Favorite ballpark promotions?
 

I thought this would be a good place to pose this question. I will fully admit I have ulterior motives as I work for a college athletic department in Marketing and am looking for ideas. I work for a relatively small school, we don't get huge crowds. We are focusing a lot on expanding the buzz around our baseball program, and I wanted to see what kind of ideas people on here had.

They can be anything really. A giveaway you liked, a contest, a promotion theme, a video board animation, a marketing campaign. Anything you liked as a baseball fan that you have experienced.

And before anybody tells me to do my own job instead of asking you guys to do it, welcome to sports marketing. You innovate sometimes but mostly you just find what works and copy that. :)!

When I was in school at MSU, the Lansing lugnuts would have thirsty Thursdays, $2 drafts. There was easy transportation to and from campus to the park, tons of people would show and it always was a great night.

While typing this I realize that alcohol sales at a college game is likely a no go.

In game Trivia with the answer revealed during the 7th inning stretch. You have the question posted on the Video screen (3rd inning) and fans give there answers to the ushers on pieces of paper they can hand out.

Selected winner get's a set of tickets for a future game or T-shirt etc. It's a fun promotion that will have minimal impact on your Mkt. budget. :)!

Try to tie in the specific opponent into the respective Trivia question, also get's the visiting fan base involved.

Thank you guys for responding. Much appreciated

[QUOTE=Hcopp;3771976]When I was in school at MSU, the Lansing lugnuts would have thirsty Thursdays, $2 drafts. There was easy transportation to and from campus to the park, tons of people would show and it always was a great night.

While typing this I realize that alcohol sales at a college game is likely a no go.[/QUOTE]

You are correct we don't have alcohol at games. We know it could really help drive ticket sales but the school would likely never allow it.

[QUOTE=TASS;3771979]In game Trivia with the answer revealed during the 7th inning stretch. You have the question posted on the Video screen (3rd inning) and fans give there answers to the ushers on pieces of paper they can hand out.

Selected winner get's a set of tickets for a future game or T-shirt etc. It's a fun promotion that will have minimal impact on your Mkt. budget. :)!

Try to tie in the specific opponent into the respective Trivia question, also get's the visiting fan base involved.[/QUOTE]

This is one of our most popular promotions, our loyal fans and player parents really get into our trivia and raffle drawings trying to win free gear. Unfortunately that's probably also why it's getting a little stale. We like it and continue to use it but need something fresh.

My favorite are jersey auction days in Beloit. They also did a Snappers logo as a phone cling, which is really nice. Also in Appleton they do Brewers Sunday's where they wear really cool Brewer themed jerseys for every Sunday game. The themes are normally very cool. One I hated the most was in Appleton when they did Kids night every Friday, and offered seats for families with kids really cheap. It was just annoying. Tribute to Cows was also pretty cool this year.

I like when teams give away t-shirts and hats. At Penn State, these giveaways are particularly popular with students in general.

The Delmarva Shorebirds do a promotion called "Papa Johns K Man". They pick a player from the visiting team each game and if that person strikes out, each fan receives a coupon for buy one get one free pizza at Papa Johns.

This year for a day game VS the Minnesota Twins the Royals gave out "Moose"takas antlers. It was one of the coolest giveaways they've done. They also gave out an Alex Gordon replica Gold Glove but I wasn't at that game.
[IMG]http://mlblogsroyals.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/moose-antlers_9-1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://mlblogsroyals.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/gold-glove_5-3.jpg[/IMG]

I still remember watching video of the famous 10 cent beer night at the Cleveland Indians vs Texas Rangers game.

Maybe this thread can help

[url]http://www.blowoutcards.com/forums/baseball/297614-what-your-favorite-stadium-giveaways.html[/url]

I like bobbleheads

$1 brat night
$1 burger night
Family four pack

[QUOTE=KeithKards;3772499]I still remember watching video of the famous 10 cent beer night at the Cleveland Indians vs Texas Rangers game.[/QUOTE]

LMFAO is that where Semi-Pro got the idea from. A 10 cent beer night sounds like one of the most rowdiest-brawl nights ever.

Thanks guys great stuff so far keep it coming!

[QUOTE=crabbygraphs;3772388]The Delmarva Shorebirds do a promotion called "Papa Johns K Man". They pick a player from the visiting team each game and if that person strikes out, each fan receives a coupon for buy one get one free pizza at Papa Johns.[/QUOTE]

This is an interesting idea, we are looking into some ideas like this involving prizes for certain things happening during the game people can root for.

I should clarify, we aren't really looking for giveaways very much. Not that they aren't great, we use them all the time and have many planned. We are just looking for more things to add to the game atmosphere, possibly generate buzz about games, etc. Plus it's a fairly wealthy student body as it's an expensive school so your standard giveaways tend to not drive much student interest. Stuff like this "K Man" idea are kind of what we are really looking for.

Also stuff like video board games and graphics, contests, themed promotions, discounts and deals, etc.

If you guys have a mascot..and one of those "guns" that shoots out all types of giveaways...I see those a lot around here..and always has the crowd on their feet!

Nothing sells out faster in Columbus than Dime-a-Dog Nights.

[QUOTE=Hcopp;3771976]When I was in school at MSU, the Lansing lugnuts would have thirsty Thursdays, $2 drafts. There was easy transportation to and from campus to the park, tons of people would show and it always was a great night.

While typing this I realize that alcohol sales at a college game is likely a no go.[/QUOTE]

Hey I love Thirsty Thursdays :)

My personal favorites are firewiorks nights as well as bobble head nights. But both of these obviously have companies under writing most if not all of it.

New last year were 2 different nights it was all you could eat night. Pretty close to full menu minus a few things that I expect were more costly than others to perform, but for drinks, nacho's, hotdogs..this stuff is all cheap and for a family this can be a huge expense.

I actually prefer the minor leagues over the pro's. Smaller crowds, cheaper parking (lugnuts for me is $3 bucks and I walk 2 blocks), but more fun between innings (lots of asst. giveaways and contests).

Wife really liked when she won a meet and greet after a concert - but I'd assume you could also do sitting in the dugouts - and/or even pre/post game player meet and greets (or for us junkies...autograph'd memorabilia - assuming with high school we'd be looking at balls mostly since the players buy the bats and cleats and the schools typically only have one jersey per player).

[QUOTE=sportscardadict;3791655]If you guys have a mascot..and one of those "guns" that shoots out all types of giveaways...I see those a lot around here..and always has the crowd on their feet![/QUOTE]

Not a bad idea, but those are probably way out of our budget!

[QUOTE=iluvfish2;3791987]Hey I love Thirsty Thursdays :)

My personal favorites are firewiorks nights as well as bobble head nights. But both of these obviously have companies under writing most if not all of it.

New last year were 2 different nights it was all you could eat night. Pretty close to full menu minus a few things that I expect were more costly than others to perform, but for drinks, nacho's, hotdogs..this stuff is all cheap and for a family this can be a huge expense.

I actually prefer the minor leagues over the pro's. Smaller crowds, cheaper parking (lugnuts for me is $3 bucks and I walk 2 blocks), but more fun between innings (lots of asst. giveaways and contests).

Wife really liked when she won a meet and greet after a concert - but I'd assume you could also do sitting in the dugouts - and/or even pre/post game player meet and greets (or for us junkies...autograph'd memorabilia - assuming with high school we'd be looking at balls mostly since the players buy the bats and cleats and the schools typically only have one jersey per player).[/QUOTE]

Fireworks are rumored to be in the works for our opening series this season, we shall see it would be pretty neat.

Autographs are a great idea as well, we do postgame autograph sessions with most of our teams but I can't recall us ever bringing it to baseball for whatever reason. Probably makes the most sense there because baseball is the only sport we really produce professional talent.

Anything free is happily accepted. I've only been to a few Mets promos, but my favorite was Irish Heritage day and they handed out Orange and Green Mets hats. I eventually got mine signed by Daniel Murphy, appropriately.

I used to always go to fireworks night at Shea, but now since Citi Field is more enclosed, it's pyrotechnics night. It's definitly not as good, but it's still fun as they find ways to make it last longer and be more enjoying (music, Mets highlights, a gary Carter tribute this year, etc...).

Bobblehead day: Free souvenier

Old Timer's Day: Nothing like seeing the heroes of the past come back in a jersey

Steal A Base, Steal A Taco: Technically it's not something a ballpark did, but hey, free tacos :).

Always like seeing the team tied to a local restaurant or chain. I know at ECU, if they win, you get a free cookie at Mcalisters. At Duke, if they scored 40(I think( in a game (football), free medium fry at McDonalds. Both of those required your ticket of course.

[QUOTE=PDawson21;3794504]Always like seeing the team tied to a local restaurant or chain. I know at ECU, if they win, you get a free cookie at Mcalisters. At Duke, if they scored 40(I think( in a game (football), free medium fry at McDonalds. Both of those required your ticket of course.[/QUOTE]

Nice idea, we have done things like free food from local sponsors but never anything like this.

Keep them coming guys!

Greek Games - Pit the Frat Rats against each other in between innings competition with a final winner crowned after the game.

Bring your animal to the game. I am amazed how many college students have pets.

Scantily clad ball girls.

I'm also in marketing and find this really interesting. I've been considering going into sports marketing as well.

If you have any local sponsors, especially ones who may have large ad space on the outfield wall or scoreboard, try working out deals with them. Obviously, food will be the most appealing to current college students. I know when I went to a Rangers game in May, they had a promotion in the 2nd inning where if any player hit a HR, everybody would get a free Grand Slam at Denny's. If there are any local "mom & pop" type places who are looking to increase foot traffic, it provides a perfect opportunity. Not only will it benefit you in getting more students into the stands, but it also gives the students an incentive to visit the store. I know HRs are a bit harder to come by in the collegiate level, so you can make the promotion more along the lines of "If any (the team's name) player hits a double in the ___ inning, each fan will be given a coupon for a free ___ at ___."

As I said earlier, food will hit home with college students the most. I know if I tell my friends that I'm having something and will have food, it's completely gone in no time. With that being said, having a $1 hot dog night or something along those lines should get fans in the stands.

If there is an interactive type of scoreboard at the field/stadium, having a social media type of event during the game could also keep fans interested. When I was at a Rangers game, I saw that they asked a question and gave fans an opportunity to answer the question via twitter by using a certain hashtag. It provided some very funny and interesting responses, which fans really seemed to enjoy. Having played college ball, I know games can get long and boring, so having just a little something to keep fans involved is huge.

Hope this was a little help and hope I can provide more assistance if needed.

I'm also in marketing and will go over what I did with the school I was with during my time there with some ideas (although wasnt baseball - mostly basketball/football)

1) see if there is a organization(s) around campus or a campus wide community service effort where a large standing of members on the campus support. For our campus we had a lot of organizations fighting for cancer research, during the oct month we had a "pink out" game where we gave free pink t shirts in the stands, pink noise makers (the inflatable ones) while taking donations, 50/50 raffles, food, music and more. Although the football games did not attract much attention (much due to the stadium being a trip away from the actual campus) we had the cheerleaders, band, and dance team parade around campus giving free box tickets, and friends and family tickets... although mostly to create buzz. The main thing is getting people there and making sure they have a good time.

2) I know you said you cannot serve any kind of beer, however see about 3rd party vendor sponsorship for a tailgate-esqe event, preferably after game. Possibly pong tournament with free entry to those who visit the game, and let vendor take home 80 percent profit, leaving you with 20 while they do the majority of the work.

3) 50/50 raffles as said are always good. I did see the suggestion for popa johns, we also partnered with a popular food hangout place on campus, if (football by 10 points, basketball by 20) blew another team out you would get about a free meals worth of food with ticket.

4) Club passes for Alumni, reach out to past players, family, offer discounted (but top notch) seating tickets, possibly a own section of stadium, give it a catchy title.

Theres more, but these are just some ideas to throw around, make use of your organizations on campus - see if you can set up with them fundraisers where they sell tickets and get a proceed amount. This is great for fraternities and sororities with regards to community service events and fundraising.