November 30, 2011 | Volume 10, Issue 14

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Dear Faithful Readers,

Recently, I was taking in a local sporting event that was doing a hat giveaway. I didn't think much of it since this is a standard promotion for our industry, however the conversation I overheard between a father and son was quite enlightening. After sharing with his son that the hat cost the team just over a dollar, the son responded, "So people are willing to pay $43 to get a $1 hat?" This got me thinking...are our promotions creating the largest impact or are we hurting our brands by using promotions that, although effective, lack perceived value? If we want to use Giveaways or Gift with Purchase strategies, then we need to understand our audience well enough to choose the correct "gift." Today's sports fans are beyond the simple sport giveaway trinkets that sit in a drawer. They desire practical and useful giveaways. Plus, why have your team's logo at the bottom of a junk drawer when you can integrate it into your fans' daily routine? This is what drew me to one of the most innovative and functional giveaways that swept through ballparks around country...GELZEEZ. As you will read below, using an everyday functional item, Minor League Baseball was able to brand this useful product for their fans.

Enjoy the Feature,

Joe Shapero
[email protected]

P.S. Can't find an opportunity to call Ron Koskondy, but want more information about the great GELZEEZ product? Not to worry!...GELZEEZ will be exhibiting at booth #210 at the National Sports Forum this coming year in OKC! Ron and his crew look forward to seeing you there!

MiLB Uses Flash Drives to Increase Merchandise Sales

MLB partners with GELZEEZ to provide MiLB with the next big giveaway.

CONTACT

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Hernan Tudela
Licensing Account Executive
Major League Baseball
Phone: (212) 931-7574
Email: [email protected]

Ron Koskondy
Founder/President
GELZEEZ
Phone: (503) 588-1212
Email: [email protected]

ORGANIZATION

Minor League Baseball

PROGRAM TITLE

"GELZEEZ Gift With Purchase"

OBJECTIVES

Teams undoubtedly recognize the value inherent in a "Gift with Purchase" giveaway. The successful GWP strategy is to identify a "gift" that is not only relevant to the target market, but also contains high perceived value in order to persuade consumers to purchase additional merchandise to receive the gift. From bobbleheads to baseball caps, these giveaways might have been successful in the past, but can no longer keep up with changing consumer preferences. As consumers change, so do the type of giveaway items they desire. Economic uncertainty, spikes in the price of goods and a decrease in disposable income has created a smarter, more practical sports fan who is hesitant to dispose of their hard earned dollars. While quirky and fun worked as a successful giveaway in the past, a sense of higher value and practicality is being demanded now. Keeping this shift in mind, Major League Baseball set out to create a "Gift with Purchase" promotion that would increase sales and move merchandise for all 160 Minor League Baseball teams.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Annually, MLB coordinates a promotion for all of MiLB in order to successfully raise one of their revenue categories. To do this, they purchased GELZEEZ, a patented, customizable, rubberized silicone sleeve covering a 4GB USB which works as a plug-and-play universal storage drive. They can be programmed to be pre-loaded with your marketing materials/message and to automatically play when inserted into a computer. This capability directs fans to a data-collection page for database acquisition. For long term use, fans can use a GELZEEZ to store and transfer their music, photos, and data. Businesses and sports teams can use GELZEEZ as a creative avenue to deliver multimedia content to users. MLB looked to GELZEEZ for its ability to grab consumer attention with both its functionality and creative appeal.

Once Major League Baseball decided to purchase the customized GELZEEZ, they sent out a communication to all 160 MiLB teams offering the chance to become involved. Teams that chose to participate received 50 GELZEEZ to use as a "Gift with Purchase." It was decided by MLB that any fan that spent $50 or more would receive a free GELZEEZ. "GELZEEZ is a great product that served two functions for us. It's practical for our fans and also a great way to advertise," stated Hernan Tudela, Licensing Account Executive for Major League Baseball.

The Personalized MiLB GELZEEZ and lanyard used for the MiLB $50 "Gift With Purchase" giveaway.

MEDIA

The GELZEEZ "Gift with Purchase" promotion was displayed on point-of-purchase marketing collateral in all participating MiLB merchandise stores.

PARTNERS

MLB partnered with GELZEEZ to provide an interactive, practical "Gift with Purchase" that would catch fans attention. In addition to its traditional USB storage properties, GELZEEZ can be used as an innovative marketing tool. Ron Koskondy, Founder and President of GELZEEZ said, "GELZEEZ has unlimited potential as an interactive plug and play device. It can be preprogrammed with any combination of software, photographic and video media, and analytical data collection tools."

RESULTS

MiLB saw a great result from the GELZEEZ promotion, purchasing over 8,100 customized USB's for its participating teams. "155 of the 160 teams chose to participate in the GELZEEZ promotion. This is by far the most number of teams who have participated in one year," stated Tudela. "All of our numbers were up because offering "Gift with Purchase" allows consumers to spend an extra $5 or $10 that otherwise would not have been spent." More fans were persuaded to buy team merchandise and subsequently each team went through 24 to 50 GELZEEZ during the promotion. Overall, all MiLB merchandise sales were up 10% once the promotion concluded.

The POP marketing collateral from the MiLB merchandise locations.
Click here to learn more about GELZEEZ capabilities.

LOOKING AHEAD

Because of the tremendous success with GELZEEZ, MLB and MiLB would consider using the products as a "Gift with Purchase" again in the future.

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For over 16 years, The National Sports Forum has been the largest annual cross-gathering of the top team sports marketing, sales, promotions, and event entertainment executives from throughout the broad spectrum of teams and leagues in North America. The 2012 NSF Conference and Trade Show will be held on January 30 - February 1, 2012 in Oklahoma City, OK. Additionally, NSF attendees and vendors rely on the NSF Alumni Association as their key resource for up-to-date and accurate information about what's going on in the sports industry. Visit www.sports-forum.com or contact The National Sports Forum at (619) 469-4101.

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