The Sports Grim Reaper Coming?

In today’s Wall Street Journal there is an article by Jonathan V Last on the state of major league sports.  In his piece he writes about how this current recession may be affecting professional sports. He points out that the state of our economy has already taken its toll on some sports franchises including the WNBA shedding a big city team, the LPGA cutting its tour by three stops, and the Arena Football League canceling its 2009 season.  The question he poses is what will happen to the “big” guys (MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL)?  I don’t think anybody believes they will go out of business but they may be due for a “correction”.

 

 The article points out that MLB did take a hit during the Depression.  Attendance dropped 40% and did not get back to normal until after WWII.  During that time player salaries dropped but no team folded.  I do see some fall-out from the economy on major league sports.  If teams don’t take a look at ticket prices, they will see a drop in attendance. 

 

The article points to the recent surge in HDTV’s.  The quality is so good that the fan may just stay home and watch instead.  Any of us that have been to a live game knows nothing beats the live experience.  I would rather see it live and person then watch on TV anytime.  But if I can’t afford to go well, that’s where my big screen TV comes in.  The article also points out that we are already seeing the decline.  Some NFL teams had trouble selling playoff tickets even with the “so called decrease” in playoff ticket prices.  My friends who have NFL season tickets laughed at that one.  Even one of this weekend’s Super Bowl teams the Arizona Cardinals had trouble selling its first playoff game this year.  The NBA teams that are at the bottom of the current rankings are feeling the pinch now at the box office. 

 

Everyone involved in professional sports needs to take a look at the bottom line.  This goes for the owners, players, agents, unions, and even sales/marketing people.  No one including your fans is in the mood to pay “huge” money right now.  This may not be an issue with the winning teams that are selling out the venue.  There can only be a few winners in a league and the rest will suffer.  Do you think that is healthy?  There is a new wind blowing through our venues.  You don’t want it to turn into a dust storm do you? 

 

 

I am in Los Angeles this weekend attending the marketing meeting for Thomas & Friends Live on Stage.  I am sure I will leave L.A. with lots to blog about. 

 

Have a great weekend!

A Social Follow-up

I am getting a lot of feedback from my post the other day on the live event & entertainment business not taking advantage of the social network sites. 

This discussion reminds me of when websites were new.  I remember people saying “they’re too much work”, “costs too much”, “no one looks at them”, and “how would I promote it”.  Do you remember saying that?  Are you laughing?  And when you did have a website you were “in”.  Can you believe this was only a few short years ago? I can see how some people might have a phobia of technology.  When you don’t understand something you get nervous (especially in our business).  The good news about social network marketing is the technology is already done.  You just use it and it’s easy.  If you still feel intimidated you can hire people to help you like my friends at Carbonhouse http://www.carbonhouse.com/. They are specializing in getting venues up to speed with their online marketing for the  21^st century.

Facebook is currently the biggest and most popular.  As a company you cannot “friend” people.  You need to be an individual to do that.  But you can start a group, event, or page.  For example the Barack Obama page has 4,756,000 supporters on his page.  Even the local NBC station here in my town has 4,300 fans.  Once you are in and have “fans” you can list events.  For example if you are a venue you could list upcoming shows.  Remember, these are people that joined you on Facebook.  They are interested in you!  Make them stay interested.  Do an social site promotion.  Get your fans engaged.

One of the responses I received mentioned Linkedin.  This is a very good business to business social site.  It is great for business networking.  All of us in the business world (employed or unemployed) want to stay connected and network.  This is the place to do it.  It is not the place to promote a show unless your event or show makes sense to a Linkedin group. If you are marketing a business trade show or event then this might be a very good place to promote it.

One reader mentioned that bands really helped jump start MySpace.  She is right they did.  While the artists understand the social scene it does not always translate to the business side.  Musicians and record labels have been using this format to promote bands.  But my issue is with live touring in general.  I did a fast search of venues.  Most venues still don’t have a presence on Facebook, MySpace or even Twitter.  Live event tours and sports teams need to have a presence on the social sites.  Your fans are talking about you on the sites.  Don’t you want to be part of the conversation?

 

SuperBowl Ads Are Part Of The Digital World

My lovely research assistant handed me an article in today’s Wall Street Journal on how this year’s Super Bowl commercials are going digital.

This year’s Super Bowl ads are going to be very interactive.  I already mentioned in the past the 3D glasses promotion for the end of the 2nd quarter.  I found the glasses yesterday at one of my local supermarkets.  I had to go to two different grocery stores to find them.  When I found the store that had them, I had to ask where they were.  They were in a display that was not set up correctly and not near Pepsi or SoBe products (the sponsor).  The best part of this story was the store employee telling me to look near the front of the store near the “Coke” display.  Don’t you hate it when you can’t control the distribution or the intent of the promotion?

The WSJ article gave some cool examples for this year’s ads.  In Canada, Labatt’s beer (part of the Bud family) is giving viewers an opportunity to see a longer version of an ad by using their clicker.  When they push a certain button, they can go to another channel to either watch the longer version of the spot or bookmark it to watch later.  Of course all the “good” Super Bowl spots can be found on YouTube as soon as they are aired.  Castrol motor oil has bought online ads that will pop up after the game to searchers who “Google” the ad or brand.  SoBe Lifewater is running original music in its spots.  I guess they believe viewers will like the music so much that SoBe will offer it on iTunes. Careerbuilder is back on the Super Bowl this year.  They are running a TV spot with the website www.anonymoustipgiver.com.  At this site you can send co-workers anonymous messages.  Nice, just what we need when everyone is afraid of losing their jobs. We can diss our co-workers too.

Mobile Ticketing Shout Out

I saw an article in Mobile Marketer on my fellow Twitter follower TicketBiscuit.  They are now offering ticket selling solutions via mobile.  Why is it that smaller ticket solution guys can get this technology out to its customers but the big guys can’t?  http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/commerce/2535.html

Yes, I am finding some of my content through Twitter.  Do you post your stuff on it yet? If you don’t, why?

 

We Are Not Very Social

I cannot believe that the live event and entertainment industry is still not all over the social network sites.  What do I have to do to convince you that you need to be there?  Every venue, show, and event needs to be on these sites.  When I do find our industry on these sites, they don’t have many members which means they are not promoting.  Every one of you needs to be at least on Facebook.  It is currently the number one social site.

 

Is it money?  They are no costs to join them.  Is it time and labor?  How much time and labor do you put into your other marketing efforts?  This is part of the effort.  I actually heard of one PR person saying that it takes too much time and that they would have to hire someone to handle the social sites.   Handling the social sites is just part of your overall marketing and/or PR campaign.  It is what you do for a living.  Depending on the situation, you may be able to share the responsibility with others in the department.  If you believe that web 2.0 is now a vital part of marketing then maybe you should hire someone to handle it. 

 

My issue is how very few in the industry are still not doing it.  If every venue and sports team has a website then why are they not on a social site?  They work hand-in-hand. 

 

John Grisham was on Today this morning.  He talked about how he now has a Facebook page.  He promoted his Facebook page on national TV. He doesn’t understand or use it himself but his publishers created one for him and will maintain it for him.  The reason for his Facebook inclusion is to sell more books.  Don’t you want to sell more tickets?

 

 

No one likes hear B.S.

 

I am sure you heard about Ty (makers of beanie babies) selling new Sasha and Malia dolls.  You may think this is a good marketing decision or you may not. It did create a buzz!  My really big issue is with the statement that Ty released in response to the criticism on the marketing of the dolls.  They actually claimed that the names of the dolls were a “coincidence”. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  How stupid do they think people are?  Who ever at that company made that statement should be fired.  Who ever runs the PR for them should fired.  They both should be fired for being idiots.  If you ever have a product and you find negative issues with it, don’t be an idiot.  If you believe in your product and want to “stick up” for it, that’s fine.  But don’t insult everyone’s intelligence with BS lies.

 

 

Are you ready for the Super 3-D?

 

Has everyone picked up their 3-D glasses yet for the Super Bowl?  NBC has been running lots of promo spots promoting the glasses but not where to get them.  I have not seen one display for them yet.  What a cluster f*** that would be if everyone doesn’t have an opportunity to get them.  I am making it a mission today to find them.  I will let you know how I make out.

 

Weekend Of Working & Sipping Wine, Life Is Good!

So I spent my weekend at the Boston Wine Expo.  Now that’s a trade show!  I grew up in the trade show business and understand everything that goes on.  So when I go to one it always seems like work.  I am so entrenched in the event business that most shows and events feel like this.  I bet many of you feel the same way.    But not this time, I enjoyed working and hanging at the wine expo.

The show is an annual event here in Boston.  It is one of the big wine expos like the NY wine expo which opens this week.  The Boston event was both Saturday and Sunday.  It included the main floor with hundreds of wineries offering free tastings.  The cost of the event is not cheap.  A full price ticket is $85 per day.  They did offer a two day combo price.  I bet there were a lot of free tickets out there too. 

The cue line to enter the event was very smooth and orderly.  They used lots of space and stairs to break up the crowds entering.  When we first got in the line on Saturday my first thought was “oh great how long is this line”?  But I was very happy to see it move quickly.  On your way in you pick up your real wine glass.  Wow a place that gives thousands of people real glass.  Then you go down a set of stairs, they take your ticket and you are in.  That’s it.   I guess only a wine fest can give thousands of people a glass, unlimited alcohol, and everyone stays calm and civilized. 

One of the most interesting observations was the age of the crowd.  The majority were 20 and 30 something’s.  This just tells you where our society is in the drinking of alcohol.  When the recession first hit, I thought beer sales would go up because of price vs. other adult beverages.  However, the latest sales reports show the opposite. 

I was at the expo for two reasons: (here comes the shameless plug) I am working on a project to help market and sell the Gary Vaynerchuk Thunder Cruise http://www.garyvthundercruise.com/.  This is a seven day wine cruise featuring Gary.  If you are looking for a cruise and you like to drink wine, this would be the right place.   

Based on the demo of the wine expo, Gary really has the right marketing brand.  He is today’s wine drinker.  He is 30 something, drinks wine everyday, owns one of the most successful independent wine retail stores in the country and his daily video blog gets 90,000 hits a day http://tv.winelibrary.com. What started as a true mom & pop store is now a $50 million plus business. 

Gary was the keynote speaker at the expo.  He ran two blind wine tasting seminars that expo patrons could buy tickets for.  His talks are “real”.  No typical wine snub stuff here.  Where can you go to a wine tasting and the speaker asks if you smell a “sheep’s butt” in the wine?

The other reason I went to the expo was to try wine. Thank God for the spit buckets.  If I drank every wine I tried, they would have to carry me out of the expo.  I am blown away that I didn’t see any really drunk people.  That is impressive!

 It will be a long time before I buy another bottle of the “big brand name” wine.  There are so many different wines out there at really low prices.  No, you don’t have to drink “2 buck chuck”.  You can drink “great” wine for $12.  Gary pointed out in his seminar that when you pay big bucks for a wine, you are paying for the brand.  All of us in marketing can understand this.  This is part of what is getting our shows and events ticket sales in trouble during this rough time.

This event got me thinking.  If you are looking to create events, you might want to look at more of these lifestyle type shows.  The key is to stay ahead of the trends and have your event ready to go when the trend is peaking.  I will keep my eyes open for this stuff and let you know.  My guess is that some kind of big web 2.0 show might be it.  Now I have to figure out what and how.

 

A Few Fun Things

Don’t be blue its fun

I saw a very cool news story this morning on the Today Show.  The Blue Man Group has opened a private elementary school in New York for kids.  They take all the fun, amazing, and silly stuff they do at their shows and turned it into a real school curriculum.  This is an example of a live show or event taking brand marketing to the next level.  Not only is this good PR for the show but it makes the Blue Man Group brand part of the community. Here is the video link http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/18424824#28811117

Does it come with a donut factory?

I love PR and promotions that take it right to the people.  Dunkin Donuts did this very thing this morning here in Boston.  They are giving away 10,000 “Charlie Cards” with one way fares on them.  The Charlie Card is what MBTA subway riders use in Boston (Do you remember the song “Charlie on the MTA”?).  They decided to take a page from “Willy Wonka” and had Peter Ostrum, who played “Charlie” help with the giveaway.  Yes, one lucky person is going to get a golden ticket.  That ticket will be good for a year’s supply of DD coffee and unlimited rides on the T.  I like this event because its fun, promotes the brand, and gets media coverage.  The local NBC station was showing footage of the PR event by 7:30 AM this morning.  Just the perfect time when people are thinking coffee and commute.  I am also happy to see the MBTA doing a little marketing tie-in.  With ridership up on public transportation, this might be a good time to look at doing public transportation promotions to your venue or event.

Wine is good for you

I am headed to the Boston Wine Expo this weekend.  I plan to take lots of notes and blog about it on Monday.  While I am there I plan to drink wine (of course) and help market the wine cruise featuring Gary Vaynerchuk http://tv.winelibrary.com/gary-vaynerchuks-thunder-cruise/.  I am looking for sponsors and wine drinkers that want to go on a really fun cruise with lots of free wine.  Are you one?

Have a great weekend!

 

Deals, Deals, Everywhere A Deal

Everywhere I look I see deals.  20% off, 30% off %, 50% off etc…  Who pays full price anymore?  This is not just in the retail world but in the event and entertainment business too. 

Ringling Bros. is offering a deal for the family.  Four tickets for $40.00.  My friend Doak Turner (Nashville’s song writing guru) http://www.nashvillemuse.com sent me the tip.  The 4 for $40 deal is good for this Sunday’s two performances at the Sommet Center.  It is good on the $24, $18, & $13 tickets.  You can only get this deal via ticketmaster.com when you type in the keyword “FAMILY”.

How about the free ticket deal I mentioned a few weeks ago in Miami!

I’ll have a dog with that ticket

Eight Major League Baseball teams are using “loaded tickets”.  This deal I love!  Your ticket can also have money credit stored for concessions and merchandise.  This will only help revenues.  I don’t see a downside.  If the customer doesn’t spend the credit, the team still has the cash.  I wonder if Jeff Cogan was behind this package?

What the fee?

Ticketmaster is supposedly lowering its fees for 2009 to compete with Live Nation’s new ticketing system.  Have they started this yet?  Back in November they said they might even drop the fee on “TicketsFast”.  This is the print at home delivery method.  Someone tell me if I am wrong but they are still charging $2.00 to print your own tickets, right?  

Start off right

My big marketing question of the day is:  If everyone just re-did the pricing to a level that the consumer could live with, would we need deals?  Are promoters and shows thinking “let’s just put the show on sale at our normal (high) price and see what happens?  We can always create a deal later”.  This is bad for our business.  1) Don’t you want the “on-sale” to do well right out of the box?  2) If the customer get used to discounts all the time will they wait for them?   3) What do all these added discounts say about the product?

As we all go forward let’s take a hard look at prices of the events.  If the show or event has not gone on sale yet, look at your prices.  Are they at the price that your patron will buy?  Create packages that show a “good value” for the customer before you go on sale.  If you start the campaign on the right note, it will be much easier to raise prices when the economy gets back on track.

 

What Group Are You In?

We all belong to a group.  Think about it.  We really do.  No matter what you do there is a group imbedded in it.  If you work, the office and/or company are a group.  If you go to school, you belong to a school or college group.  If you are retired, you most likely belong to AARP.  If you belong to a health club, that is a group too. Social network sites are filled with groups and we all seem to belong to at least one.  Are you a member of AAA?  They are a big group and are known for offering members a discount. 

If everyone is in a group, then why don’t group sales rule the roost in the world of ticket sales and marketing?  Group sales accounts for no more then 30% on the high end and usually runs around 15% to 20%.

No matter what type of show, event, or sports team you work with there are all types of groups that belong to you.  Let’s look at some examples:

If you are a family show who are your demographics?  Well the two biggies are moms and kids.  Moms belong to all kinds of groups.  They belong to playgroups, neighborhood groups, PTA’s, and online social groups.  But what about moms that work?  Could you offer a group discount to moms @ work?  Why not go to HR managers at companies and offer a “Family Night”?  Kids belong to groups too.  They belong to youth groups, sports teams, dance groups, music and theater groups, and even toy clubs like American Girl Doll.  Families belong to church groups, country clubs, etc…

If you are a sports team you have lots of groups to market to also.  The youth sports teams that belong to your sport are the “lowest hanging fruit”.  Group sales departments should be all over this.  My kids belong to sports teams and we barely see any group opportunities come through.  This should not be selective.  Every single youth sports team needs to be offered at least one group outing (if not more) every season.  As I have stated in the past, these kids are your future ticket buyers.  They want to love and follow your team. Make it accessible to them. Don’t wait for them to call you.

If your show involves seniors, you have tons of opportunities.  You have retirement clubs, retirement communities, senior centers, bus companies, doctor’s offices, churches, fraternal groups, etc…  Have you ever thought of selling group tickets to pharmaceutical reps?  They could organize a group outing for patients and doctors.  They may even have the money to pay for the group.

With our economy out of whack, groups should be even more important today.  Customers are always looking for deal.  Groups can offer that.  People like to hang with other people they know.  Groups do this.  Groups fill up lots of empty seats. Isn’t that why we are in this business?

The point I am making is that group sales needs to step to the plate.  The days of just sending out a mailer to a list that is used over & over is not enough.  I am not dissing the group sales person, I am speaking to management.    If you sell for multiple events a year, a group sales department of one or two people is not going to cut it.  You need people on the streets and in the office. You need to give them the resources.

Start the new group thinking today.  Make a list of what types of groups will come to your event.  But even before you start that list write down every group you belong to.  You may be surprised.

 

Today Is Our Biggest Marketing Event

Today is the biggest event in this country in a long time. First and foremost we are bringing in a new President which is always a big deal for the entire world.  The world has looked with open eyes at this day since George Washington was inaugurated.  But today is even more important because of where we are as a country. This is our marketing event.

Yesterday, there was a debate going around on Twitter about the size and expense of this inauguration.  The question was: with the state of our economy should we have a really big celebration?  Should it have been toned down?  I say “NO WAY”!  This is exactly what this country needs right now.  Today we can take a break from all the pain this country is going through and look to the future.  “Sometimes you just need a party”.  As I have mentioned several times, all of us in the event and entertainment business are “the escape”.  This event is the one day escape for the United States.

Look at the money being spent on this day. It has been good for the economy.  People are spending money on today like a holiday.  Look at the merchandise.  T-shirts are being sold like a rock concert or a sports team championship.  People are spending money on home parties and dinners. Every train, plane, and bus is full heading to D.C. 

My 11 year old daughter told me this fact:  Today’s inauguration is the largest port-a-john event in history (can you tell she is my daughter?).  She did not make this fact up.  She read about a port-a-john business that had a “really bad year” due to the economy.  This one event today pulled them out and already made their year. 

No matter who you voted for back in November, you need to be supportive of today’s event. Today is a chance for this country to put on a promotional event to market the United States not only to its citizens but to the world.

 

Weekend Marketing Notes

Example of being marketing current

I saw a good example of show marketing that uses this country’s biggest current event.  The newspaper ad headline for the stage show The Color Purple in yesterday’s Boston Globe reads: “Celebrate Hope”.  This of course is part of the Obama campaign theme.  I think this is great!  Don’t be surprised if you see more “Obama” themed marketing in the very near future. 

I have an idea.  Are you looking for an event that is timely?  What about a show that promotes public service, social action, and charity.  There are a million non-profits that would be into this. If this event is done right, it could be huge. I see this as a festival type event.  Maybe I will create and promote this event.  Anybody want to help?

Twitter is marketing

I found out how quickly you can get “followers” on Twitter.  As you add followers that have a lot of followers you start gaining more right away (snowball effect).  As they started coming in I thought “who are these people”?  But that is what Twitter is all about.  This is what “spreading the word” is all about.  If you are a show, venue, event, or any other brand you need to be on Twitter.  Some people think this a lot a work.  It can be, but it doesn’t have to be.  As I mentioned last week you can just keep it up on your desk top while you are working on something else.  Take a quick break and check it.  It won’t take long and you are still working.  You are not goofing off.  This is PR!  Just be careful not to over do it.  I get annoyed by people who “over tweet”.

I entered a contest with the Twitter follower “globeevents” which is part the Boston Globe’s marketing department.  They are involved in few events coming to Boston including the Wine Expo and the Travel Show.  They do quick and easy contests to give away tickets for these events.  It reminds me of radio ticket giveaways.  We had a really deep freeze here in Boston last week so globeevents did a contest guessing what the temperature would be at 3:00 PM that day. The winner received two tickets to the Travel Show.  Entries had to be in by noon that day.  I put on my “weatherman” hat, took a guess and won (I should have been a weatherman).

Will it be a big game?

I bet the NFL and NBC gurus are letting out a sigh of relief that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to the Super Bowl.  I am not dissing the Ravens or the Cardinals but this game is all about ratings.  If you don’t have a team that has lots of fans all over the country then you have a ratings issue.  The Steelers are one of those teams with broad fan support.

Event & Arena Marketing Conference

The 2009 Event & Arena Marketing Conference is going to Colorado Springs June 10^th – 13^th.  Registration has now started.  Even a seasoned marketing guy like me got a lot out of last years conference.  Check it out at: www.eventarenamarketing.com.