Promotional giveaways are a big part of a professional sports team’s strategy to increase attendance. But what are these teams looking for in a giveaway? We spoke with Scott Brandreth, director of merchandising for the Philadelphia Phillies, who offered some big-league insight into the team’s promotional giveaway approach.
1. Plan in Advance
Brandreth gathers new ideas for promotional items year-round from vendors and other teams, but soon after the current season ends, the team crafts the next season’s promotional schedule. “And we’ll just kind of have a brainstorming session about what we think, what’s out there, what’s hot, what are the trends, what did other teams have success with, what did we have success with,” he explained. “We’re always going to do the staples—the T-shirts, the hats [and] we’ve been doing two bobbles a year for 10 years now.”
2. Gauging Success
The Phillies’ top goal for a promotional giveaway is to get fans in the ballpark. Brandreth noted that giveaways can be a boost to sales in addition to reducing the no-show factor for ticketholders. “Maybe a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday game would [have] similar sales, but when there’s a promotion—maybe on that Tuesday and it beats that Wednesday, then you know it worked pretty well because you sell more tickets, you have the people in the park, they’re spending money on retail, they’re spending money on food [and] parking, and they’re hopefully enjoying the game and getting a cool giveaway,” he said.
As with any promotional product, brand awareness is a valuable component for team giveaways, too, so Brandreth enjoys spotting the Phillies’ giveaways around the city. “We want to have an item that people will wear back to the park or wear around town or display on their desk,” Brandreth said. “I love when I go to a bar in Center City [Philadelphia] and see a bobblehead there or a rally towel or something. That’s good. It’s out there. It’s getting our brand out there.”
3. Adapt a Popular Item
While a bobblehead is an extremely popular sports giveaway (with more than 100 scheduled across the MLB this season, including three from the Phillies), the team altered it to create what it deems an action figurine. “[Cliff Lee]’s finishing his follow-through after throwing a pitch, and his leg is way high up in the air, so it’s kind of a neat figurine of him,” Brandreth said of the June 1 promotion. “It’s more of a desktop piece, like a bobblehead is, so it’s similar there.”
4. Revolve an Event Around a Giveaway
The Phillies have retro nights where the team turns back the clock within the ballpark, offering decade-themed entertainment while both teams are outfitted in jerseys of the selected decade. This year the team will celebrate the 1960s. “We’re turning it back 50 years, so Friday, June 13, both the Phillies and the Cubs will be wearing 1964 uniforms and we’ll do a lot of fun stuff on that night throughout the ballpark—’60s music, maybe a ’60s cover band, all sorts of people will be dressed as early ’60s characters from The Beatles to Sonny and Cher to all that crazy stuff,” he said. “And then on Sunday, which is our Chevrolet Father’s Day, we’re actually going to give out fedoras with the old 1960s “P” on [them] to all men 15 and over.”
5. Consider a Popular Retail Item
At every game, teams sell their merchandise to fans. Retail sales show what fans like, so the Phillies have opted to add a few popular retail items to this season’s promotional schedule, including Phillie Phanatic Phun Glasses for children 14 and younger to celebrate the birthday of the team’s mascot. The glasses, equipped with the Phanatic’s eyebrows, eyelashes and snout, have been available at retail since March, and quickly became the No. 1 seller at the ballpark. “It kind of sells itself,” he noted. “Once someone buys it and wears it and walks around, you can’t miss them. It may hurt our retail sales that day because we’re giving it away for free, but it’ll get a bunch out there in front of people, so it’ll be a cool thing.”
6. Think Seasonally
Schedule magnets are popular to start the baseball season, and some teams might opt for cold-weather options as summer wanes toward the season’s end. “I like [our Cabrini College knit hat] a lot because you give it to [fans] in September, and they have a nice, fresh ski hat for all the off-season,” Brandreth explained. “And the Phillies and Cabrini get coverage on Phillies’ fans’ heads during the off-season, so that’s a bonus.”
7. Celebrate an Anniversary
In sports, there are many anniversaries. This season the St. Louis Cardinals are celebrating the team’s 1964 World Series win with various giveaways, including a replica World Series ring, while the Cincinnati Reds will commemorate Ken Griffey Jr.’s 500th home run with a bobblehead this month. Meanwhile, the Phillies celebrated its 10th anniversary at Citizens Bank Park with an opening day banner of the ballpark. Then on kids’ opening day, the team gave out a baseball and collectible tin to children ages 14 and younger. “The images on the ball and tin reflected our highlights from the first 10 years here,” Brandreth mentioned. “There’s an image of Brad Lidge when we won the World Series [in 2008]. There’s an image of Jim Thome’s 400th home run, which happened the first year of the ballpark.”
8. Be Ready for Postseason Orders
With the All-Star break still about a month away, baseball clubs aren’t thinking about playoff promotions yet. Those orders likely won’t happen until the games are scheduled, which leaves little lead time. Brandreth mentioned that rally towels have become a go-to item because their turnaround time is less than a week as opposed to regular season items, which typically fall around three months. “So when you get to postseason time, you have to look at the schedule and get it all lined up as far as who is going to be the sponsor on them and how many you need to have here in the park,” he said. “It’s tough because you can’t automatically order eight games worth because you might play two games and you’re done, so it’s a delicate balance.”
While rally towels aren’t the only option, they have become a fan favorite. “Since we had that success in ’07 and ’08, our fans kind of came to expect the rally towels [in the postseason] and kind of liked them,” Brandreth noted.
