was in Mannywood") t-shirts to all fans seated in the select sections.

How do you know if you are in Mannywood? Just look for the sign:

The Maloofs Hand Deliver Kings Season Tickets

Are you looking for new ways to spur season ticket renewals? Are you looking for ways to make an impact in the local community?

Gavin Maloof, co-owner of the Sacramento Kings, recently teamed up with Kings players and team personnel to hand deliver the Sacramento Kings' 2009-10 season ticket renewal packages. Maloof devised the door-to-door effort as a way to make the season ticket holder experience more personal and further demonstrate the team's loyalty to its fans as it undergoes a rebuilding process.

The Kings season ticket renewal packages feature a new loyalty initiative, price savings, and flexible payment options. The season ticket renewal hand delivery is just one tactic the team feels that it can do to show fans that they truly appreciate their support for the franchise.

"The bottom line is that we've got to get people in the building. We're going to hand-deliver season tickets, make it more personal. We want everyone involved. We're not going to be last (in the standings) forever. We're rebuilding. We should have started that process two years ago, and we realize that now. That's tough on all of us. But we have the draft coming, we'll get a couple new rookies, make some moves. And we'll keep coming up with ideas. We'll get it back." - Gavin Maloof

Check out a clip detailing the Kings' door-to-door delivery and consider new ways that you can consider applying similar practices to your business!

A special thanks to Alex Vitanye, an MBA/MSA student in the Ohio Center for Sports Administration program, for his insights and contributions to this colum.

Source (Quote): The Sacramento Bee

Chivas USA Sells Tickets With Interactive Online Campaign...

Are you looking for a unique way to drive ticket sales? Are you looking to create an engaging online marketing tactic?

Naveed Siddiqui of Pinnacle Athletes recently passed on a tremendous interactive campaign that Chivas USA recently implemented to drive ticket sales. Chivas collaborated with Siddiqui's group at Pinnacle Athletes to create the "Chivas Keys to the Game", an engaging online campaign that mirrors the online viral campaign created by theUniversity of Gonzaga athletics department. Chivas created incremental value out of the campaign by tying in one of its official partners, Frazee Paint.

To partake in the interactive viral piece, users are first asked to provide their name and telephone number (which is essential for the engagement part of the piece but might deter some people from choosing to participate).

Once the user information is submitted,viewers are shown a captivating clip of "keys to the game" which touches on everything from the team's performance to the fans to the ChivaGirls.The clip then leads into a feature where the crew of announcers personally give users a call on their cell phone to pitch them a ticket package - it is definitely worth the time to watch and experience!

From a branding standpoint, the clip serves as a nice brand awareness play for Frazee Paint (although it doesn't do much from a sales driving/product attribute education standpoint). But overall, the feature is terrific and is one of the most captivating campaigns created in the MLS space to date.

For more information on the campaign, please reach out to Alex Gallegos, Director of Marketing for Chivas USA at [email protected].

Check back for more creative campaigns!