ESPN has the read of the day in which my buddy Dave talks about the ticket promotions and others call the Mets crazy because that’s what people do.
Before we get to Dave, I’m a big believer in getting people in the park. If you go, you might actually like it. Mets Police Mom is a great example.
If you go and you like it you might go again.
If you go and you like it you might spend money. Jersey purchases aside I’m good for $20 in food and beverages.
If you go and you like it and bring your kid then you have a customer in 20 years.
Why leave a seat empty?
I like t-shirt Tuesday, I like the $2.50 promotion, I like the twicket, I like the ticket package I created for myself.
Here’s Dave:
“Sunday was a challenge because of the holiday, and we just wanted to make an offer available. It also was geared with experimenting in the social-media space,” Howard said. “It was a Twitter-based promotion. We called it a ‘Twicket.’ It was one of those things where we had the inventory because of the holiday. We gave it a shot, and it was very successful.
….
“It’s a balance,” Howard acknowledged. “We’re trying to strike an appropriate balance to have people come out and experience Mets baseball in 2012, to realize what a great facility we have, realize what a great experience it is, and the fact that the team is going to be a fun team to watch. We’re not going to overdo it. But, by the same token, especially early in April, we want to get people excited and have them come out and sample the product, because we think the product will be very compelling for them. We think it is a good marketing exercise to stimulate interest early on.”
There’s much more from Dave in the article. Good stuff.
Good job by the Mets trying to embrace the fans. Isn’t that what we wanted all along?
completely agree. here’s an example for me: i bought islanders opening night tickets this year. i hadn’t been to an isles game in three years. i’m a former season ticket holder, so i once was at 25-30 games a year. opening night comes and first thing i do is hit the team store. i spend over $150. apparently, that entitled me to free tickets to one of three games of my choosing. pretty cool, right? so i came back on the free day, spent $50 in food and drink, $10 in parking and, most importantly, remembered how much i loved going to hockey games. i ended up going to 12 this year. did the isles make the playoffs? no, but now they have me hooked on hockey again, in the form of merchandise, tv ratings and ticket revenue. that’s the whole idea of these types of promotions. i have to imagine the implications of a team with a MUCH nicer facility, play in gorgeous weather and have more visible brand, would be even more successful.
I took advantage of the Sunday twicket and had a great time. And as far as the Mets bottom line, I wound up spending about 25 bucks on various concessions. I hope they keep coming up with creative events like this.
Unfortunately, the Mets’ 5 year business model from 2007 likely assumes a full ballpark with all fans paying premium prices. You now have a half-filled park, with people paying discounted prices, plus they need to giveaway lots of stuff. The danger is fans will now demand the lower prices going forward. The one and only cure…meaningful games in September.