I like seeing the little things, because it’s the germination of those little seeds that can have a big impact over time. A few cases in point from the last few days.
I made a trip down to DC overnight this week to see my colleagues at Monumental Sports and Entertainment open their new District E gaming and engagement space. It was a longtime project spearheaded by Zach Leonsis and team, and really helps envision what the gaming and esports space can be with regard to team sports. There was a tremendous amount of bluster, missteps and waste that was thrown at esports in the past few years as “traditional sports” teams kind of lost their minds rushing to engage with a “new demo” of gamers without understanding the culture or what gaming is to those who play casually or as dedicated supporters. They saw thousands show up for isolated events and thought that would be the norm.
Wrong.
How who took the time to listen, to watch, to follow, to talk figured out what the possibilities and what the engagement could be, and District E is the best example so far. State of the art facilities for NBA2K, NHL Gaming and Monumental’s work with Team Liquid. A smaller well designed venue to host events which are being played as much on screen to a global audience than to those who would watch locally, and a cost controlled and well thought out setup to be the leader in a space which frankly, many teams are casting by the wayside because they didn’t take the time to fully understand what engagement looked like. As we have seen before the rush to chase a shiny new toy is often plagues with missteps and false idols. Those who take the time to polish the stone carefully are the one who find the gold, and District E is worth the look of a best case scenario.
“Our goal is to be digitally focused & technology centric as we continue to professionalize & grow esports & gaming. Our other #sportsbiz properties are also learning a lot about the demo & the exciting opportunities ahead.”
That was one.
The second happened on the way back to Union Station on Friday to take the Acela home. I had passed by the Postal Museum hundreds of times and never gave it a second thought. However on Thursday as I was heading to my hotel I noticed banners outside the huge structure proclaiming a baseball exhibit. Hey maybe it’s time to take a few minutes and walk through the free space as opposed to hanging around in Union Station on Friday, which I did.
And I was quite glad to have done so,
First was the exhibition, which was only partially opened that day but was still worthwhile. In addition to traditional memorabilia about the Negro leagues, Latin baseball and the sport in and around DC there were letters…mailed letter…that talked about the impact the sport had had on people big and small over the years. There were commemorative stamps and other artifacts that were not just baseballs and bats, they told the stories of people who took the time to write, t draw, to enclose heartfelt notes to others. It was a great reminder of how those little personal encounters have gotten lost in the digital space. Yes we can love our email, our AI, our Chatbots, our social posts, but the handwritten, mailed notes, like ticket stubs, are tangible keepsakes we can treasure.
But that wasn’t just the baseball stuff which made the Postal Museum an amazing stop. In addition to all the history and the stamps and the memorabilia was a table, surrounded by five or six people of all ages. On that table were boxes of random cancelled stamps from various years. Anyone, for free, could go through the boxes and pick as many of six stamps at random as keepsakes. For free. Some people were there looking for artwork, some for a school project, some for a collage they were making, some just passing the time, others had kids there who may be interested in stamp collecting or history. And they all shared and talked while a staffer answered questions.
I took six,,,Brooklyn Bridge, Superman, a baseball and some others…all of which in just a few minutes had some meaning to me. The staffer said they had thousands, millions, of stamps that would go unused, and someone came up with the idea of throwing them in boxes to let people have them because every one had a story.
A simple, smart, fun idea brought along by listening and thinking. What a wonderful takeaway for kids of all ages.
Then there was Saturday and Amazin Day, a full ay of activities in and around nNew York that the Mets put together to help promote the upcoming season, not in massive engagement but in smart, little ways to expand fandom. The team unveiled library cards, opened pop up stores, encouraged people to share and wear gear on social, hosted some clinics and tied to special events in music and art and comedy, using mascots and alums to raise the focus as we head into opening week. It wasn’t extravagant (it was a rainy and miserable Saturday unfortunately) but it was another nice, somewhat subtle, way to engage, remind and provide value to those who support the team and have choices on how and where to spend their dollars.
So there you have it, from esports to stamps, fandom to branding, three examples of doing little things for both a core and casual audiences which on the surface may get lost in a busy mix, but are solid spring seeds planted to grow for the future.
Onward!
