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

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

FRESNO, CA – On Friday the 13th the Fresno Grizzlies will host a spooktacular tribute to the most spine-chilling night of the year at Chukchansi Park.  The Grizzlies will wear special Friday the 13th theme jerseys in their series opener with the Portland Beavers that will be auctioned off following the game to benefit the Central California Blood Center.

The fifth day of the week and the number 13 both have foreboding reputations said to date from ancient times, and their inevitable conjunction from one to three times a year threatens calamity. The Fresno Grizzlies, unlucky enough to be scheduled for a home game on Friday, June 13th (like half of Minor League Baseball), will celebrate the night with a combination of spooky Halloween elements, an inspection of the superstitions associated with bad luck, and the horror film genre.

“The opportunity, or misfortune, to play on Friday the 13th is something that doesn’t come around very often.  We’re lucky to be able to not only put together what we believe is a top-notch promotional night at Chukchansi Park, but to partner with the Central California Blood Center, a relationship that is both appropriate for the theme, and a very worthwhile cause to support,” said Grizzlies Vice President of Marketing Scott Carter. Carter then proceeded to walk under a ladder, break a mirror, feed his black cat, and say, “Boo!”

Whether purely coincidental or not, Friday the 13th has been unlucky for the Grizzlies on the field.  The team has posted a 1-5 record on the spooky day since the franchise’s inception in 1998, with the lone win coming just last season.  Fresno will try to buck that trend this year wearing special Friday the 13th theme jerseys, in which every player on the field will be wearing #13.

Another simple and effective promotion from the Grizzlies.

I think the charity connection and the ability to weave in the actual record of the team on previous Friday the 13th’s make this promotion seem well planned and meaningful.

If you have noticed that Fresno is getting featured on the blog often, it’s because they have one of many teams who have added info @ gameops.com to their PR mailing list. We get a full PR hit from Fresno about all their promotions…it helps too that Fresno is out front with great promotions and marketing.  Please feel free to add us to your PR list so we can promote your promotions here as well.

Have a spooky night and a great weekend.

-Cudo

It’s like a season long tutorial on how to keep a promotion you do every night interesting: blog.letteddywin.com.

Last season the winner of the Best On-Field Conest or Promotion was the Washington National Presidents Race, featuring the Mount Rushmore Four. Each game during the middle of the 4th break the four costumed Presidents race to the finish. One of the many charms of this contest is that they have never let Teddy Roosevelt win.

One fan (now a small group of fans) built a website tribute to the race and their demand to “Let Teddy Win!”. The site includes game-by-game coverage, photos, video, and a tracking of all the ways the team comes up with to foil Teddy’s attempt at victory.

I can’t think of any other game night promotion with a fan web-site devoted to covering it. I have a mild addiction to checking it, it’s not unhealthy yet, but it is an addition. You can see it here.

This promotion has been nominated again for the 2008 Best of Awards. You can nominate any promotion here on the blog, or email us anytime on the site. We accept nominations all year long.

–Cudo

I have been adding videos on the YouTube Video Section (yes I consider it “work”) and I found a couple that really stood out.

Here is a video piece from the Phoenix Suns on their January 2008 Retro Night. Its a great example of touching all the game elements with a promotion to really make it powerful.

You can read more about the promotion on the Suns web site.

This promotion will also be nominated for the 2008 Best Game Night Promotion, as a great example of a well-thought out promotion.

–Cudo