November 3, 2010 | Volume 9, Issue 12

Steve LaCroix
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Chief Marketing Officer
Minnesota Vikings Football Club, LLC
(952) 828-6542
[email protected]

David Moroknek
President and CEO
MainGate Inc.
(317) 260-2500
[email protected]

Minnesota Vikings Vending Machine

The NFL is no stranger to creating new revenue streams in order to constantly increase revenue. As can be seen from years past, the NFL is usually very successful in this initiative. One team in particular, the Minnesota Vikings, have proved to be a top contributor to the successful sales of NFL merchandise. From early April to mid-September of this year, the Vikings ranked 6^th among the leagues 32 teams for merchandise sales on NFLShop.com, making the Vikings an ideal candidate to start a new and innovative revenue stream built around these sales.

As the Vikings continue to push their "Show Your Horns" platform, they are constantly looking for new avenues to provide Vikings' licensed products to fans. The Vikings' goal was to explore fresh trends and create an innovative program to expand the reach of their brand and increase the sales of team merchandise.

Vikings' President and Team Owner Mark Wilf developed the concept of a vending machine full of team merchandise. Utilizing their already existing partnership with Indianapolis based company MainGate Inc., the Vikings were able to develop the NFL's very first team branded vending machine. "With vending machines becoming more and more commonplace - especially in airports and in other countries - we thought we would test the concept with our fans via a location at Mall of America," said Vikings Vice President of Sales & Marketing/Chief Marketing Officer, Steve LaCroix. Decked in purple and gold, the vending machine was placed in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, encouraging mall goers to "Show Their Horns." "Consumers are getting very comfortable with self service from a retail perspective. It's a trend that e-commerce has led the way, then came self check-out at almost every grocery store in the country and now Vending Machines for non-traditional items," said David Moroknek, President and CEO of MainGate Inc.

Items inside the vending machine include shirts, footballs, bobble heads, trading cards, customized rubber bracelets, hats and more, ranging in price from five to twenty-five dollars. Jerseys and other high-priced items cannot be purchased from the vending machine as they are too large and too expensive to be left in such a vulnerable spot. The new Vikings vending machine has made it quicker and easier than ever for fans to get their hands on team merchandise.

A shot of the Minnesota Vikings vending machine in the Mall of America.

The Vikings vending machine had little advertising and media publicity, sending out only a press release to announce the new program.

The Minnesota Vikings used existing partner, MainGate Inc., as the merchandise partner for this program. One of the top event retail and merchandising companies in the country, MainGate provides clients with various channels of merchandise distribution. MainGate was brought on last year to grow the merchandise business and provide innovative ideas and sales techniques to increase revenue and further develop the Vikings brand. MainGate operates all Viking Locker Room mall stores, merchandise locations in the Mall of America and Mankato training camp, as well as online merchandise sales.

Since the vending machines were implemented at the beginning of the 2010 NFL season, it is too soon to determine the results of such a new venture. However, the Vikings and MainGate are confident this new outlet will grow sales of the Vikings products. "We believe that this is a viable method of selling licensed products, and an economical way to increase the number of outlets we have to service the core fans. Growing merchandise sales and building the Vikings brand are our goals and we feel this program allows us to do both," said Moroknek.

Minnesota's Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States, is home to the Vikings' vending machine.

Minnesota is only one of MainGate's seven NFL clients, all of whom are lined up to launch their own vending machines in the near future. MainGate hopes to eventually partner with all 32 NFL teams, making team branded vending machines an integral part of merchandise sales.

If the program proves successful, we can expect to see additional Vikings vending machines in the Twin Cities area.

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