Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Group?

This is the story of my adventure on the other side of group sales.  I was the group leader trying to book lunch for a group of kids.

Over the holiday weekend my daughter’s pee wee hockey team was in a tournament near Patriot Place.  For those outside the Boston market, this is the New England Patriots version of City Walk or Downtown Disney.  At Patriot Place they have shops, entertainment venues, and restaurants.  We all agreed this would be a great place for the kids to have lunch after their game.

The kids wanted to go to Red Robin for burgers. So a week before the event I called them.  The date of our event happened to be Black Friday.  They informed me they could not book our group because they expected a big crowd.  I received the same response from every other family restaurant also. 

I sent an email to Red Robin explaining our situation.  Guess what, they called and made it happen!  Red Robin explained to me that they don’t normally book groups or take reservations. When we got there, they were ready for us at the exact time we asked for.  The service staff was great!  They had all 35 of us feed and out in one hour.  That is very impressive with a group of 12 year old girls.  The kids were happy and the parents only have good things to say for Red Robin.  In the end, we had a good customer experience and I know they will get repeat customers from our group.

You should also know that Patriot Place management was very understanding and tried to help us too.  They get it. They want groups coming to their place. They also tried contacting a few restaurants for us.

Here is what I don’t understand.  Why would any organization turn down guaranteed business if they have the capacity?  All of these restaurants had no idea how much business they would get on Black Friday.  In fact the weather was really bad that day with heavy rain and chilly.  This was predicted.  Patriot Place is an outdoor area with indoor shops. As we walked around the area we saw how low the attendance was due to the weather.  If you can book a group, does it not help you when the walk-up customers stay away?  Is it not better to know what you have versus not knowing?  Why are some people still afraid of group sales?

Expanding The Marketing Business

A trend that has been quietly on the rise is sports teams expanding their business.  More team ownerships are taking the power of the team and expanding into other related business ventures. 

Two great examples are right here in Boston.  The Kraft family owns the New England Patriots.  What they have done over the last few years is brilliant.  Not only have they built a winning franchise, but they have built an entertainment complex that matches.  Around the stadium they have built their version of Universal Walk or Downtown Disney.  They call this shopping, food, and entertainment complex “Patriot Place”.  But they have not stopped with just building the place.  They needed to book and market the entertainment playing there.  They created the Kraft Entertainment.  Now that they have created this business, the marketing opportunities are endless.

Today, I read about the Boston Red Sox expanding their business. Fenway Sports Group has cut a deal to sell sponsorships in North America for the English Premier League.  This is a good deal for both groups.  Fenway Sports can use their brand and sports marketing power and tie-in with an international league with similar brand power. 

Both of these are good examples of expanding the business without going into “left field”. So many times we see organizations trying to expand into a business that just doesn’t make sense. 

All of us in the live event, entertainment, and sports business can expand our marketing business.  With less shows traveling, venues can be a little quiet.  Instead of management cutting marketing departments, why not use the marketing expertise to bring in new revenue. Why not use our marketing resources to expand into other event and entertainment projects?

Do You Think You Can Afford To See You?

There is a good article on today’s front page sports section of the Boston Globe on the fun and value of watching minor league sports.  With the economy taking a bite out of everyone’s wallet, minor league sports are back in the limelight as an alternative to the very costly major league sports.

You may not see your favorite sports star but you will get to watch your favorite sport played by future stars at an affordable price.  If the team does it right, you will have a good experience and great time if the team wins or loses.  I used to handle marketing for a minor league hockey team.  This was our formula and it paid off.  Our team led the league in attendance and outsold the NBA team that played in the same venue. It is ironic that this article appeared today.  I was just discussing this very issue with someone yesterday.

I love going to see a major league team or good arena event as much as anyone.  If done right it is a great experience that is long remembered.  But the cost of that experience may have reached its max.  In fact I think its over the max based on the current economic climate. 

Here in Boston we are lucky to have three “major venues” to see events and sports.  The Garden, Fenway, and Gillette Stadium each provide a very cool and exciting experience.  However, all three have attracted the reputation of a very expensive experience.  Between the cost of the ticket, the parking, concessions, and merchandise it is becoming “out of reach” for the average fan or customer.

If I was handing the marketing for any of the three, I would put a campaign together around how it can be affordable to go.  If you are The Garden or Fenway you should cut a deal with the MBTA.  A whole campaign should be done around taking the “T” to the game or event.  The Bruins started the season promoting its “hungry for hockey” promotion.  This was a ticket that included unlimited concession items.  You should bring it back now.  This makes for great “recession” marketing.  The Red Sox and the Patriots have the great fortune of almost always being sold out.  But the seasons have not started yet.  What if the fans start to cut back? What if they want to watch you on TV instead of live? Start a campaign to show the great value of coming to your event.

If you are a show or event that plays in a “major venue” you will run into the same issues of affordability.  Because you are a first class show in a first class venue your customer may think they cannot afford to go.  You need to counter this with marketing.  Look at your ticket prices.  Look at how they get to the venue.  Look at everything that your customer is thinking.  If you were your customer, could you afford to go?

Charity Makes Good Marketing

If you are a show, event, or sports team are you always sold out?  Do you have empty seats looking for a butt?  Why not use them to work for you and help a charity at the same time.

I went to a charity fundraiser over the weekend to support my kids youth hockey program.  At this event they had a silent auction, live auction and raffle items available.  What I was most impressed with was the amount of items.  There was tons of stuff to bid on.  There needed to be.  This is how the youth hockey group raises money.  The fundraising committee worked overtime to search out and obtain these items.  My thought as I walked around looking at the items was this is a great marketing opportunity.

In this age of cutting marketing budgets and trying to hit as close to the bulls-eye as possible, exposing your product at a fundraising event is good.  Picking what events you give to is most important.  This was a youth hockey fundraiser so what type of marketing demo attends?  They were parents of kids in hockey.  Chances are, they like hockey, sports, and anything related to their kids.  So in turn the most popular items were these things.  Tickets to the local pro sports teams, in particular the Boston Bruins and New England Patriots were big items.  Summer hockey camps for kids were huge items.  What I did notice was that the tickets for the pro teams did not come from the teams but from season ticket holders.  If I was with a team, I would set aside tickets for these events.  This is your low hanging fruit.  These are your past, current, and future fans.  If you are a hockey team, you don’t get any closer to the bulls-eye.  Think how you could market the brand to your core demo at this event while giving away the tickets.

At the company I work for, we get written charity ticket requests everyday.  I try to give to almost all of them if possible.  Because I get so many, I set the rules on who and how many.  At the very least, it exposes the brand and fills the empty seat to someone who wants to enjoy my product.

You don’t have to wait for a charity to come to you.  There are now new opportunities to market your product while doing good.  I mentioned during the summer of one online organization cmarket/BiddingForGood; http://www.cmarket.com/auction/BiddingForGood.action.  EBay also has a charity site. They both host online charity auctions.  On these online charity sites, you reach thousands of potential customers for nothing more then giving away a little product.

 

My Fan Experience

I went to the New England Patriots game last night.  As usual I look at venues and events differently then the average fan.  All of us in the business do.  We know what happens behind the scenes.  We know what goes into putting on an event for 80,000 people.  I have written on several occasions about how the experience may be one of the most important factors in marketing.  So, let’s talk about my experience at the game.

The guys I went with have season tickets.  They go to every game and have a system in place that serves them well.  We were going to leave for the game really early and tailgate, but the weather was threatening and none of us were in the mood to stay cold & wet the whole night (not a good experience).  So we out for a bite to eat before the game.  I asked if we were going to be able to park since we were getting to the game so close to kick off.  They use one of the many private lots that every business along Route 1 sets up.  They explained that if you are a regular customer you can pre-purchase parking for the entire season.  This gives you the same reserved spot every game.  For a private, off-site lot that is pretty cool.  The reason they park in this lot is ease of the in and out.  If you park in one of the stadium lots it can be a pain in the ass to get out.  We saw two accidents leaving the stadium.  Also, the stadium lots are a lot stricter on tailgating.

The Kraft family, owners of the Patriots have really done it right.  Not just by putting a first class team on the field but with the stadium and property around it.  As we entered the stadium grounds we walked past the new Patriots Place.  This is a shopping and entertainment complex with big brand name stores, restaurants, and a live entertainment venue. 

As we entered the stadium we were hit right away with concessions.  They have plenty.  You really don’t have to stand in line long or at all to get a beer.  If you are blind and cannot see the beer stands, no worry the beer will come to you.  We stopped to buy some before we went to our seats.  Three beers was $22.50. If you are going to charge $7.50 for a bottle of Bud, can I at least get a bottle with a ”born on” date from October or November?  All of ours were from July. I thought Bud was supposed to be fresh?  With amount of money being spent at this complex I say recession, what recession?  They have no problem selling tickets either.  They announced at the game that it was the 157th consecutive sell-out. 

The stadium experience is very good for the fan.  Loud, pumping music that keeps the crowd hyper.  They use lots of pyro and of course they have the musket firing militia in the end zones.

They take good care of their sponsor/partners.  They provide them with opportunities to interact with the fans.  They have booths set up through the concourse, they do promotions in the seats and on the jumbo-tron.  They even did a mobile marketing promotion with the fans in the seats.  My only complaint is they only mentioned it once and I didn’t get all the info to try it.  I wonder what they do with all the mobile data they collect?

The Pats lost the game in overtime which we were not happy about but we had a great time.  The overall experience was good.  This is what it is all about.  As marketers, we cannot control the result of the sports team but if the experience is a good one, the fan will come back.

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Someone Is Listening

I woke up this morning to the TV news telling me that two of the Boston sports teams are adjusting to the economy.

The front page of The Boston Globe reads “Sox step in, freeze ticket prices”.  The Red Sox held a press briefing yesterday just to announce this for the 2009 season.  This is the first price freeze in 14 years.  The initial reaction from the fans is “great” but can they afford the 2008 prices?  The Sox have one of the highest ticket prices in Major League Baseball.  I don’t think management has a lot to worry about unless we go into a depression.  Sox fans are among the most loyal out there.  They sell out every game win or lose.  The Sox management did send out the right signal.  They do care about the fans.  Actually, the current ownership of the Boston Red Sox has proved several times they care about the fans.

While the Patriots at this point cannot really change anything for rest of the regular season (every game is a sell-out), the NFL did announce they would be lowering the price of playoff tickets by as much as 10%. 

My understanding is that the other two Boston sports teams the Bruins and Celtics have not addressed the economy yet.  The Celtics will most likely be fine.  They have a huge season ticket base and they are coming off the NBA Championship.  The Bruins should really consider doing something.  At the moment they are in first place and selling well but hockey season is a long one.  Last year they were close to the bottom in league attendance and this is in a hockey town.

The NBA New Jersey Nets is doing a very cool promotion around the economy.  If you are unemployed you can get free tickets to some games, resume placement with team sponsors, and a career fair. Check it out for yourself:

 http://www.nba.com/nets/news/Offer_Unemployed_Fans_Free_Tickets.html.