TAMPA BAY RAYS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM
POSITIVE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
The PrOBLEM:
The Tampa Bay Rays have struggled to attract fans to their games for years.
The ASK:
Why are The Rays struggling to fill their seats? Well, here are ten reasons why:
1. The Tropicana Dome is hideous, it has been described as looking like "a flying saucer that landed funny and blew a tire."
2. The location of the field is extremely hard to get to. The Tampa Bay area where the Tropicana Field is located is on a peninsula, with only a bridge that connects to the main population centers, creating insane traffic that most feel isn't worth sitting in to watch the game.
3. The Rays are constantly losing players due to salary dumps and rebuilding plans. So players become unrecognizable every season or two.
4. Florida is not the ideal location for a professional sports team. Teams that play in bigger cities draw more fans. Also, teams in these bigger cities don't have beaches. Individuals have many more options for free entertainment in Florida.
5. There have been food safety concerns when it comes to ballpark eats.
6. There is a dash of previous cities' allegiances because everyone moves to Florida from somewhere else, so there are no true base fans.
7. The team owner himself, Stuart Sternberg, tells fans not to come to the stadium because it is such a dump. No wonder they aren't filling seats?
8. Florida is a state of transplants, so attracting people to come and enjoy family fun, while smelling waste and manure is not the easiest task.
9. In 2018, The Rays traded the face of their franchise, third baseman Evan Longoria and starting pitcher, Jake Odorizzi in hope to save $10 million dollars, giving them the reputation of not wanting to be a viable big-league franchise.
10. The Rays lease for Tropicana Field extends until 2027. Although The Rays are able to get out early by paying fees to St. Petersburg, it doesn't seem likely they can raise money to fund this relocation.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
The Rays audience varies from families with young children looking for a day of entertainment, a few loyal fans of all ages, and tourists who are visiting the Tampa Bay area who are in search of something to do. Connecting to fan bases should vary depending on different segments. For example, social media is a great tool, but more traditional means of engagement such as email and print campaigns should be incorporated, as well. Due to a large portion of older individuals, social media may not be the best tactic to reach them. Doing a thorough analysis of a team's fan base and what platforms would be best-suited for those groups is key. This will vary by area and community.
COMPETITORS:
The Rays closest competition is the Tampa Bay Lightning National Hockey Team, however, this creates a huge counterargument, because the Lightning has sold out every home game since 2015 despite all the Florida traffic and transit issues.
Other competition includes local minor league baseball teams, such as the Tampa Yankees, Clearwater Threshers, Dunedin Blue Jays, and Bradenton Marauders. Especially in the spring months of April and May, these minor league teams are marketing to casual baseball fans with cheaper tickets options and the same if not better intimacy and fan experience. These local minor league teams are much more conveniently located to Tampa Bay Rays fans and also are playing outdoors, feature fireworks, and often have better food than the Rays. Ticket and parking prices for these minor league games are much cheaper than Tropicana field, and often the same quality of fun.
Strategies:
So what is next step for the Rays? With little to no money to spare, The Rays need to do whatever they can to get fans back in the doors.
Short term Plans:
The most simple and cheapest tactic to create a bigger fan base is through promotions. Currently, The Rays do participate in a few promotions. Currently, their biggest promotion is partnering with 7-11, with ticket prices at $7.11 on specific Friday nights at certain 7-11 locations. They also have frequent giveaways, with items such as t-shirts, hats, bottle openers, bobbleheads, etc. Although these are great ways to get more fans involved, it should not stop here.
Here are five other positive promotions to engage fans and drive ticket sales:
Long term PlANs:
Re-locate the Tropicana Field. As stated previously, The Rays contract with Tropicana field is not up till 2027. The owner Stuart Sternberg announced plans in 2018 to move the team across the bay to a more accessible location in Tampa, but fans are skeptical on how the club and city will be able to fund the $700 million plus cost of a new park. With increased funds from the short term plans and efforts to expand the fan base and drive ticket sales, there is more of a chance for The Tampa Bay Rays to reach their long term plan of leaving Tropicana field and re-building a new park. This could take years to reach a sustainable amount of funds to even begin making building plans, however, by implementing the short term plans above, the chances are much higher for The Rays.
1. Use social media to engage relationships. Though it can be difficult to measure return on investment on ticket sales from social media, it remains a powerful mechanism for storytelling and interaction. The Tampa Bay Rays should introduce an app that informs fans of their schedule, promotions, special events, news updates, etc. By doing so, it will keep fans up to date with all the upcoming information needed to be a perfect Rays fan.
2. Take theme nights to the next level. Although theme nights are not new to the sports marketing world, going above and beyond just one theme night a season, gives families a reason to attend more games so their children can have more of a fun memorable experience.
3. Create unique group sales. Teams can build on theme nights by tailoring events to specific audience segments to drive group sales. For example, partnering up with local businesses and having an employee party to celebrate accomplishments is an easy avenue to target.
4. Extend the experience. The game experience shouldn't be limited to the sporting event but should be engaging before, during and after. Scheduling games and activities between innings, possible fireworks after the game, and even jump houses or free snow cones are just a few ways to get more families and fans involved. With this experience, it is no longer just a baseball game, but a full day/night of events and entertainment.
5. Focus on season tickets sales and reward loyal fans. Season tickets are crucial to building sales early on and keeping seats filled. Launching efforts many months ahead of the start of the season and employing a multifaceted sales campaign including email, phone, print, outdoor, digital, television and radio marketing. Rewarding season-ticket holders is very important to show that they are appreciated. By holding private events/parties for season-ticket holders, allowing early entry, specialized parking spaces, or free food at certain games most likely ups the chance of these individuals re-signing their season contract.