June 28, 2006

Volume 5, Issue 11

Shirts Off Our Backs...And Our Shoes Too!

Contact Info: Tracy Marek, VP of Marketing, 216-420-2311; [email protected]; Brian Thornton, Director of Marketing, 216-420-2187; [email protected]

Team: Cleveland Cavaliers   

Program title: Fan Appreciation Night

Objective: The Cavaliers had two objectives:

1. To have a major themed promotion that provided sincere thanks to fans for a season of unbelievable support
2. To create a unique opportunity for Cavaliers players to “thank” fans.

Program Description: Fan fantasy- What if you could win an I-Pod, a lease on a Mercedes, $20,000 in home mortgage payments, and an authentic team player’s worn jersey or shoe?  You’d almost want to keep it a secret to win alone cause it’s that good.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made fan fantasy a reality with their Fan Appreciation night.  This is how it all panned out…

First, the Cavs Crew, Cavalier Girls, Moondog and Cavaliers Legends greeted fans as they got off the RTA (metro trains) the day before the game, providing complimentary coffee from Dunkin Donuts.  Then there was even a pep rally with at Tower City (a major downtown mall and business luncheon location) to build energy for the event.  The bigger show came game day…

 - $500,000 in prizes and giveaways – The Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena team members worked closely with corporate partners, clients, contacts and vendors to provide significant prize donations that could be provided to fans. With a strong philosophy that focused on providing giveaways to all fans in attendance all season, the evening’s event was no different.  Over 20,000 prizes were passed out this way.  Prizes included everything from I-Pods to dinner gift certificates; cell phones to t-shirts; movie passes, $37,500 in home mortgage payments, and even a lease on a Mercedes! 

 - Shirts Off Our Backs & Shoes Off Our Feet – All fans in attendance were automatically registered to participate in a first-half drawing to win a player jersey or shoe.  All ticket stubs went into a “hopper,” then representatives from Cingular (team partner) pull tickets from the drum from a visible platform in the arena during a timeout.  Seat locations were announced on the center hung scoreboard and posted on corner LED boards through the balance of the game.  Fans were then asked to report to a certain location to participate in a post-game event.  Immediately following the game, the court went lights out while winning fans were lined up at center court.  Then the players took off their jerseys and put on a “Thanks Fans” shirt… And one at a time, they gave away their jerseys and their shoes (one fan received a jersey, one fan received a left shoe, one fan received a right shoe).  All jerseys and shoes also came with letters of authenticity.

 - Quicken Loans mortgage giveaway – All fans received a register to win card at the turnstile, (was not in the gift bags, provided separately), and were able to register to win part of their mortgage payment through Quicken Loans.  In an Ed McMahon type of moment, 4 winning fans were presented with a large check and balloons during each of the four quarters, with the level of money won escalating with each quarter… 1^st -- $2,500; 2^nd -- $5,000; 3^rd -- $10,000; 4^th -- $20,000.

The prize patrol consisted of about 70 representatives from the UPS (in their familiar brown outfits), who handed out the prize bags. All in-game moments were escalated dramatically, with a t-shirt toss that might normally include about 100 shirts, being built up to over 2,000 shirts. 

Thanks Fans messages from the players were run on the scoreboard throughout the game, and “Thanks Fans” graphics were put on the court for that game only.  Entertainment groups and all staff wore “Thanks Fans” t-shirts.  There were even additional free activities for fans, such as free back massages.  Basically, the Cav fan was in Cavalier heaven.

Results:  The fan response was remarkable with a sold out event of 20,562!   Fans were spoiled in prizes and fun for the very last game of the season, on a Wednesday versus Atlanta.  Having already clinched the playoffs, the game was driven by the promotion.

The tremendous support of the Cavaliers staff (also known amongst each other as “team members”), have been able to exceed the team prize goal every year.  In 2003/04, they set the Fan Appreciation prize goal at $100,000, but we raised over $250,000 in prizes that year.  So, in 2004/05, the goal was set higher at $250,000… but raised over $500,000!  This year, the team goal set twice as high as last year to be $500,000, but still the Cavaliers exceeded this by $50,000! The team does not place a value against our player jerseys and shoes (which are clearly a highlight to this event), so these amazing prizes do not impact the prize total.  Undeniably, the Cavaliers have leap-jumped expectations each year. 

Media:  The Cavaliers’ Fan Appreciation Night was promoted heavily through team marketing assets (radio, in-arena, web and television) for about one month prior to the event.  Further promotion for the event was done by team media partners, including The Plain Dealer, 19 Action News, WMMS, and WTAM for about 2 weeks prior to the event.

Sponsor/Partner: Cingular was the main sponsor of the event.  Due to the wide scope of the Fan Appreciation Night, the majority of Cavaliers corporate partners had a role in the event.

Looking Ahead: With such a great format, the Cavaliers just want to continue growing by exceeding the team’s prize goals and surprising their fans with innovative and genuine promotional events.

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