I sent this email to Weiland this morning, but then I thought others should really read this also. Curious if it hits a chord with anyone else.
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Steve,
Fact is, we have an round of expansion application set to start in one year. We need to capitalize on that, and ergo, plan for that capitalization.
I was hanging with Jason at Champ's last night. We got some marketing ideas.
*The owners' meeting has got to be in a public place. We need a big flippin banner with the ICA logo on it, and we need to own the spare room of Anyway's or something. We could have expansion applications on hand. We also need microphones to amp this bad boy.
*We arrange for the ICA to be set up as a charitable organization, which is admittedly expensive. However, we host a charity poker tournament, once again to be held at a public place. Cue the aforementioned banner.
*On draft day, we have to get Adam in a suit to read every pick. It's got to be more about entertainment/theatre than about getting a draft done. Once again, in a public place. Expansion apps on hand. Get a LED-light display detailing each pick. Every owner shouting and clapping - a la the NFL - after each pick. Other owners are wearing appropriate attire with their team's logo on it. We're using microphones again. Big honkin posterboards are all over the place with each team's roster and logo. We get a HARDCORE draft board.
With three over-the-top, very public, very fun events in a public place of people interested in baseball, the market value of each team - including expansion teams - will skyrocket. If we play our cards right, in 5 years the value of an ICA franchise could hit $1000 if we approach this with a sound marketing strategy and treat it like a business. That's not a bad return.
But, we have to get out of this mentality that we can't be more than 10 schmucks on Yahoo. If we begin with the end in mind - an aggressive, professional, competitive fantasy baseball league that only allows the most serious of owner - and act toward that end, the ICA will be the cream of the crop of fantasy baseball everywhere.
But it starts with marketing.
Anyone's thoughts please?
-Tom
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2 comments:
As long as we're making this a public discussion, here's the e-mail I wrote back to Tom ...
Making the league 1st Class will mean dramatically increasing entry fees -- I hope you guys realize that. I met resistence just trying to increase fees to $50 this year. To put on events like you're talking, we'll need to increase fees probably double that, and even if that were approved, you're looking at half our budget going into marketing. Frankly, if I'm going to be spending $100 a year, at least $75 of it should be going into the prize pot.
Furthermore, if we end up attracting these high-rollers like you say you want, they're not going to want to spend hundreds of dollars to join a league that has a $40 entry fee. They're going to roll their eyes and go join a league that has some real financial backing. Leagues with $1,000 entry fees are out there, and they will seek those out.
I'm not opposd to making this a big-time league, and I'm also not going to bitch and moan if the ownership ultimately wants to keep fees cheap, as was decided this year. But you can't have it both ways.
The first step towards doing all this is to significantly raise annual fees. Until there's support for that, all this is just talk that can't come to fruition.
First of all, marketing is not an expense, it's an investment. If you knew it'd cost you $100 bucks to have $1000 in 3 years, you'd do it.
Secondly, the LED-light display and the banner were the only things I mentioned that cost money. That's less than $80, which is what we have on hand in expansion fees.
Third, Jason and Weiland both have outstanding fundraising activities which would double as marketing.
This is doable. Myopically ruling something out is, well, myopic.
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