A recent article in Advertising Age put forth an interesting re-branding proposition. The article: “Tampa Bay Rays Get a P&G-Style Makeover,” caught my eye. After all, it focuses on pro sports as well as brand revitalization. What’s not to love?
Of course it helps that the Tampa Bay team has an in-house marketing guru, former Procter & Gamble brand manager, Darcy Raymond, as its VP Branding & Fan Experience. Mr. Raymond came aboard as a consultant in 2006 and he’s been analyzing and changing things ever since.
Employing the following P&G staples were an immense help in the re-branding process:
* Focus group research
* On-going analysis of consumer touch points with the brand
* Product improvement
* Constant monitoring of customer satisfaction
As a result, a number of changes were made to the Tampa Bay team:
* Team name has changed from the Devil Rays to simply the Rays.
* Team color has changed from green to blue.
* Team personnel was addressed with great success–the Rays have gone from worst to first in their division, beating out the Boston Red Sox and NY Yankees to do it. The Rays now have one of the best young squads in Major League Baseball.
* Focus was placed on building ticket sales to boost attendance–the Rays are in 26th place for home game attendance among MLB’s 30 teams.
* Additional focus was placed on building sponsorship sales–up 35% this season and expected to double next year.
Judging from results, while inroads have been made, significant challenges remain. For one thing, home game attendance is still spotty. Embarrassing for a team that’s experienced such a dramatic turn-around since last season. Still, the Rays’ first two play-off games sold out at home, as we might expect. And team management is optimistic, knowing that attendance will grow after a one season dramatic turn-around isn’t seen as a mere fluke.
The Rays organization is also working with a group of its “most hard-core fans” to create new cheers, give cowbells away to fans and use You Tube style fan-generated videos on the stadium’s JumboTron. All of this in an effort to counter the vociferous “armies of Northern transplants in the area who flock to the stadium to cheer against the home team whenever the Yankees or Red Sox come to town”. Now that is, no doubt, a big challenge!
P.S. There’s nothing like going to the World Series this year to change perceptions, is there? Congratulations to the Rays and their fans!
Questions:
* What do you think of the idea of employing CPG marketing strategies to a professional sports team?
* What other kinds of businesses, besides consumer products and services, might benefit from these kinds of strategies?
* Do you know of any examples of business successes that benefited from strategic marketing?
I’d love to hear from you.
Ted, as with any marketing effort, “results” come from a diverse set of influences. For the Rays, years of mediocrity have lead them to high draft picks (that helps). They also have a very seasoned manager (former Angels bench coach). And of course, winning never goes out of style – so that helps too.
All this said, the marketing and rebranding has definitely helped increase sales and put the Rays on the map. As detailed in the Ad Age article, their constant attention to customer focus via 30 areas of service quality, is an excellent best practice example of the need to look at all aspects of the brand experience.
Loved the post, thanks for the eye opener of how P&G branding techniques can be transferred to MLB!
Of course you’re right, Paul. A number of factors have led to the Rays’ success this season. I just thought it interesting to focus on the marketing angle, though. It sure helps to have an ex P&G marketer join a professional sports organization to lead the way. New positioning, branding and the whole idea of delivering great fan experiences are just what the doctor ordered for an ailing team with an identity crisis!
BTW: As a native of Philadelphia, I’m sure you can guess who I’m rooting for in the World Series! Thanks, Paul, for weighing in. Much appreciated.
GO PHILLIES
Hey, welcome back, Patricia. You betcha: Go Phillies!
* What other kinds of businesses, besides consumer products and services, might benefit from these kinds of strategies?
How about government services of various sorts? I mean Federal, State, and local. We are always going to need government but it can be made much better.
I especially like the last three on your list of PG&E staples:
* On-going analysis of consumer touch points with the brand
* Product improvement
* Constant monitoring of customer satisfaction
Neil,
Thanks for adding your thoughts to this post. How about non-profits and charitable organizations perhaps benefitting from using this kind of analysis? If they can make their messages more relevant to their target audiences, how much better might they be able to do in raising funds for important causes? Many have been using the same approach and messaging for a long time, and like everything else, a refreshed brand might go a long way to reaching people in a positive way.
Agreed. Government and non-profits need to get on-board. Listen to Drucker!
BTW, I am a big fan of the Nature Conservancy. It is a Teddy Roosevelt style conservation organization. I don’t care if you are liberal, conservative, etc., donate to this organization.
I have talked to many conservatives and liberals who donate.
http://www.nature.org/
What excites me most about this example is that the Rays felt comfortable hiring a marketing person with experience outside the normal (in this case, sports) industry. This has added a new level of thinking and brought new ideas into their strategic planning. So many companies insist on hiring marketing people who only have same-industry experience. This is indeed a breath of fresh air and the results speak for themselves.
Great point, Julie. Sometimes companies can gain great insights and addes strength if they hire competent marketers from other industries. It can be a “breath of fresh air”, as you put it. New perspectives are important and sometimes it takes bringing people in from other sectors to gain them. Thanks for weighing in, Julie.
When I worked on P&G brands at one of their agencies, one of their mantras was “search and reapply”. In other words, if something worked for a brand in another product category, apply those learnings to your brand. This is what the Rays have done with success.
Right, Janine. Good marketing practices can cross from one sector to another, just as strong management practices can, and a number of other skill sets. In fact, the fresh perspective organizations can gain from hiring outside their own sectors, as Julie pointed out, can be the very thing they need. Thanks for giving us the insight of someone who’s had the experience of working with P&G, and for sharing it with us.