May 18 2011 | Volume 9, Issue 26

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Dear Faithful Readers,

There has been countless number of sport franchise owners that make declarations to their fan base on improving the quality of their team's play. "We are moving in the right direction." "I like how are team is developing." "Everyone within our organization is focused on winning a championship." I think that is what drew me to this week's feature. For once, an ownership group is putting their money (and reputation) where their mouth is. As you will read below, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber took the unconventional approach to prove to their fans that they are 100% serious about turning a dismal franchise into a winner. If only more owners had the fortitude to follow their lead.

Enjoy the Feature,

Joe Shapero
[email protected]

Groundbreaking Renewal Campaign Brings "Golden" Results to Warriors

Bay Area basketball fans take advantage of performance incentive renewal campaign.

CONTACT

Advertisement

Kyle Spencer
Executive Director, Team Marketing
Golden State Warriors
Phone: 510-986-2212
Email: [email protected]

ORGANIZATION

Golden State Warriors

PROGRAM TITLE

2011-2012 Season Ticket Renewal Campaign

OBJECTIVES

With the potential of a NBA lockout looming on the horizon, the new owners of The Golden State Warriors wanted to show the passionate Bay Area basketball fans that they were serious about changing the negative perception of Warriors basketball. After a 36-46 record during the 2010-2011 regular season, the Bay Area team was looking for an effective way to retain some of their devoted fans. Rather than following the standard reward for season ticket renewals, owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber wanted on court results to be the ultimate incentive. "We wanted to come up with a renewal plan that protected and rewarded our most loyal fans, while also laying out some performance guarantees that would demonstrate to our Season Ticket Holders that, internally, we have raised the expectations for our organization from top to bottom," said Warriors President Robert Rowell. "We developed a comprehensive plan that put the interests of our Season Ticket Holders first."

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Golden State Warriors decided on a team performance incentive renewal campaign that provided season ticket holders with the unique opportunity to sign a Risk-Free Article of Agreement during the renewal season. Current season ticket holders were delivered their renewal statements for the 2011-12 season in early March, which laid out the following stipulations applied by the team in the Risk-Free Article of Agreement.

The Warriors' Risk-Free Article of Agreement references four performance incentives. The first is that the Warriors will reach the 2012 NBA Playoffs, which if not attained, results in no price increase on seats renewed for the 2012-2013 season. The second is that the Warriors will have a representative in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, which results in received autographed All-Star related items, plus an entry into a drawing for an all-expense-paid trip for two to the 2012 NBA All-Star Game if no Warriors are selected. The third incentive is that the Warriors will win 25 of their home games, which if they cannot, the renewal season ticket holders gain an exclusive two-hour autograph event with the entire team. Lastly, the fourth incentive is related to the uncertainty of the lockout. With a 25% deposit payment under the "Risk-Free with a 5% Interest Guarantee," if any preseason or regular season games are missed during the 2011-2012 season, season ticket holder's payment will accrue a 5% annual rate on a monthly basis. Additionally, if there is a loss of the entire 2011-2012 NBA season due to a work stoppage, all incentives will carry over to the 2012-2013 NBA season.

Furthermore, for selected renewed season ticket holders, the Warriors promoted them through an on-going piece on Warriors.com. This included a personalized press release as well as a video interview commending their decision to "Sign With The Warriors."

A screenshot of the personalized interactive renewal landing page
created for every season ticket holder, view by clicking here.

MEDIA

Each Season Ticket Holder received a comprehensive renewal package in the mail, which contained an in-depth description of the Articles of Agreement and a Risk-Free Renewal, a list of season ticket holder perks specific to that person's current arrangement, a pricing breakdown for the upcoming 2011-2012 NBA season and their season ticket holders invoice. Season ticket holders were also promised that ticket prices would not increase. The package also contained a letter from owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber which guaranteed the Warriors will compete at the highest level.

A full-page print ad also ran in each of the Bay Area's major Sunday newspapers on Sunday, March 20, laying out the Article of Agreement to all Warriors fans and inviting them to visit a custom website that was developed for the campaign.

In addition to the website that was open to the visiting public, a personalized interactive landing page was created for every season ticket holder with unique data points based on the account attributes. The landing page contains the ticket holder's actual seat location and the Warriors' representative designated to their account. The interactive portions of this page allowed the season ticket holder to view videos from Warriors' owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, and also allowed them to virtually grab a pen and "sign" their contract with the Warriors. (Click here to see web version of Risk-Free Article of Agreement)

PARTNERS

While creating this year's renewal campaign, the Warriors worked with San Francisco-based advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. "The Warriors have incredibly loyal fans," said Jamie Barrett, Creative Director, Partner at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners. "We proposed a campaign that we felt would reward that loyalty, offering the first-ever contract between a professional sports team and its fans. To demonstrate the Warrior's confidence in their future, the team offered real performance guarantees in the contract - also a first in the world of professional sports."

RESULTS

The new direction of the organization's leadership, as well as their imaginative and interactive renewal campaign has truly provided a positive message to the fan base. Plus, the results have justify the effort. 84% of the team's season ticket holders to date have renewed their seats for the 2011-12 season, demonstrating the remarkable success of the campaign. "[Our fan's] response has been tremendous," stated Rowell. "Our 84% renewal rate puts us amongst the league's top-10 and is the highest mark of any non-playoff team this season."

Selected renewed season ticket holders were highlighted in a personalized
press release, which was hosted on the Warriors' homepage.

LOOKING AHEAD

With promises made, the Warriors await the on court results to determine if this is a strategy they will look to use in future renewal campaigns.

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