Review by Rick Reardon in KIN 435 (section 2)
The article that I read was a study on the relationship between promotion at baseball games and the attendance at those games. The article was submitted by Robert Aaron Browning. This article took four Ohio River Area baseball teams and study the effects of promotion as it related to attendance for these baseball teams.
Before the author conducted his own research with these teams he presents some research that helps to form a hypothesis for his research later. Early baseball research said that attendance to baseball games could be placed in four categories economics, demographics, game attractiveness, and other factors. However, later there were changes added to it such as, economics, average income and population. Not until recently did people realize that they could control one of the factors which was promotion, or pre-event marketing. The author noted that there had been a positive increase of 14% at games that offered such promotions at games. However, the biggest increase in attendance happened when teams offered bobble-heads, over “Baseball for a Buck” night by the New York Mets, or opening weekend giveaways by the L.A. Dodgers. Many baseball teams can be victim to “water down” promotions by offering too much price promotions (giving discounts on tickets, food, etc). The results concluded that every team had an increase in attendance whenever there was some sort of promotion. Non price promotion was the most successful because this category showed the most increase in attendance in all three organizations.
I was surprised when I read the results. I would have thought that since we are in such a bad economy people would have wanted discounted tickets, or food instead of entertainment promotions. Promotion is a crucial part of the sports industry right now because that is really what gets people to the game. On the whole people aren't really going to games as sport enthusiasts but more of an entertainment for the day. It is important for organizations to look at this data and try to use it to their advantage for attracting fans to the ball park. Honestly as a fan, I get really tired of seeing all the different promotions that just drag the game on. When I go to a game, I go to watch the sport and not to see all the ads, and other different promotions. However, I can see how many people like the promotions, especially if they have kids. If you take a kid to a baseball game it is going to be hard for them to just sit there and watch a game for two to three hours, so promotions kind of give them a change of something to do. I think it is important to use promotions to draw people to the game because thats obviously something thats getting them there, and they have to compete with people sitting at home and watching the game on their TVs.
From the SportsBusiness Journal
Review by Phil Offman in KIN 435
TBS and Fox had no problems this year with selling out their ad space for the MLB postseason series. Fox and Turner Sports (TBS) has sold out their postseason inventory at a rate of more than 10 percent higher than in 2010 for the ALDS, NLDS and the NLCS. The only space left is if any of the series continue to the “if necessary” games where the networks anticipate no problem with selling the remaining space. As in the Postseason and most other major sporting events, the networks say the auto business represents their strongest sponsorship category. Chevrolet is sponsoring the pre and post game shows on Fox. Turner sold a sponsorship package to Audi where they will launch their “Achieving Greatness” theme. Dodge/ Chrysler is sponsoring the “On Deck” pregame show. Other sponsorships that Turner and Fox have given out are Captain Morgan, Allstate, Bank of America, Capital One, Liberty Mutual, State Farm and Travelers.
The NFL Lockout played a major role in Turner Sports and Fox gaining these sponsorships for the Postseason. With the NFL season left uncertain these companies had to make a choice to target the next biggest sporting event. Turner and Fox are making a smart decision with overloading their air space for the MLB Postseason. With teams like the Yankees and Phillies being in the playoffs, the ratings for the games will be up, giving the sponsorship companies a lot more exposure in bigger markets. The networks are planning their strategy around these big market teams going far through the playoffs. This isn’t the greatest way to market because of the chances that those teams do inevitably lose and ratings will surely drop. Both the TV networks hosting the game and the sponsorship companies will stand to mutually benefit from these deals.
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Review by Ria Chionchio in KIN 435
The article we chose was “MLB postseason near ad sellout.” It discusses the use of auto company’s by TV networks to increase sports programming ad sales. According to Neil Mulcahy, executive VP of Fox’s sports sales, the marketplace for postseason baseball is strong. More interests have been sparked in several important categories with the auto business being strongest in demand.
The majority of Fox and Turner’s postseason inventory has sold out at rates more than 10% higher than last year and all the ad time for the first four games of the ALCS and World Series on Fox are sold out. Chevrolet will be the sponsor of Fox’s pregame and postgame show and Fox will also be telecasting the Red Sox-Yankees series if both teams advance to the championship. I think that hosting such a highly anticipated game is a smart move by Fox because both teams have a large, highly supportive fan base and if marketed correctly could generate a lot of revenue for the network as well as their sponsors. The ALDS, NLDS, and NLCS games on TBS have also achieved near sellout levels and are also improving at a quicker pace than last years numbers.
With the abundance of auto sponsors you can be assured to see a lot of car commercials with both Fox and TBS. Fox signed a new sponsorship package with Audi around the “Achieving Greatness” theme. Turner will have Captain Morgan sponsor TBS’s postgame show “Inside the MLB,” and Dodge/Chrysler will be sponsoring the pregame show “On Deck.” Other sponsors include companies in the fast food, financial, electronics, and home improvement categories. Network executives say that almost every MLB postseason achieves sell out ad time on television during the World Series. More time will be added if there is a need for more games and there is usually no problems selling those spaces.
From the Sun Sentinel
Review by Austin Hersh in KIN 332 (Section 1)
When a city has a baseball team that has just finished in the cellar of their division, has a very weak fan base and no clear sight of future success what do you do? Apparently in Miami, Florida, you build a brand new $515 million stadium.
The Florida Marlins have been the joke around the National League since their World Series championship in 2003. Not only due to the lack of talent, and lack of fan base, but to the fact that they were one of two Major League Baseball teams to still play in a football stadium. With ticket sales continuing to decline, the Marlins decided to move out of the stadium they have always called home.
The new facility features a retractable roof, climate control when the roof is closed and many other state of the art upgrades. But even with the new stadium and all of the excitement, the glamour of the ballpark will quickly wear off if there is no production on the field.
Even with opening day sellouts expected, baseball has to be the hardest professional sport to market due to the lengthy season. With promises to increase team payroll to attract fans, the Marlins seem to want to wait last minute to put a winning team on the field. But as the Minnesota Twins learned this season payroll does not win games. Since the inaugural season of the Twins new stadium, the team has gone from a division winning team to last place in the division all while increasing payroll by $97.7million. Money can buy many things, but team chemistry, and fan loyalty are not on that list.
Without the guarantee of the renovated team giving the fans what they want, it then falls on the marketing team to fill the new seats. The article speaks about a 41-game ticket package which includes marquee games against the Red Socks, and Yankees who have some of the most fan loyalty in all of sports.
Team President David Samson has stated, “It is the most important offseason in the history of our franchise.” The newly found hype and excitement about this ball club is something that has been lacking since the teams championship in 2003. The major question marks would also tend to mean that job security could be in question for many, if the Marlins continue their old ways in their new home.
