With the summer months sliding by I finally had a moment to look back at this month’s update tonight.  Sometimes as I piece together content over a month or so it is hard to tell how well it all comes together until after it’s posted.  This month was stacked with a slew of projects, leaving the update to seem like a bit of an afterthought.

The update features a new “Pro Panel” discussion.  Five industry pros shared their take on how they might handle a potentially offensive giveaway.  It’s always fun to get the creative juices flowing with a handful of people who know their stuff.

Pat Walker also jumped back in with another column and I think this is his best yet.  Pat looks back at the NBA playoffs and the balance of entertainment during the playoffs.  It’s a great read.

While we continue to add products to the new Store on Gameops.com, this month we spent all our efforts on the Shirt Launcher and Cannon pages.  A couple new cannons and accessories are up now and there are still a few more coming soon.  Our goal has been to be one-stop shopping with great pricing and the shirt launcher page is on target for that goal.

Finally we spotlight the Schedule Keychain.  This keychain unrolls to reveal a full color pocket schedule.  Many of our hockey team clients from last season are raving about this product, and it’s sister product the Schedule Pen.  Its a great alternative to the popular schedule magnet for opening night.

As noted a couple times, we are in the final stretch of a huge site overhaul.  You will see some significant changes to Gameops.com in the next two months as we invest in keeping Gameops.com the #1 resource website for game operations and entertianment.

Enjoy the new content and have a great 4th of July.

–Cudo

There is a great survey on SI rating all the MLB teams on various things including promotions and giveaways.  While every market has its unique perspectives, I think you can really pick-up a lot about how fans generally view promotions and giveaways.  You can see all the reviews here.

The Milwaukee Brewers got top billing from the survey with more than 68% of respondents saying their promotions were “Above Average” or “Excellent”.

I thought it was interesting that most of the positive notes had to to with clever connections to the team and it’s players tied to promotions.  Tired ideas like a straight bobblehead were updated with twists like a “WWE” version of Indians’ DH Travis Hafner, Joe Mauer sideburns, or a George Brett t-shirt jersey with pine tar stains imprinted on the shirt.  These ideas reward fans loyalty and add a level of personalization to the giveaway.

Count me in for a shirt honoring a player who is know for sliding and getting dirty that actually looks like their jersey after a game, like Ryan Freel Dirty Shirt Night in Cincinnati.

This serves as a great resource for not only looking at your premium giveaways, but challenging yourself to connect them with the personality and persona of your players and team.

–Cudo

Apologies for the lighter blog schedule this month, we have a lot of things happening behind the scenes at Gameops.com and the summer just tends to be a little slower.

One aspect of the site we have been working on (and that is up and running) is an enhanced section on The Store featuring Shirt Launchers. We have had always had a couple options for shooting shirts on Gameops.com, but our new store has brought a new products and accessories making Gameops.com an unbeatable resource for cannons and launchers.

We now have three manufactures of shirt launchers represented. Each has been tested by us. Over the last few years we have had a couple manufactures come and go, some having guns that are great, but service that we were not 100% comfortable with, or slow delivery, or higher prices. I now feel like we have the best options, pricing and service all flushed out for our readers.

We also have options for shooting Stress Balls and Pucks, as well as offering the ammunition for the launchers. And, as always, the ever-popular Sling Shots.

Check out the new options in the Gameops.com Store.

Enjoy the weekend.

–Cudo

MIAMI — Today the Florida Marlins announced Jeff Conine as the winner of the Marlins Fans Choice Bobblehead Promotion, an online fan-voting contest which provided fans with the opportunity to determine the bobblehead giveaway to be distributed on Friday, Sept. 19 during Fan Appreciation Weekend.

From March 31 through June 1, Florida Marlins fans cast their votes from a list of 15 Marlins franchise players, each representing one of the 15 seasons in team history. The fans selected ‘Mr. Marlin’ as the player whose 1995 season was most deserving of being represented on a coveted piece of memorabilia. The online promotion was part of the team’s 15th anniversary celebration.

“I’m greatly honored and pleased and I would like to thank all the fans who voted online,” said Jeff Conine. “I spent many great years with the Marlins and being part of two championship teams is something I’ll never forget. Although I’m no longer playing ball, my family is proud to call South Florida home and we continue to cheer on the Fish,” said Conine. (Team site promo -Team site announcement)

Great connection for the Fish: Connecting fans, history, the website, and an in-game premium item.

The Marlins have a rather diverse and varied promotion line-up this year. It’s worth a look. Marlin Promtions

If that list isn’t enough for you…how about the Gameops.com Promotions Database? We have over 1000 promotions to search and read.

–Cudo

The Grizzlies and River Cats have shared the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific Southern Division since 2000, when professional baseball returned to Sacramento. The rivalry between the two clubs, though in no formal manner, has extended beyond Chukchansi Park and Raley Field to the close geographic ties between the two cities, and the fact that their Major League parent clubs are rivals on the field as well. The San Francisco Giants (Fresno) and Oakland A’s (Sacramento) engage in the annual Bay Bridge Series, one of the fiercest inter-league battles in baseball.

To celebrate the relationship between the two teams, and their big league affiliates, both the Grizzlies and River Cats will wear throwback jerseys of their parent clubs for one game during each of the four series (July 6, August 22 in Fresno) in a ‘Throwback Throwdown’. The Grizzlies will be dressed in orange Giants jerseys from the 1970’s, while the River Cats will wear classic, green A’s jerseys. At the conclusion of the year, all of the jerseys will be auctioned off at each team’s home park to benefit their respective community funds.

Beginning this season, the team with the best record in the season series will be crowned the champion of the Series and receive the “California Cup” trophy, bearing the inscription of the annual winners, and earn the title of the top Triple-A team in California. Since 2000, Fresno has reigned supreme in their season series with the River Cats only once, in 2001, but the Grizzlies do boast the best mascot in Minor League Baseball (Parker) and baseball’s premier infield-dragging dance crew (The Drag Kings).

I wrote about another series in the Atlantic League called the War of the Roses. It’s an easy connection for fans to build on a natural or geographic rivalry and makes a series of game more meaningful and easier to market and promote.

–Cudo

The Sioux Falls Canaries, Miller, and 103.7 KRRO present Free Beer Thursday on every Thursday Night! Gates open at 5pm with the Miller beer free until 6pm.

If this doesn’t draw fans, I am afraid nothing will.

To see our database of over 1000 promotions, click here.

–Cudo