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You know it’s spring when baseball season rolls back around. Time for that great American pastime, along with its delectable cuisine, cold beverages, and wishing for that one stray foul ball to come your way (when you’re looking, of course). So how does this relate to direct marketing? I want to share an interesting little case study with you today. I read about this in a couple different publications, and I thought it would be a timely tidbit to pass on to you. Indianapolis has a nice selection of big sports teams – pro football, two pro basketball teams, hockey, and the minor-league Indianapolis Indians. This AAA farm team for Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates has been in Indianapolis since 1902 and is the second-oldest minor league franchise in professional sports. Until recently, the Indians’ marketing focused its message on family-friendly entertainment and side promotions. I say “until recently”, because they stepped back and changed things after conducting research among their attendees. The research surprised them by indicating that the primary reason people attend the games is because they are actually baseball fans. So the team altered its marketing messages and imaging to focus more on baseball and the actual game. The result? Attendance jumped 10 percent in 2007, knocking the league’s average increase of 2.2 percent out of the ballpark. So think of this in relation to your direct marketing. What good might some customer research do for you? Might a little messaging tweak boost your profitability? Could you stand for your customer base to increase by 10 percent? Sources: Indianapolis Monthly; Vol. 31, Issue 9, April 2008; p. 32 by David Zivan. http://www.ibj.com/html/detail_page.asp?content=4243 |
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