This post is a summary and review of Dan Migala's talk 'Getting Creative To Sell Sponsorships & Ticket Inventory' which he presented at the 2013 Sport Is Fantastic Conference (Melbourne, Australia).
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Dan Migala is the Co-Founder of Property Consulting Group and the monthly marketing newsletter, The Migala Report. He began his career as a journalist, writing stories that covered various business aspects of sport. His work centred on ticket sales, promotions, sponsorship and innovative marketing ideas. Soon after, Dan evolved into a sponsorship consultant who has worked with clients such as Cricket Australia, the San Diego Padres and Major League Soccer teams.
Dan's presentation at the 2013 Sport Is Fantastic Conference focussed on a framework for generating non-traditional revenue strategies for both sponsorship and ticket inventory. Through the use of anecdotes, he was able to illustrate the importance of developing creative strategies.
Dan began with a story that led him to evaluate his idea generation process. The convenience store 7/11 approached clubs in the Chicago area willing to sponsor a team that most accurately reflected their values. Dan, who was working alongside the Major League Baseball team, Chicago White Sox, posed the following question: If you owned 7/11, how do you get the message across that you sponsor the White Sox? From this initial line of questioning, Dan woke up one morning at precisely 7:11am and came up with the idea to change game times to 7:11. They successfully sold this idea to the convenience store chain for three times the original price. Further, the six minute delay allowed the broadcasters to fit in more commercials and the food and beverage partners to sell more product. When an intern asked how did this sponsorship work beyond the kitschy nature of 7/11, Dan developed the five virtues needed to thing creatively in revenue generation. They included emotional connection; moments of truth; enhance, don't interrupt; authenticity; and revenue is a result, not an objective. This post will provide an explanation of the five terms and the possible affect that such a framework can have on sport marketing in Australia.
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Dan's presentation at the 2013 Sport Is Fantastic Conference focussed on a framework for generating non-traditional revenue strategies for both sponsorship and ticket inventory. Through the use of anecdotes, he was able to illustrate the importance of developing creative strategies.
Dan began with a story that led him to evaluate his idea generation process. The convenience store 7/11 approached clubs in the Chicago area willing to sponsor a team that most accurately reflected their values. Dan, who was working alongside the Major League Baseball team, Chicago White Sox, posed the following question: If you owned 7/11, how do you get the message across that you sponsor the White Sox? From this initial line of questioning, Dan woke up one morning at precisely 7:11am and came up with the idea to change game times to 7:11. They successfully sold this idea to the convenience store chain for three times the original price. Further, the six minute delay allowed the broadcasters to fit in more commercials and the food and beverage partners to sell more product. When an intern asked how did this sponsorship work beyond the kitschy nature of 7/11, Dan developed the five virtues needed to thing creatively in revenue generation. They included emotional connection; moments of truth; enhance, don't interrupt; authenticity; and revenue is a result, not an objective. This post will provide an explanation of the five terms and the possible affect that such a framework can have on sport marketing in Australia.
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Dan reinforced the notion that marketers must try to emotionally connect with their fan base. The Cedar Rapids Kernels, a grass roots Minor League Baseball team, had an advertiser in the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. In the community, a young child had severed part of his leg in a farming accident. This tragedy and the child's subsequent recovery was front page news in the local newspapers. To create an emotional connection between the fans and the University of Iowa Children's Hospital as an advertiser, Dan and his team proffered the idea of inviting the child to do an honourary run around the bases. This aimed to celebrate the child walking again and the inclusion of the hospital leadership as team members celebrated how the staff nursed the child back to recovery. The idea was a success as it made the front page of the newspaper and it was the lead story on the news broadcast. The University of Iowa Children's Hospital now has the largest sign at the ball park and make up the largest ticket purchasers. Thus, this emotional connection illustrated instead of told the target market (parents) how the hospital gives children world class care.
MOMENTS OF TRUTH
Secondly, Dan proposed that marketers need to create a truthful connection between what you are selling and what the audience is receiving. Once again, Dan used an example to illustrate this virtue. The Major League Baseball team, Kansas City Royals, sold family packs for Sunday games. This pack included two adult tickets, two children tickets and four free drinks for a price of $39. This product was a loss leader. One evening, the Royals' management staff went to a Denny's Restaurant and saw a sign which read 'Kids Eat Free on Sunday'. This concept, by a 1-2% margin, was Denny's highest revenue earner. The Royals had a moment of truth that they were lying to themselves by marking to a traditional family of four. Instead, their goal was to get more children to the games. As a result, they switched the family pack to 'Kids Eat Free on Sunday'. This allowed them to charge the full price for children's tickets and parents subsequently paying more for additional treats such as cotton candy. This revelation resulted in 6000 children attend the games, as opposed to the 500 family packs previously sold.
ENHANCE, DON'T INTERRUPT
From Dan's presentation, it was made clear that people should never feel as though they are being sold something by sponsors. Instead, the sponsor must be a part of the passion inherent in sport. Kelly Services, a recruitment firm, was a non-traditional brand that sponsored the Omaha Royals. As the Royals wanted to be inside the school system, an intern suggested that a child could become the CEO of the team for a day. This presented the perfect opportunity for Kelly Services to partner up with this initiative by running resume workshops with the children and choosing the winner. By creating a concept that the company would invest in, the sponsorship idea enhanced Kelly Services' business objectives. The success of the child CEO initiative lead to front page news stories and the lifecycle of the promotion continues to this day.
AUTHENTICITY
Building on the 'enhance, don't interrupt' virtue, it is imperative that marketers communicate a story that is authentic not contrived. By using the New York Yankees as an example, Dan was able to show the importance of such a concept. The Yankees had an airline partner who paid exorbitant amounts of money to be aligned with one of the world's biggest sporting teams. Originally, signs and PA announcements were used to market the airline partner at baseball games. However, research illustrated that the recall on the Yankee's airline partner amongst their premium baseball attendees ranked fifth out of only five options. It was clear that they were off-message and needed to appeal to their high net-worth travellers in a more effective way. As a result, a fan engagement concept was developed where frequent flyer miles could be used as a form of currency at Yankee games. For example, 100,000 miles could be redeemed to meet your favourite player or throw out the first pitch. An immediate spike in their target audience was reached once this initiative was established. Ultimately, by looking at the travel behaviours of the premium Yankee fans, it is evident that the authenticity of the idea played an important role in resonating with the consumer.
REVENUE IS A RESULT, NOT AN OBJECTIVE
Lastly, Dan emphasised that marketers must stay true to the brand. If this is done, revenue will follow. For example, Gatorade do not have signs around stadiums. Instead, their orange coolers are placed near athletes as the sports drink is intended to serve athletes. Gatorade's success can be attributed to staying true to their brand. Another example can be found with Avis and their sponsorship of the New York City Marathon. The Avis Chairman's message was 'We Try Harder'. At the marathon, Avis had 50 teams representing the 50 states. These volunteers helped individuals, such as the blind and disabled, to run the race. Therefore, it is clear that Avis' objective was to show people the lengths they will go to help others and try harder. Revenue generation was not the primary focus.
IMPLICATIONS FOR SPORT MARKETING IN AUSTRALIA
Marketing departments for sporting teams in Australia, big or small, can use these five virtues as a framework for generating innovative sponsorship and ticketing ideas. Currently, many professional Australian sporting teams have family packages that cater for a traditional family of two adults and two children. Although such packages can serve a purpose, it does not accurately reflect the composition of families in today's society or those wanting to go to a game. As a result, the marketing departments could reevaluate their product offerings so as they too can have a 'moment of truth'. They must look more broadly at the objectives of the family packs in order to develop an effective and creative way to facilitate such goals.
Additionally, in Australia, sporting teams have a strong focus on revenue generation as opposed to larger objectives. It is recommended that sport marketers make emotional connections to truly appeal to their consumers. Some teams, such as the Collingwood Football Club, do attempt to these make emotional connections. For example, Peter Gourlay, a 4-year-old cancer patient, was made President for a day this season. However, there is an opportunity to partner this initiative with a sponsor to raise further awareness of the hospital or the illness in itself.
Overall, Dan's five-pronged framework should be at the forefront of every sport marketer's mind. Not only does it provide you with clear steps, it also forces you to revaluate both successful and unsuccessful marketing strategies. As a result, you can learn from these experiences to give yourself the best chance of succeeding in the future.
MOMENTS OF TRUTH
Secondly, Dan proposed that marketers need to create a truthful connection between what you are selling and what the audience is receiving. Once again, Dan used an example to illustrate this virtue. The Major League Baseball team, Kansas City Royals, sold family packs for Sunday games. This pack included two adult tickets, two children tickets and four free drinks for a price of $39. This product was a loss leader. One evening, the Royals' management staff went to a Denny's Restaurant and saw a sign which read 'Kids Eat Free on Sunday'. This concept, by a 1-2% margin, was Denny's highest revenue earner. The Royals had a moment of truth that they were lying to themselves by marking to a traditional family of four. Instead, their goal was to get more children to the games. As a result, they switched the family pack to 'Kids Eat Free on Sunday'. This allowed them to charge the full price for children's tickets and parents subsequently paying more for additional treats such as cotton candy. This revelation resulted in 6000 children attend the games, as opposed to the 500 family packs previously sold.
ENHANCE, DON'T INTERRUPT
From Dan's presentation, it was made clear that people should never feel as though they are being sold something by sponsors. Instead, the sponsor must be a part of the passion inherent in sport. Kelly Services, a recruitment firm, was a non-traditional brand that sponsored the Omaha Royals. As the Royals wanted to be inside the school system, an intern suggested that a child could become the CEO of the team for a day. This presented the perfect opportunity for Kelly Services to partner up with this initiative by running resume workshops with the children and choosing the winner. By creating a concept that the company would invest in, the sponsorship idea enhanced Kelly Services' business objectives. The success of the child CEO initiative lead to front page news stories and the lifecycle of the promotion continues to this day.
AUTHENTICITY
Building on the 'enhance, don't interrupt' virtue, it is imperative that marketers communicate a story that is authentic not contrived. By using the New York Yankees as an example, Dan was able to show the importance of such a concept. The Yankees had an airline partner who paid exorbitant amounts of money to be aligned with one of the world's biggest sporting teams. Originally, signs and PA announcements were used to market the airline partner at baseball games. However, research illustrated that the recall on the Yankee's airline partner amongst their premium baseball attendees ranked fifth out of only five options. It was clear that they were off-message and needed to appeal to their high net-worth travellers in a more effective way. As a result, a fan engagement concept was developed where frequent flyer miles could be used as a form of currency at Yankee games. For example, 100,000 miles could be redeemed to meet your favourite player or throw out the first pitch. An immediate spike in their target audience was reached once this initiative was established. Ultimately, by looking at the travel behaviours of the premium Yankee fans, it is evident that the authenticity of the idea played an important role in resonating with the consumer.
REVENUE IS A RESULT, NOT AN OBJECTIVE
Lastly, Dan emphasised that marketers must stay true to the brand. If this is done, revenue will follow. For example, Gatorade do not have signs around stadiums. Instead, their orange coolers are placed near athletes as the sports drink is intended to serve athletes. Gatorade's success can be attributed to staying true to their brand. Another example can be found with Avis and their sponsorship of the New York City Marathon. The Avis Chairman's message was 'We Try Harder'. At the marathon, Avis had 50 teams representing the 50 states. These volunteers helped individuals, such as the blind and disabled, to run the race. Therefore, it is clear that Avis' objective was to show people the lengths they will go to help others and try harder. Revenue generation was not the primary focus.
IMPLICATIONS FOR SPORT MARKETING IN AUSTRALIA
Marketing departments for sporting teams in Australia, big or small, can use these five virtues as a framework for generating innovative sponsorship and ticketing ideas. Currently, many professional Australian sporting teams have family packages that cater for a traditional family of two adults and two children. Although such packages can serve a purpose, it does not accurately reflect the composition of families in today's society or those wanting to go to a game. As a result, the marketing departments could reevaluate their product offerings so as they too can have a 'moment of truth'. They must look more broadly at the objectives of the family packs in order to develop an effective and creative way to facilitate such goals.
Additionally, in Australia, sporting teams have a strong focus on revenue generation as opposed to larger objectives. It is recommended that sport marketers make emotional connections to truly appeal to their consumers. Some teams, such as the Collingwood Football Club, do attempt to these make emotional connections. For example, Peter Gourlay, a 4-year-old cancer patient, was made President for a day this season. However, there is an opportunity to partner this initiative with a sponsor to raise further awareness of the hospital or the illness in itself.
Overall, Dan's five-pronged framework should be at the forefront of every sport marketer's mind. Not only does it provide you with clear steps, it also forces you to revaluate both successful and unsuccessful marketing strategies. As a result, you can learn from these experiences to give yourself the best chance of succeeding in the future.
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