Click the image above to see the Rangers7 commercial!
Dear Faithful Readers,
Now that we’re only a few weeks away from Opening Day, it’s fun to take a look back at an impressive program from last season. This program gave Rangers fans a tangible connection with one of the club's partners. It was such a home run, in fact, that it recently won accolades at the 2014 NSF in Dallas.
Keep reading to find out how the Texas Rangers developed and promoted their partnership with Papa John’s … earning them the 2014 SAMMY Award… and a whole lot of pizza!
Enjoy the feature…
Erin
[email protected]
P.S. - Feeling creative? Send in your best marketing and advertising campaign from 2013 and your team could be the next feature in "Selling It"!
PROGRAM TITLE
RANGERS7
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OBJECTIVES
Fan engagement is a growing trend across the world of sports. With HDTV and the luxury of watching sports from the comfort of your own home, teams are challenged with staying engaged with their fans throughout their respective seasons.
For the Texas Rangers, they wanted to use their dynamic partnership with Papa John’s to raise fan engagement and raise awareness for Rangers7 by combining the two brands. If the program was successful, the Rangers would help Papa John’s sell a lot of pizza and increase regional market share.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The program is fairly simple. Every time the Rangers score 7 or more runs in a game Papa John’s will offer 50% off an entire order the next day. All fans have to do is enter the promo code: Rangers7 when completing the order.
The Rangers and Papa John’s used many different mediums when pushing the promotion out. They understood that in-park signage and a few radio ads weren’t going to automatically make this a success, they had to do more. Traditional marketing strategies were used such as: email blasts, in-stadium signage, social media coverage and a homepage takeover by Papa John’s on texasrangers.com.
However, it was the non-traditional elements that truly made this a successful program. The Rangers used a variety of different promotions that really pushed this program over the top. Some of those ideas included: their 7/7/7 Ticket Offer, the Pudge Induction ceremony and providing pizza in the press box for local media, which encouraged organic promotion of Rangers7.
The 7/7/7 Ticket Offer allowed fans to come to the ballpark and watch the Rangers play on July 7th for just $7. Papa John’s also approved the activation of Rangers7 meaning everyone received 50% their entire order that day. The result was huge, Papa John’s sold a ton of pizza and the Rangers had an influx of new fans in their stadium and in their database.
Rangers7 was also activated on the day that Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez was inducted into the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame. This resulted in a day full of positive news coverage, which raised the programs awareness in the community.
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PARTNERSHIP
This program had everything you need when it comes to partnership. When Papa John’s and the Texas Rangers linked up it was clear what both groups wanted. Papa John’s goal is to sell pizzas and the Rangers need to keep fans engaged throughout the long baseball season. Clearly, both organizations knew what they desired when they entered their special partnership
RESULTS
The Rangers7 promotion was a giant success.
“When we started #Rangers7 shortly before the 2011 season we knew it would work, but never dreamed of the results we are seeing now. With the help of Papa John’s and their agency Loomis we are setting sales records each year for the company and have built a strong brand throughout our fan base," said Chad Wynn, Texas Rangers
The Dallas-Fort Worth area received the #1 market status in the entire country for Papa John’s sales in 2013. Prior to the partnership, DFW ranked 5th in the country. When the program was launched in 2011 the average redemptions were at 755. In 2013, average redemptions were up to 6,130- more than an 800% increase. Finally, in 2013 there was an increase of nearly 70,000 Rangers fans who had eaten Papa John’s over a 30-day period.
LOOKING AHEAD
In 2014 the Rangers and Papa John’s are looking to build off a banner year last season. To keep the promotion fresh, with the help of MLB Advanced Media, we are developing a microsite for Rangers7. “Rangers Lucky 7” will launch just prior to Opening Day and will give fans the chance to log on each day and vote for the Rangers player they think will score the 7th run that game! You can then share your vote across social media channels and winners will receive Papa John’s & Rangers prize packs! Also, for this year we are adding a larger charitable piece to the partnership. During the 2014 season the Texas Rangers will partner with Papa John’s for the new “Double Play Offer”. The offer will allow customers to a get a Large Specialty or 3 Topping Pizza + Any Bread Side or Dessert for $16 and $1 from each purchase will go towards the Texas Rangers RBI Program. The “Double Play Offer” will be activated online using the promo code PJDOUBLEPLAY. In conjunction, the Texas Rangers will host 25 kids at the Globe Life Park each month during the season to wear a Papa John’s t-shirt and have a pizza party before the game.
CONTACT
For more Information, contact:
Chad Wynn, Account Executive, Corporate Partnerships, Texas Rangers
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