Innovative Marketing in Baseball

May 1st, 2009 · No Comments · Sports

During football season I wrote about innovation in the NFL and why the NFL is slow to adopt new in game tactics. Today, I was reading Al’s Ramblings, my favorite Brewers blog, and found his post on the Cincinnati Reds attempt at making more money and generating more interest for the franchise: a futures game. Instead of normal futures games like the one during the all star break, where the two teams are made up of minor league prospects, this futures game is the best players from the Reds minor league system against the full major league club.

This is a unique event that will not only generate money for the Reds, but will offer a value add for Reds fans. Imagine if one of their top prospects hits a home run off of a current major league pitcher. The fans will have something to look forward to and could have the beginnings of a legend, especially if that player comes up the the majors and stars later in life.

Al argues that the Brewers should implement a game like this before the regular season. I agree completely, especially if the Brewers sold tickets for $10-20. They could market it as not only a futures game, but an opening day for true baseball fans, rather than the alcohol soaked event that is the current opening day. I’d like to see the Brewers and other team continue to innovate on and off the field, as adds to fan interest and team income.