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News coverage of the Miller High Life Home Run Derby aboard the USS Yorktown.
Click the image above to watch the video highlights from the event!
Dear Faithful Readers,
The 2013 National Sports Forum is set to be the largest Forum in our 18 year history! With only 17 days left pre-Forum, the NSF World Headquarters is running on all cylinders to keep up with the excitement and finalize the last details before heading to Orlando. That being said, we've opted to take a look back at the most popular issue from the past year, The Charleston RiverDogs Miller High Life Home Run Derby. What makes this issue so unique is that the RiverDogs were able to harness the power of creativity and find a repeatable process that can be used time and time again to bring a new idea to market. Continue reading to "re-discover" what made the Miller High Life home Run Derby such a hit.
Hope to see you in Orlando!
PROGRAM TITLE
Charleston RiverDogs: "Miller High Life Home Run Derby"
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OBJECTIVES
MiLB executives have always understood the value in thinking outside of the box to develop differentials and increase revenue. Without the same appeal as professional sporting events, Minor league teams are pressed to put a premium on using creativity to drive sales. Perhaps there is no sports business professional who understands this more than Mike Veeck, the “Master of doing things that have never been done,” and President of the Charleston RiverDogs. Veeck discerns that, “bringing big, creative ideas to the marketplace is essential to remaining an appealing, profitable organization.” When the RiverDogs received the 53rd annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game they challenged themselves to come up with an innovative approach that would create a buzz, generate incremental sponsorship revenue and perpetuate ticket sales for the game.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
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What began as an idea trip between Veeck and long-time friend Dan Migala, Founding Partner at Property Consulting Group and Publisher at The Migala Report, soon turned into the creation of the Miller High Life Home Run Derby, designed to fuel additional revenue and create a hype for the upcoming South Atlantic League All-Star Game.
It all started when the duo, well-known for their unconventional promotions, came across the retired air craft carrier, the USS Yorktown. Knowing they had a sponsorship gold mine and the chance to present fans with an opportunity they otherwise wouldn’t experience, the two approached the Yorktown in regards to holding the Sally Home Run competition on the carrier. The ship’s management gave the RiverDogs a green light as they saw the potential to raise their profile, get people on the ship and celebrate the legacy of the veterans.
When the event turned from idea to action, the team took a step back and decided to approach the process of obtaining a sponsor in a unique way. Instead of creating a generic platform and shopping it around in an attempt to generate revenue, the RiverDogs began looking for a brand that was committed to the military and resonated with the values of summer and America. “Revenue withstanding, we wanted to make sure that we chose the brand that would make the most sense to be aligned with an event as authentic as the Home Run Derby on the USS Yorktown. We didn’t want this to feel like an ad to the average consumer who was there participating in the event,” explains Migala.
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Keeping this in mind, the team decided upon Miller High Life as their top choice for a possible sponsor, and approached the brand with a sponsorship proposal designed to feel like an internal document. The major challenge in creating this deal was showing Miller potential ROI on an idea that had never been done before. To overcome this hurdle, the team only presented the foundation of the platform and gave Miller ownership in the event by allowing them to finish the package in any way they deemed fit. “This changed the psychology behind the deal because it wasn’t pre-packaged. There was no branding of MiLB or the Charleston RiverDogs, the deck was completely focused on being a platform for Miller High Life to celebrate the values of military, baseball and summer,” Migala adds.
Miller was sold on the deal and signed on as the Home Run Derby title sponsor.
Bill Murray and Miller High Life delivery man, Windell Middlebrooks, at the Miller High Life Home Run derby aboard the USS Yorktown
The Miller High Life Home Run Derby took place on June 18, 2012 as ten contestants, chosen from the All-Star Game rosters, hit balls into the water for home runs. Showing the generosity of the military and the Yorktown, fans were given the code, “All-Star”, to mention to get on the ship at no charge. “The players were extremely accommodating. They showed up in their uniforms, mingled with the crowd and signed a lot of autographs. The audience was in awe, kids were in their little league outfits and it couldn’t have been a more American, authentic event,” adds Migala. In addition to the players, Bill Murray, a co-owner of the Charleston RiverDogs, and the famed Miller High Life delivery man, Windell Middlebrooks, were also in attendance hitting home runs off the carrier.
In doing new things there are always unexpected obstacles that come to fruition. In the case of the Miller High Life Home Run Derby, the team was faced with environmentalists concerns about damaging the surrounding coral and fish. The RiverDogs took advantage of Charleston’s large military presence, and enlisted the help of the U.S. Navy Seals, who spent the day on jet skis and kayaks retrieving the balls from the Atlantic Ocean. Veeck humorously recalls, “I have had outfielders who didn’t get to the ball as fast as these guys.”
PARTNER
What Miller valued from the investment was the chance to have on-site activation, the chance to tell the story virally and the opportunity to be apart of a fun event that matched their values. Additionally, it didn’t hurt that the timing of the event was a perfect entry point to a primary beer sales holiday for the organization - the Fourth of July.
MEDIA
The Miller High Life Home Run Derby and secret code, granting free admittance, garnered both local and national attention. The event was initially promoted by all of the teams in the South Atlantic League via social media and traditional press and was picked up by the local newspaper and TV shows. The chance to watch balls disappear into the Atlantic proved to be a once in a lifetime experience for fans, sparking a big reaction on Twitter and adding to the media firestorm that erupted around the event. Many authentic, personal videos were shot by fans and went viral via social media. “The credibility of having a video shot from a phone blends itself more to the social media world than a high quality, professional video,” explains Migala. Once the event went viral on social media it fostered national attention from CNN, Deadspin and TMZ. “Great promotions are collaborations and something happened with this promotion that is rarely encountered. The media called it the Miller High Life Home Run Derby from the start, showing “tip of the hat” respect that is not often seen,” remarks Veeck.
RESULTS
The Miller High Life Home Run Derby was a huge success and far surpassed all expectations. The South Atlantic League All-Star game was played on Tuesday night and the Home Run derby took place the day before. Having the event immediately preceding the game created a buzz around the All-Star game 24-hours before and increased ticket sales. The RiverDogs sold 25% of their tickets in that 24-hour period. In addition to new ticket sales, the Home Run Derby provided incremental sponsorship revenue and showed that the RiverDogs are a creative organization focused on family, fun and military support.
LOOKING AHEAD
The real lesson here isn’t a successful promotion on a carrier ship, but rather the repeatable process behind bringing big ideas to market and doing things that have never been done before. “It’s not just the gimmick behind the idea; it’s the science of using the right approach with a sponsor. Take a hard look at what you have, find that soul mate sponsor and follow the repeatable steps from this promotion and you will find yourself making the same national headlines that we did with the Miller High Life Home Run Derby,” claims Migala.
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