Selling point

Baseball trying to hook fans with targeted marketing

It's hard selling a ticket to a baseball game nowadays. There's lots of competition for the -- as they say -- consumer entertainment dollar. As it is, there aren't all that many dollars floating around anyway because the economy is so far down the toilet.

It's rainy and cold in a lot of the country, too, so people would rather stay indoors. Kids are still in school, so there's no money there to be had, either. It's tough to sell out a stadium, anywhere. Check out the major league attendance figures. They're not pretty.

So, all over baseball, in the minors and in the big leagues, teams are pulling out all the stops. They have to. When you have millions to pay in salaries, every ticket you can sell counts.

"We try lots of different things. We're pretty forward thinking, kind of wild at heart," says Scott Brubaker, the senior vice president of marketing and sales for the Arizona Diamondbacks. "We've put the freaking pool out there."

The Diamondbacks, like just about every other professional baseball team, have their fair share of promotions. Outside of the swimming pool, which brings in a cool $1.4 million a year, the Diamondbacks do regular giveaways. Bobbleheads (or their equivalent), batting gloves and sunscreen are just some of the things the Diamondbacks have given away just this month.

American League Attendance Team Home Games Home Road Anaheim 22 805,643 559,495 Baltimore 22 577,910 348,636 Boston 23 738,508 528,672 Chicago 24 398,881 475,489 Cleveland 23 446,232 510,387 Detroit 20 291,397 464,118 Kansas City 20 404,784 456,234 Minnesota 23 497,925 433,829 New York 21 771,281 837,516 Oakland 22 503,625 565,647 Seattle 23 826,693 541,270 Tampa Bay 22 269,231 505,921 Texas 23 603,794 669,406 Toronto 21 416,888 656,172 Note: Numbers through games of May 20.

And the Diamondbacks, too, do something few other major league teams do. Before every evening home game, just after the D'backs finish their batting practice, a handful of players fan out down the lines of the stadium to mingle with the fans and sign a few autographs for 10 minutes or so.

It's a simple thing. But it's worked to strengthen the bond between player and fan. And, let's face it, that bond has become pretty strained over the years.

"One area that has kind of continually jumped out at us," says Brubaker, "is the desire [of fans] to have more player interaction."

What fans want is always on marketers' minds. Cheaper tickets are always a good draw. The Toronto Blue Jays, faced with a possible nightmarish situation with the SARS scare, sold a bunch of tickets for $1 apiece on April 29. The game sold out in a matter of hours. The Jays still offer some $2 tickets.

In Kansas City, ticket holders get a dozen donuts every time the Royals get more than a dozen hits. The Milwaukee Brewers, for certain Wednesday home games, are offering free 15-minute massages for their paying public.

"You should always be marketing your game," says Brubaker. "We're a marketing company, first and foremost. This is entertainment. Baseball is our product."

The Boston Red Sox built a pavilion to put seats above the famed Green Monster in left field at Fenway Park and they've been a huge success. They've also sold advertisements on the Monster itself, something they did years ago.

National League Attendance Team Home Games Home Road Arizona 25 825,377 546,268 Atlanta 22 526,790 547,035 Chicago 21 709,120 736,366 Cincinnati 23 595,603 567,422 Colorado 22 624,124 528,616 Florida 21 287,565 587,431 Houston 23 606,177 462,396 Los Angeles 23 815,250 564,832 Milwaukee 25 416,817 570,993 Montreal 23 275,607 626,029 New York 22 585,146 523,002 Philadelphia 22 471,240 595,115 Pittsburgh 22 379,370 695,138 San Diego 23 561,816 580,664 San Francisco 22 849,494 674,048 St. Louis 21 768,781 492,922 Note: Numbers through games of May 20.

Whatever fans want is the mantra. Whatever brings them in.

But Major League Baseball still has a ways to go to beat the minors in the promotions game. The Daytona Cubs offer lifetime season tickets to anyone who forks over $100 to get a tattoo of the team's logo.

The Hagerstown Suns are giving away an all-expenses paid pre-planned funeral to a lucky fan. This weekend, the Chattanooga Lookouts will have their annual Used Car Night, where the team gives away pre-owned vehicles -- some of them not so nice -- throughout the game.

It's worked in the minors. Attendance in April for the 11 full-season leagues in minor league ball was 5.7 million, the highest in the 102-year history of the organization, according to Minor League Baseball. That 5.7 million represents an increase of 5.3 percent per playing date from last season.

The majors don't have it nearly as good. Attendance in the major leagues was down some 6 percent last season. In the first few weeks of this season, it was down an additional 4.8 percent. In the first five weeks of this season, attendance was down for 21 of the 30 major league teams.

Team executives are banking on that improving. Once the weather improves, once kids get out of school, once the fans' attention begins to turn to the national pastime, baseball is hoping that people will start to come out to the ballpark again.

If not, get ready to get wooed by your nearest major league team.

They need your money.

John Donovan is a senior writer for SI.com.

Comments? To e-mail Donovan, click here.

 

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