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Click the image above to learn more about the Charlotte Bobcats Wednesday Night Baskeball Campaign!
Dear Faithful Readers,
Fan relations are essential to ticket sales; especially, when teams have no control over their scheduling. Teams that are handed numerous undesirable games must rely on how their brand appeals to fans in order to keep filling seats, regardless of game schedule. Creating an unforgettable overall experience is a sure fire way to make games, which are typically less attractive, spark excitement amongst fans. Recognizing the importance of the fan experience as a way to increase attendance, the Charlotte Bobcats are making their home games the place to be on Wednesday nights. Continue reading to see how this exciting marketing campaign has Uptown Charlotte buzzing during the work week.
Enjoy the feature,
Chantelle Neep
[email protected]
P.S. - Want even more revenue generating ideas? Follow @NatlSportsForum on Twitter to get more helpful insights on #sportsbiz, #sponsorship and more!
PROGRAM TITLE
Charlotte Bobcats: Wednesday Night Basketball
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OBJECTIVES
When it comes to ticket sales, there are many factors that teams can control, but there are also some they cannot. Scheduling can either enhance or inhibit a team’s ability to get fans in-stadium, and teams have little to no control over how many high-profile opponents or weekend games they receive from the League. However, teams continuously see lower attendance for midweek home games. With these factors in mind, how do teams improve fan relations in order to ensure their attendance for less desirable games? A game day promotion may be a short-term solution, but it doesn't guarantee fans will come to the next midweek game. The Bobcats face a similar situation with their franchise-record thirteen Wednesday night home games and have created a campaign to improve the overall fan experience on these nights by fostering an environment that excites fans and has them coming back for more.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
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The Bobcats created the Wednesday Night Basketball campaign, a unique marketing strategy centered around all home games on Wednesday nights, as a way to approach the thirteen midweek home games they were given. While the Bobcats understand that games during the work week often bring lower attendance numbers, they realized they had an opportunity to capitalize on the young demographic living in the Uptown Charlotte area. Seth Bennett, Senior Vice President of Marketing for the Bobcats, states, “For the numerous young professionals with no family obligations living in Uptown Charlotte in close proximity to Time Warner Cable Arena, attending midweek games makes a lot of sense given their weekly work schedules which may include busy weekends. We want to create an environment where young professionals can connect with other young professionals while enjoying a great brand of entertainment.”
Uptown Charlotte has officially become the place to be on Wednesday Nights. The Charlotte Bobcats have used the EpiCentre, the city’s hub for dining, entertainment, recreation, nightlife and hospitality located directly adjacent to Time Warner Cable Arena, as a way to make Wednesday Night Basketball the “it” place to be for local nightlife enthusiasts. Fans are able to purchase tickets dependent on their preferences and what they're looking to gain from their night out. This ranges from box seats to affordable ten dollars tickets. Included with purchase is complimentary access to ride the Light Rail, a nine-mile commuter train in Uptown Charlotte, for the entirety of the game day. After they arrive, fans can walk over to the EpiCentre and receive numerous discounts and deals offered by the participating venues located in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. The discounts are granted by simply showing vendors their game day ticket.
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Next, fans enter the arena where they're exposed to even more Wednesday Night Basketball, exclusively offered during these highlighted games. At the team store, fans are able to purchase certain items at a discounted rate, including merchandise that is normally in the twenty to twenty-five dollar range at half price. At the concession stand, fans can take advantage of bottomless popcorn or four dollar beer. During the game, a special pre-game introduction and in-game entertainment have been created around the Wednesday night theme, designed to completely emerse fans in the Wednesday Night Basketball experience. As an added bonus, fans may have the opportunity to meet local NBA legends, such as David Thompson or Robert Parish.
Overall, the Wednesday Night Basketball campaign creates an Uptown Charlotte “wow” factor with the main focus of improving all aspects of the fan experience for those attending a midweek Charlotte Bobcats home game.
A special Wednesday Night Basketball commercial has been created to attach a persona to the promotion. The objective of the
commercial is to show that Wednesday night has become the most "popular" day of the week, making all other days envious.
MEDIA
The Bobcats are advertising their campaign with large Wednesday Night Basketball decals on the sides of the Light Rail commuter trains. Fox Sports South presents Wednesday night home games with Wednesday Night Basketball graphic treatment during their television broadcast and CBS Radio promotes the campaign across their networks. On an online front, the Bobcats are publicizing the campaign with The Charlotte Observer as well as their social media outlets. Finally, the Bobcats are in the process of releasing a commercial depicting Wednesday night as the most "popular" night of the week, making all other days envious. The commercial will air on local TV stations and other outlets online.
PARTNER
The Bobcats are working with the Charlotte Area Transit System and participating EpiCentre venues to offer fans unique promotions. They're also working with their partners: Fox Sports South, The Charlotte Observer and CBS Radio to promote the Wednesday Night Basketball campaign.
RESULTS
The Bobcats saw success during their first Wednesday Night Basketball game on November, 7th, vs. the Phoenix Suns, but that success increased exponential for their next Wednesday night game on Decemeber 5th, vs. the New York Knicks when they first began their promotions with the EpiCentre and Light Rail. There was an incremental increase in the number of sales pertaining to concession items and merchandise. In fact, the team store sold-out of the promotional t-shirts and was forced to revert to their back-up stock. Flavil Hampsten, Senior Vice President of Ticket Sales & Database Marketing for the Bobcats, added, “For that Wednesday night game, we were able to match and exceed our walk up sales compared to weekend games.”
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bobcats will continue to look at new ways to enhance the Wednesday Night Basketball campaign. In the future, they can see this becoming a promotion that is centered around other days in the week as well. Hampsten also adds, “The Wednesday Night Basketball campaign serves as a great tool to discover the likes and dislikes of our fans. Ultimately, we can use this information to increase our season tickets sales and renewals in the future.”
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