Click the image above to learn about My El Paso Chihuahuas!
Dear Faithful Readers,
My name is Ryan Heidrich and I am the new Editor of "Selling It...". I know you are most likely bummed that from now on you are stuck looking at my mug while opening your "Selling It.." issue, so I will do my best to provide the best content and features possible.
This latest story features the El Paso Chihuahuas and their quest to grow fans through social media. For a new franchise in a new city growing a stable fan base is the number one goal. El Paso has seen great success in their "My El Paso Chihuahuas" program, which has generated some social buzz around El Paso.
This will actually be the second time in one week the Chihuahuas will be in the news. If you have not seen the prank the team pulled on Jeff Francoeur head over here to check it out!
Enjoy the feature,
Ryan
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
El Paso Chihuahuas: My El Paso Chihuahuas
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OBJECTIVES
The most important player on any sports team isn’t on the roster. They are in the stands. Without fans, sports teams have nothing. The fans are ultimately what keeps the team in business. With the vital role fans play in a sports team’s life, it is imperative to continue to increase your fan base every season. Looking at the huge role of social media in today’s society, teams are finding that one of the best ways to reach fans is through this medium.
Playing off of this idea, The El Paso Chihuahuas, a start up minor league baseball team, have created a platform that draws fans in with contests and giveaways, and entices them to “share" the news on various social media sites. With the sharing the fans are doing, the team is gaining popularity around El Paso. This platform also helps accomplish their objective of acquiring demographic data about the fan base they have already, allowing them to reach out and expand even further.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
My El Paso Chihuahuas is a platform linked to the Chihuahua’s website containing fan contests and giveaways. It is a way for fans to have a fun, interactive experience with the team while allowing the Chihuahuas to capture significant demographic data. The website link takes the fans to contests such as winning a signed jersey, tickets to one of the Chihuahua’s games, and even large prizes like a weekend trip to visit the Chihuahua’s major league affiliate city.
When fans register for these contests they answer basic demographic questions such as age, gender, and location, but this platform also allows the team to insert open-ended questions such as how many games the fan has attended and whether they are interested in season tickets or individual game tickets. These open ended questions can be customized for each contest and allow the follow up calls that the Chihuahua’s make to their fans to be tailored to each individual. This platform also increases the website traffic for the team by linking the contests to the official website of the Chihuahuas.
With this platform, the Chihuahuas have created new ways of capturing vital demographic data about their fan base all while employing an interactive experience for the fans and this upcoming team.
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Click above to visit the My El Paso Chihuahuas Contest Page!
PARTNERSHIP
The El Paso Chihuahuas partnered with GAGA Sports and Entertainment, a San Francisco based company that specializes in providing revenue, sponsorship, and branding opportunities for sports teams and brands. The platform that GAGA created with The El Paso Chihuahuas promotes progressive data capture opportunities and helps generate new fans through easy to use technology. Jamie Pardi, Co-Founder and CEO of GAGA Sports and Entertainment said, “President Alan Ledford and his entrepreneurial team seem to be going all in on their marketing efforts. They certainly have in regards to our platform. They are generating more registrations and more ticket leads than some of our largest pro sports teams. Their results are leading NFL, EPL, NBA and NHL teams to rethink how much they can accomplish. The fact that this is happening in a city the size of El Paso is staggering. Alan’s team gobbles up every data point, data optimization tip, and every social media tactic that we give them. Everything can be tied back to revenue and that means if you are as committed as the Chihuahuas everything can be optimized….and they are optimized.”
RESULTS
Since the launch of My El Paso Chihuahuas, the team has seen large increases in their social media fan base and website traffic. The weekly likes on the team’s Facebook page has increased from 1354 before the program release to 3650 after the program release. The Chihuahuas have noticed that their most socially active posts have become posts involving the promotions on the My El Paso Chihuahuas platform. The number of people talking about the Chihuahuas on Facebook has increased since the launch of the platform from 6281 to 19,639. The team has also seen an increase in website traffic across the board, and they have noticed a significant increase in their female fan base since the launch of this platform as well.
LOOKING AHEAD
Moving forward, the Chihuahuas aim to continue to increase their amounts of contests and promotions and continue to widen their fan base through this platform. With the launch of My El Paso Chihuahuas coinciding with their first season in history, The Chihuahuas are looking to continue to broaden the amount of benefits the My El Paso Chihuahuas has to offer as their seasons continue. Jon Staub, Marketing Database Coordinator for the Chihuahuas, says, “Moving forward we plan to continue to explore the endless interactive opportunities that My El Paso Chihuahuas affords us and our fans. Offering one-of-a-kind experiences, merchandise, tickets, and potential game-used items moving forward will allow us to continue to build our brand within our community and abroad and establish ourselves as an innovative and fan-friendly franchise that allows our fans to continually feel a sense of ownership and pride with the Chihuahuas brand.”
CONTACT
For more Information, contact:
Jon Staub, Team Database Coordinator, El Paso Chihuahuas
Jamie Pardi, Co-Founder and CEO, GAGA Sports and Entertainment
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