I am reading a fascinating article on geolocation marketing and sports, specifically the New Jersey Nets, who used a geo-location marketing campaign as a test to see how engagement would work in driving fans to a game they otherwise wouldn’t attend. Free tickets were available if a person “checked” in to various locations around the greater New Jersey area. They saw a 15% return. That is, of the free tickets that were available to a Monday night game, when attendance was down, 15% of the freebies were claimed. So…. with our beloved Toronto Blue Jays in mind, I ask, would you go to a game if the tickets were free?:
i don’t think the Jays will be giving that many tickets away. they have a small fan-base of 10,000 that is willing to pay to go to the Dome, and those people would be pissed if all of a sudden there were 5,000 freebies in the stadium. i think having $2 tuesdays or whatever is the way to go for now. people in toronto know what baseball is and will go if it’s cheap enough just for a night out.
in my opinion, Rogers has not invested in the team enough for me to feel OK with giving them my money. when they invest in payroll, i’ll invest in tickets.
I don’t even know that this experiment was as big of a success as the Nets and Gowalla are claiming. Out of the 500 pairs that were “dropped” around NYC that anyone can come pickup, only 76 were actually claimed and used? In other words, there were 424 virtual pairs of tickets left on the corner all week. To me that seems very low, how does that compare to the rate of other promotions?
And it doesn’t mention how many out of the 76 would come back to a Nets game, either through more freebies or paying for tickets, so how do they know that this has any lasting impact beyond a few tweets?
Great points Mike. In my every day life I work at a technology company. I ask our team all the time what the value proposition is with services like Gowalla and Foursquare. Personally I use foursquare, but the fun element is wearing off. If there isn’t a value proposition back to me soon I will be done. While 15% return isn’t great, it’s a start. I think, and I mean that literally, think, that the key is to use that as a starting point. One of our guys was just at developer show and the number that was being thrown around was 30%- that is, stores who offer rewards on foursquare are seeing a 30% increase in business. The proof will come if the Nets or anyone else follows this pilot.
Hi Mike (in Boston). You represent the problem that the Jays face. Total apathy and distrust. I don’t mean that as an attack in any way shape or form. Take a read at Bruce Arthurs excellent article on the situation here. I truly believe that the Jays have blown multiple generations of fans. It’s for that reason that I think that the only way to get people back right now (given the fact they admit they aren’t going to win anytime soon) is to go the dog and pony show. They don’t have many traditional baseball fans left to piss off. So why not make the games an event…
Just my opinion.
More apathy and distrust here I’m sorry to say.
I’ve been watching baseball live for 30 years or so now (I’m 38) and was lucky enough to spend some of those core, early years as a fan watching games in the old Tigers stadium (what a great ballpark – obstructed seats and all).
I’ve slowed down my live viewing as I’ve gotten older, but I still try to make a few games every year. Last year, and the year before, and the year before that…the only Jay worth the price of a decent ticket was Halladay. I tried to get to his starts when I had the urge to see some live ball being played.
Now…there’s nobody. Really. And that’s the real problem imo with the attendance. But for the first time in 25 years, the Jays don’t have a pitcher worth going to see (back to Steib and Key, to Stewart and Morris, to Hentgen, to Clemens, to Halladay, to….Romero? Bleh.)
Of course it’s not only about pitching, but it’s not lke the lineup lately has been amazing, especially with Hill out. Maybe when he’s back and the lineup starts to produce again, the attendance will get better.
I could say more, but there’s probably a character limit on this post, and I’m sure I’m pushing it. Skydome is not a great place to see a game imo. And the T.O. crowds…bleh. Ok. I’ll shut up now.
A free ticket? Sure but only because I live nearby. If I had to haul ass from anywhere else then the answer would be no. The same would go for the Leafs too from the start to the middle of the season with that dreadful team. I usually buy a pair of seats to at least one game a season, sometimes up to three games a season. Not this year. Next season I’ll reevaluate that given the positive changes that have happened and with the upcoming offseason. I’m definitely going to try to get tickets to a Leafs game in Montreal, a first for us.
Judging by the comments, I think a dog a pony show could help here and there (as will nicer weather, BoSox/Yankee games etc)
But I don’t think people will really, REALLY come back until the team is actually good again.
On the bright side, the core looks really promising, and realignment/playoff expansion actually seems like a real possibility right now. So it may not be TOO long.