Welp, it’s official. The Oakland A’s are moving to Las Vegas, following their former neighbors, the Raiders, and the surprisingly successful Golden Knights hockey team.
The Oakland faithful tried to hold onto their team, though, including the use of print and promotional products to try to sway MLB owners from allowing the relocation.
The “Stay in Oakland” box, sent to 15 of the 30 league owners (who would eventually unanimously vote to move the team) included “city- and A’s- related clothing and material, including a personalized baseball card of each of the 15 owners,” and a letter from Oakland mayor Sheng Thao, according to ESPN.
The box is sad to look at now with the understanding that the A’s will, in fact, leave Oakland. But, from a promotional standpoint, it’s a worthwhile look at how a franchise can represent so much more than on-field action. It can represent a whole city and region.
The MLB owners box designed by @LastDiveBar and 68’s includes: a letter from Mayor Thao, an LDB postcard, an @Oaklandish hat, a custom card by myself of the owner and relocation fact sheet, and STAY video on USB drive, DVD and QR by @gamer_athletics @vvarietyshow @summerofselldoc pic.twitter.com/XaLFyY2wie
— Steevow_custom_cards (@Steevow_CC) November 9, 2023
The “Stay in Oakland” motif used the team’s yellow-and-green color scheme, and looked a lot like a tourism package one might receive.
Inside, however, there are items like a fact sheet outlining the costs of relocation (which many skeptics of the move say will adversely affect the franchise), a hat, a postcard, and a video on a USB drive.
It’s a shame the boxes didn’t work, but it does speak to the power of print and promotional products when united under a central theme to appeal to the emotions of an end-user.
