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Hornets hire marketing guru
Posted: Wednesday April 19, 2000 11:58 PM
CHARLOTTE (AP) -- The Charlotte Hornets have hired a new vice president of marketing, hoping to win back the thousands of fans who no longer attend games at the Charlotte Coliseum. Michael Burch, 32, has worked in NBA front offices for 10 years. And Burch knows what sells in other markets won't necessarily sell in Charlotte, where attendance has dropped to 11th in the league. The Hornets led the league for eight of their 11 seasons. "It comes back to what people want," Burch said. "What was successful in Houston might not be what's right for Charlotte, or in Orlando, or New York for that matter. "People take pride in what they've done, and they don't want to hear that just because it worked somewhere else, that it's right. It's not what I think is right, it's what people tell me." Burch has spent the past six years as the Houston Rockets' senior director of marketing. Before that, he was the Orlando Magic's promotions coordinator. Burch has strong North Carolinas ties: He attended North Carolina and his wife, Kelley, is a Charlotte native. "I'm really not familiar with the market yet," said Burch, who also will work with the WNBA's Charlotte Sting. "But I'm going to come in, learn what the issues are, what the fans think and what their perceptions are. Then we'll address those needs and match those to the needs of the organization." Burch, who replaces Nora Williams, said the Hornets' first priority should be the fans. "We've got to be responsive to the fans," he said. "That's the hallmark of all the organizations I've been with, to put the fans first. I will be more focused on generating that interest in the team, so there's a spark with the fans."
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