Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I had said in my last post that the Timberwolves needed some serious marketing help to promote yet another re-building team. They did one marketing move (which I had heard little about, until a few days later), and that was to unveil a new "alternate" jersey.
Many teams have three or more jerseys. There's a standard home jersey, and a standard away jersey. In the last few years, many teams find it fun to unveil a third jersey that is very different from the usual.
Sometimes the alternate jerseys look better than the standard ones. Sometimes the alternate jerseys are so unwelcomed by fans, that the team ends up scrapping them. One such instance was the NBA's Dallas Mavericks a few years ago. They had released an alternate jersey that had a very droll color scheme; and the fans showed their discontent in no uncertain terms. The team wore the jerseys once, and never wore them again.
The Wolves re-vamped their entire uniform a couple years ago. They had shortened "Timberwolves" to just "Wolves" on the front of the home jersey (from their early franchise days), and on the road jersey, exchanged "Timberwolves" for "Minnesota."
Just recently, the Wolves unveiled a black jersey. Everyone loves black. Black is a slimming color, and complements many other colors nicely. This is the second time in franchise history the Wolves have donned a black jersey. I liked the old black jersey better than the new black jersey.
Several years ago, the border on the jerseys was a black border with green pine trees, similar to the primary logo. With the latest uniform re-design, they scrapped the pine trees, and eventually took all the green out entirely. With the new black jerseys, a little green might improve things a bit.
At this link: http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/pressrelease_Wolves_Unveil_New_Black_Alternate_Uniforms_2010_11_23.html
you can see what the new jersey looks like. Personally, I think it's just a little too bland. Instead of complementing the colors, I think the black intermingles with them. There's no contrast.
Maybe that's in tune with the whole team's attitude, though. The Wolves have been nothing short of bland the last few seasons. Attendance has dropped, players come and go, there's more losses than wins. If the Wolves were looking to generate some excitement with this latest marketing ploy, I think they came up a bit short.
Kermit the Frog once sang, "It's not easy being green." In this case, a little green might help.
Thanks for reading.
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Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wolves need some serious marketing help
I have to admit, I've lost all interest in the Timberwolves. I can't even remember the last time I actually paid to go to a game. The last game I went to, I had received free tickets from the Timberwolves promotions department.
If you've watched any of the pre-season games on TV, there's empty blue seats everywhere. Not like it was when Kevin Garnett was here, there wasn't an empty seat in the house.
I was reading Patrick Reusse's column in the Star Tribune today (click post title to read full article), and he believes the T-wolves need some serious marketing to go along with the new shooters that are part of a team that seems to be in a constant state of re-building.
They've done their best in the past couple years in the area of branding: re-designed jerseys, a re-designed logo (which looks awful) and a new Target Center court. They've done some new things in the ticketing department as well. Last season, according to Reusse's article, the T-wolves had an abysmal season ticket base of 5,000.
When Garnett played here, I remember it being almost impossible to get a seat in the lower seating bowl of the arena. The lower level at Target Center seats about 8,300 people (total capacity is just shy of 20,000). What's even worse, is the team expected to lose another 10 percent of that base from last season.
It may not be the team, however. People still are loving the Minnesota Wild on the other side of the river; even though the Wild's consecutive sellout streak at the Xcel Energy Center has come to an end. And, let's not forget all the hype about the Twins this year with Target Field opening and the overall excitement that was re-generated for the Twins. An excitement, only to be squashed away in three games against the Yankees.
The T-Wolves started things off late last season when they decided to cut season ticket prices. I don't remember too much about that particular campaign, and I can't remember whether ticket prices were cut across the board, or just for new season ticket accounts. Even before that, the team has touted a season ticket up in the far reaches of the arena, that goes for about $300-some-odd a season.
And, apparently, it's worked. The Wolves, instead of losing another 10 percent of their season ticket base, have actually GAINED about 2,000 season ticket holders. Well, that helps, but for the most part still leaves the Target Center well below half-capacity.
If you have 7,000 season ticket holders (banking on the fact that they'd all show up for every game), and 3,000 unlucky fans decide to walk up to the ticket office ten minutes before the tip-off to snag a ticket, that's only 10,000 people. Which leaves the remaining 10,000 or so seats unoccupied.
Granted, the Wolves surprisingly had a decent pre-season. But, that's happened before. I remember getting so excited one year when the Wolves went 7-1 in the preseason. Hardly did anything after that, and to my recollection, didn't even win 35 games that season.
In seasons since Garnett's departure, it's felt very much like the expansion year of 1989 all over again. Only problem was, in 1989, people were so excited to have NBA basketball back in town after an almost 30-year absence, they didn't care how bad the team was.
Now, 22 years later, people do care, and they seem to be proving it by placing their allegiances elsewhere. Even Reusse commented that the one replica jersey he saw in the stands at the Target Center the other night was an Adrian Peterson Vikings jersey. But, if this Wolves team is really as good as it seems, or as Reusse postulates, then the Wolves need to get some serious marketing work done to make these lower ticket prices pay off.
If you've watched any of the pre-season games on TV, there's empty blue seats everywhere. Not like it was when Kevin Garnett was here, there wasn't an empty seat in the house.
I was reading Patrick Reusse's column in the Star Tribune today (click post title to read full article), and he believes the T-wolves need some serious marketing to go along with the new shooters that are part of a team that seems to be in a constant state of re-building.
They've done their best in the past couple years in the area of branding: re-designed jerseys, a re-designed logo (which looks awful) and a new Target Center court. They've done some new things in the ticketing department as well. Last season, according to Reusse's article, the T-wolves had an abysmal season ticket base of 5,000.
When Garnett played here, I remember it being almost impossible to get a seat in the lower seating bowl of the arena. The lower level at Target Center seats about 8,300 people (total capacity is just shy of 20,000). What's even worse, is the team expected to lose another 10 percent of that base from last season.
It may not be the team, however. People still are loving the Minnesota Wild on the other side of the river; even though the Wild's consecutive sellout streak at the Xcel Energy Center has come to an end. And, let's not forget all the hype about the Twins this year with Target Field opening and the overall excitement that was re-generated for the Twins. An excitement, only to be squashed away in three games against the Yankees.
The T-Wolves started things off late last season when they decided to cut season ticket prices. I don't remember too much about that particular campaign, and I can't remember whether ticket prices were cut across the board, or just for new season ticket accounts. Even before that, the team has touted a season ticket up in the far reaches of the arena, that goes for about $300-some-odd a season.
And, apparently, it's worked. The Wolves, instead of losing another 10 percent of their season ticket base, have actually GAINED about 2,000 season ticket holders. Well, that helps, but for the most part still leaves the Target Center well below half-capacity.
If you have 7,000 season ticket holders (banking on the fact that they'd all show up for every game), and 3,000 unlucky fans decide to walk up to the ticket office ten minutes before the tip-off to snag a ticket, that's only 10,000 people. Which leaves the remaining 10,000 or so seats unoccupied.
Granted, the Wolves surprisingly had a decent pre-season. But, that's happened before. I remember getting so excited one year when the Wolves went 7-1 in the preseason. Hardly did anything after that, and to my recollection, didn't even win 35 games that season.
In seasons since Garnett's departure, it's felt very much like the expansion year of 1989 all over again. Only problem was, in 1989, people were so excited to have NBA basketball back in town after an almost 30-year absence, they didn't care how bad the team was.
Now, 22 years later, people do care, and they seem to be proving it by placing their allegiances elsewhere. Even Reusse commented that the one replica jersey he saw in the stands at the Target Center the other night was an Adrian Peterson Vikings jersey. But, if this Wolves team is really as good as it seems, or as Reusse postulates, then the Wolves need to get some serious marketing work done to make these lower ticket prices pay off.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
T-wolves and Lifetime Fitness
Well, I think I've just about done the Target Field review thing as far as it can go. Now, I think it's time to get back to the main focus of the blog, sports and marketing.
The latest issue of the Twin Cities Business Journal had an article about an expanded partnership between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lifetime Fitness. Lifetime has been a sponsor of the team for some time, as well as had its name on the Target Center's fitness club since 2006.
This latest phase of partnership will put Lifetime's logo on the team's practice jerseys, as well as other areas within the team's practice facility, which is within the in-arena health club, including the court, backboards and media backdrops.
Lifetime will also have naming rights of the practice facility.
Team members will wear the jerseys in post-game interviews, which will create more visibility for Lifetime Fitness. Coaches will also wear Lifetime apparel during post-game interviews.
This is a good, solid partnership for a team that hasn't performed very well either on the court or at the front gate.
Lifetime also has had some ticket promotions with the Timberwolves that have included a pass to a local Lifetime Fitness.
The latest issue of the Twin Cities Business Journal had an article about an expanded partnership between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lifetime Fitness. Lifetime has been a sponsor of the team for some time, as well as had its name on the Target Center's fitness club since 2006.
This latest phase of partnership will put Lifetime's logo on the team's practice jerseys, as well as other areas within the team's practice facility, which is within the in-arena health club, including the court, backboards and media backdrops.
Lifetime will also have naming rights of the practice facility.
Team members will wear the jerseys in post-game interviews, which will create more visibility for Lifetime Fitness. Coaches will also wear Lifetime apparel during post-game interviews.
This is a good, solid partnership for a team that hasn't performed very well either on the court or at the front gate.
Lifetime also has had some ticket promotions with the Timberwolves that have included a pass to a local Lifetime Fitness.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sometimes...it just doesn't work
I've always been interested in the behind-the-scenes workings of sports business. The team sales, new arenas, relocations - that sort of thing. But, lately, I've been thinking about this fact: sometimes a new arena or a new location just doesn't work.
The National Hockey League's (NHL) Phoenix Coyotes are a great example of how both a new arena and a new location don't really work for a franchise.
The Phoenix Coyotes moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1996. When the franchise was the Winnipeg Jets, they struggled in a fairly bad market with a below-par arena. Matter of fact, the Jets almost moved to the Twin Cities as a replacement for our beloved North Stars, who headed south to Dallas a couple years before.
The Phoenix area beat out the Twin Cities for the struggling Jets. The first couple seasons, the newly-renamed Coyotes shared an arena in downtown Phoenix with the NBA's Suns. A couple seasons later, the Coyotes moved west to Glendale, AZ where they have played ever since.
But now, the Coyotes are even struggling in Glendale at the Jobing.com Arena. And, according to the article linked above (click on "Sometimes...it just doesn't work") and others floating around on the Internet, the Coyotes must find a local buyer by the end of this year, or the NHL will allow the team to move backto Winnipeg.
This is not new. You may remember, several years ago, Los Angeles lost not one but both of it's National Football League (NFL) franchises. The Rams moved east to Saint Louis, and the Raiders, moved back to Oakland; where they had left about 17 years prior. The Rams moved into a downtown domed stadium in Saint Louis, and the Raiders moved back to the dingy, old stadium (albeit some renovations) in Oakland they had left behind.
There have been rumors that the NBA's Sacramento Kings might move back to Kansas City, where they departed in 1985, to a more modern, shiny new arena just outside of downtown Kansas City.
There are the relocation successes: Washington Senators moving to the Twin Cities in 1961. Baltimore Colts moving (to the shock of everyone) to Indianapolis in 1983. Houston Oilers moving to Nashville circa 1996; and these are just a few. But, apparently, relocation to a shiny, new arena in another city, sometimes just doesn't work as well as expected.
As for the final fate of the Coyotes - stay tuned.
The National Hockey League's (NHL) Phoenix Coyotes are a great example of how both a new arena and a new location don't really work for a franchise.
The Phoenix Coyotes moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1996. When the franchise was the Winnipeg Jets, they struggled in a fairly bad market with a below-par arena. Matter of fact, the Jets almost moved to the Twin Cities as a replacement for our beloved North Stars, who headed south to Dallas a couple years before.
The Phoenix area beat out the Twin Cities for the struggling Jets. The first couple seasons, the newly-renamed Coyotes shared an arena in downtown Phoenix with the NBA's Suns. A couple seasons later, the Coyotes moved west to Glendale, AZ where they have played ever since.
But now, the Coyotes are even struggling in Glendale at the Jobing.com Arena. And, according to the article linked above (click on "Sometimes...it just doesn't work") and others floating around on the Internet, the Coyotes must find a local buyer by the end of this year, or the NHL will allow the team to move backto Winnipeg.
This is not new. You may remember, several years ago, Los Angeles lost not one but both of it's National Football League (NFL) franchises. The Rams moved east to Saint Louis, and the Raiders, moved back to Oakland; where they had left about 17 years prior. The Rams moved into a downtown domed stadium in Saint Louis, and the Raiders moved back to the dingy, old stadium (albeit some renovations) in Oakland they had left behind.
There have been rumors that the NBA's Sacramento Kings might move back to Kansas City, where they departed in 1985, to a more modern, shiny new arena just outside of downtown Kansas City.
There are the relocation successes: Washington Senators moving to the Twin Cities in 1961. Baltimore Colts moving (to the shock of everyone) to Indianapolis in 1983. Houston Oilers moving to Nashville circa 1996; and these are just a few. But, apparently, relocation to a shiny, new arena in another city, sometimes just doesn't work as well as expected.
As for the final fate of the Coyotes - stay tuned.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Too many sports teams?
I read the Twin Cities Business Journal on a regular basis, and this morning, I read an article that caught my attention; apparently, the Twin Cities has too many professional sports teams.
The study was conducted by Portfolio.com, and they tested 82 markets to determine the financial capacity of cities in both the United States and Canada to support professional sports. The professional sports they studied are teams in baseball, football, basketball, football and soccer.
Here in the Twin Cities, we have a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, the Twins. We have a team in the National Football League (NFL), the Vikings. A team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Timberwolves, and finally, a team in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Wild.
This is the second time the Twin Cities has had four teams, in four major leagues. This region had four teams from 1989-1993. The Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves and our old NHL team, the North Stars. Of course, the North Stars moved to Dallas at the end of the 1993 season.
So, we've done this before, and we've done well - in my estimation. The reason the North Stars left had nothing to do with attendance (having been in the Stanley Cup Playoffs a couple years earlier). The move had a little to do with the arena (the Met Center was getting old, and with the Timberwolves' new Target Center having opened a year earlier, made it hard for the Bloomington arena to stay competitive). The move had a great deal to do with Stars' owner Norm Green and personal issues he was dealing with, including his marriage.
I read somewhere that Norm's wife (I believe it was in Jay Weiner's 2000 book Stadium Games) gave Norm an ultimatum: either sell the team, or move to Dallas. And to the disappointment of many Minnesotans, Green chose the latter.
The Twin Cities got an NHL franchise back on June 22, 1997, to begin play in 2000, and we've been a four-team market ever since. The Twins stuck it out and waited 11 years to get a new ballpark to keep them competitive. The Wild sell out every game at the Xcel Energy Center. The Timberwolves are happy, just uncompetitive on the court.
This is just my opinion, but instead of complaining about having too many teams, wouldn't that be considered a good business model? A market this size, supporting four teams? The Twin Cities isn't the size of Los Angeles, and yet, we have an NFL team, Los Angeles doesn't. Saint Louis is a good-sized market, as is Kansas City; and neither has an NBA team. Kansas City had all four teams back in the 70s, but lost their NBA team to Sacramento in 1985; and their three-year-old NHL team to Denver in 1975.
I don't quite understand why soccer was thrown into the mix. Yes, we do have a pro soccer team here, the Minnesota Thunder, but they are in a minor-league type situation. They are not a member franchise of MLS (Major League Soccer), which sometimes uses NFL stadiums for their games; although, many teams are building smaller, soccer-specific stadiums.
With the stadium issue of the Minnesota Vikings once again waiting to rear its head in the 2010 Minnesota State Legislative session, and the NFL deciding to cut its revenue-sharing program for smaller-market teams (i.e. the Vikings), it will be interesting to see how much longer the Twin Cities will remain a market with four (five if you throw in the Thunder) pro teams. But, so far, I think we're doing well.
To read the article from the Twin Cities Business Journal, click here:
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/12/14/story9.html
Thanks for reading, and have a great Christmas season.
The study was conducted by Portfolio.com, and they tested 82 markets to determine the financial capacity of cities in both the United States and Canada to support professional sports. The professional sports they studied are teams in baseball, football, basketball, football and soccer.
Here in the Twin Cities, we have a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, the Twins. We have a team in the National Football League (NFL), the Vikings. A team in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Timberwolves, and finally, a team in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Wild.
This is the second time the Twin Cities has had four teams, in four major leagues. This region had four teams from 1989-1993. The Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves and our old NHL team, the North Stars. Of course, the North Stars moved to Dallas at the end of the 1993 season.
So, we've done this before, and we've done well - in my estimation. The reason the North Stars left had nothing to do with attendance (having been in the Stanley Cup Playoffs a couple years earlier). The move had a little to do with the arena (the Met Center was getting old, and with the Timberwolves' new Target Center having opened a year earlier, made it hard for the Bloomington arena to stay competitive). The move had a great deal to do with Stars' owner Norm Green and personal issues he was dealing with, including his marriage.
I read somewhere that Norm's wife (I believe it was in Jay Weiner's 2000 book Stadium Games) gave Norm an ultimatum: either sell the team, or move to Dallas. And to the disappointment of many Minnesotans, Green chose the latter.
The Twin Cities got an NHL franchise back on June 22, 1997, to begin play in 2000, and we've been a four-team market ever since. The Twins stuck it out and waited 11 years to get a new ballpark to keep them competitive. The Wild sell out every game at the Xcel Energy Center. The Timberwolves are happy, just uncompetitive on the court.
This is just my opinion, but instead of complaining about having too many teams, wouldn't that be considered a good business model? A market this size, supporting four teams? The Twin Cities isn't the size of Los Angeles, and yet, we have an NFL team, Los Angeles doesn't. Saint Louis is a good-sized market, as is Kansas City; and neither has an NBA team. Kansas City had all four teams back in the 70s, but lost their NBA team to Sacramento in 1985; and their three-year-old NHL team to Denver in 1975.
I don't quite understand why soccer was thrown into the mix. Yes, we do have a pro soccer team here, the Minnesota Thunder, but they are in a minor-league type situation. They are not a member franchise of MLS (Major League Soccer), which sometimes uses NFL stadiums for their games; although, many teams are building smaller, soccer-specific stadiums.
With the stadium issue of the Minnesota Vikings once again waiting to rear its head in the 2010 Minnesota State Legislative session, and the NFL deciding to cut its revenue-sharing program for smaller-market teams (i.e. the Vikings), it will be interesting to see how much longer the Twin Cities will remain a market with four (five if you throw in the Thunder) pro teams. But, so far, I think we're doing well.
To read the article from the Twin Cities Business Journal, click here:
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/12/14/story9.html
Thanks for reading, and have a great Christmas season.
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