One of the blogs I really enjoy reading is Ben’s Biz Blog, which covers Minor League Baseball. Run by Benjamin Hill, the blog covers all sorts of marketing promotions and events run by Minor League Baseball teams, which is where some of the best creative ideas come from, if you ask me. One of his recent posts talked about the Fresno Grizzlies (also home of the drag kings), which, during the offseason, have created a series of videos entitled “I Hate the Offseason.” The series, is a bunch of skits featuring the Grizzlies mascot, Parker.
This got me to thinking, why don’t more teams more actively seek to engage their fans during the offseason? Creating videos, which can easily be made and posted to YouTube, is a great way to build some viral buzz about your team. These videos could feature your team’s mascot, players, coaches, or even staff acting as fans. Not only do these videos provide fans with entertainment, but they simply remind them of your team during the offseason, a hard thing to do with no games or newspaper coverage.
What else could a team do during the offseason? Why not hold a tournament sponsored by your team in which kids or adults play in, maybe even in your facility (you don’t need it for your team!) Similarly, you could hold a video game tournament on your big screen in the stadium, whether it be all games or just the championship (if you have a big screen, if not, you can still have it!) The tournament could feature some of the players, who play against the public (wouldn’t Panthers fans love to play Madden against or watch their friend play against Steve Smith?)
Or, you could do what I’ve read the Heat have been known to do in Miami on occasion. Get your team out in the community! The players of course have much more free time in the offseason, allowing them to get out their with their fans (or potential fans). This could be doing community service, charity work, visiting schools, holding camps, etc. The Heat would show up at restaurants and serve food to the customers (I’d love to get D-Wade to serve me a burger!) Events like this help bring the athletes down off of their pedestals that we put them on and let them connect with their fans on a very personal level. A kid who gets to meet, or even see, a professional athlete, that will make their day, week, month, and year!
Although the games aren’t played and the day to day operations slow down in the offseason, this could be the perfect time for a sports team to build their brand in the community.
*Image from http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2008/08/12/JgdHoTtr.jpg
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