When you are in a rebuilding year at a team, you are always looking to find the window to storytell away from the wins and losses, especially when the national spotlight can be somewhat fleeting. Being able to have that ability to not just recognize opportunity, but to also change gears and proactively create windows to reach a broader audience in a moments notice…especially around unique or positive news that can appeal to a casual consumer…is a real skill that sometimes gets lost in the day to day. We get so caught up with the wrote, we miss the opportunity to write new or rewrite the narrative because we are simply trying to get through; and that is how opportunities get missed.
One organization that rarely misses the mark on storytelling that is both genuine and sometimes unconventional is the Detroit Tigers. From the launch of a bullpen car to the world’s largest baseball card to new partner activations, the Tigers always seem to find ways to both create, and insert themselves into unique narratives.
Such is the case with the Rally Goose.
This week, as most know by now a Canada Goose crashed into a video banner at Wednesday night’s game at Comerica Park where the Tigers were playing the Los Angeles Angels, and it was rescued by season subscriber Catherine Roach, who also happens to be a licensed veterinarian. The visual of the goose, being held by Roach and captured by the Tigers during a rain delay, quickly went viral through the large media platforms that normally are looking for MLB content.
However the Tigers saw the opportunity to use this feel good story, with an animal, a season subscriber, and an upswing in team performance to go bigger in proactive storytelling. They created a quick social campaign, pushed it out to interested groups big and small, even found ways to tie in such simple things as game notes to be themed around the incident, and the Rally Goose was born. National media, including Good Morning America, as well as international media have grasped not just the story, but the Rally Goose theme, and a whole new, long term version of storytelling has been launched from Tiger Town.
Now does it help that the young Tigers are playing well? Yes. Does it help that the goose lived? For sure. Did it help that it happened on what may have been a slow news night with not a lot going on? For sure.
However the Tigers still had to not just stitch the story together, but then find new ways to engage with the goose to keep it alive (the story not the goose), vibrant and most importantly, fun.
It may seem easy, but it isn’t always, especially during the rigors of a work-laden homestand.
Congrats Detroit for taking a gander and the goose and seeing the opportunity, one that hopefully will keep flying for quite a while.
