One of the keys to minor league promotion is buzz…buzz leads to ticket sales and family fun, which is key when you are limited on marketing stars, who on the minor league level, are very transient. With that in mind one of the keys in buzz is always “new” or “fresh” or “first” or “record breaking.” The last one, record breaking, is always the most interesting, since it will give fans a sense of history, not to mention giving the team the ability to move more collectables or mementos from the event. World's largest pizza, world's largest pillow fight etc etc…have all come down the pike this year. However, as our friend Ben Hill pointed out recently in his column on the Business of Minor League Baseball, getting the “record” is not always that easy, nor is it always important. Hill studied the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ quest for the world's largest game of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” a fun effort to get fans interested in a between innings promotion, with maybe a little sponsor tie thrown in. Did it matter at the end of the day that there was a challenge issued by the real recordholders in Taiwa. No. Were people excited to be involve. Yes. Did it sell tickets, combined with other promotion. Maybe. Did it generate a little buzz, especially when there was a bit of “controversy” thrown i. Yes. Does it give the Blue Rocks a chance to re-promote and try the assault on the record agai. Yes, especially since everyone loves a comeback. The key points here are that the Blue Rocks found a promotion that was affordable, simple, involved all their fans, generated buzz and was at least semi-attainable. Whether it is a real or contrived “record” is not really the point. The point is they created a quest for a record, and sometimes the involvement in that quest is what gets people juiced and contributes to the fun of the experience.
Some other good reads…the New York Times Rich Sandomir had a good piece on the marketing of Jets QB Matt Sanchez…Ad Age had a look at some ad execs who have come and gone, and where they have gone…and Time Magazine this week has a look at the business of fantasy sports...
