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Cards put in face time for creative sales pitch
Andrew Bagnato
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 3, 2004 12:00 AM
Cardinals quarterback Josh McCown may as well have worn a "Hello-my-name-is-Josh" sticker on a media tour to Los Angeles this week.
Everywhere he went, from the Best Damn Sports Show Period to Tony Bruno's national Fox Sports Radio show, he was asked whether people ever confuse him with former UCLA star Cade McNown. McNown, McCown - it's easy to mix them up.
Going for Green
The Cardinals hope Dennis Green's hiring will provide a boost at the box office. The club wouldn't disclose sales figures for the season, but officials denied reports that Green hasn't had much effect on ticket sales.
"A fair statement would be that there's definitely been an impact," said Ron Minegar, vice president for marketing and sales. "It's not the landslide you've seen with Buddy Ryan, nor did we expect that. But it's been a significant uptick."
Here's the first-year attendance for each head coach since the club moved to the Valley, with total attendance and the change from the preceding year:
1990: Coach: Joe Bugel. 347,652: up 2,454 (.007 percent).
1994: Coach: Buddy Ryan. 497,330: up 134,864 (37.2 percent).
1996: Coach: Vince Tobin. 320,508: down 59,806 (15.7 percent).
2001: Coach: Dave McGinnis. 263,295: down 96,414 (26.8 percent).
- Andrew Bagnato
"When they start doing the Cade McNown thing, that gets frustrating," McCown said from Los Angeles.
But it didn't take long for McCown to set the record straight. He brought along a video of the last-second touchdown pass he threw to Nate Poole to knock the Minnesota Vikings out of the playoffs last season. That's when people realized McCown is no McNown, an NFL bust.
"They show the last play against Minnesota and everybody goes, 'Oh, it's that guy,' " McCown said. "That's what's nice about that play - it gives people something to identify the Cardinals with. It's a great starting point, that last game of the year. It's been nice to see how people are interested. Now it's up to us to build on that heading into this year."
It might seem unusual for an NFL team to dispatch a player to another city to drum up attention. But McCown's quickie tour of Los Angeles is a small piece of a marketing campaign aimed at broadening the Cardinals' appeal - and the team's timing couldn't be better.
Win games, win fans
Mike Munch, 17, of Ahwatukee was spotted wearing a black Cardinals cap backward at the Diamondbacks game Thursday night. "I like the look," he said. He said he's not a big fan - he's been to one game - but he roots for the Cardinals because they're here.
"I just follow the team because it's the home team," said Munch, a Valley native.
He has a solution for the marketing question.
"You win games, you get publicity," he said.
The marketing effort comes at a low point in Valley sports history. The Diamondbacks, Coyotes and Suns all stink. So do the Cardinals, for that matter. But unlike the other three clubs, the Cardinals have manufactured some momentum recently. They hired master rebuilder Dennis Green who quickly made headlines by promising a playoff berth this season. They also are constantly reminding fans that the new Glendale Stadium, which has won early rave reviews, will open in two years.
Have a question for your favorite Suns, Cardinals or D-Backs player? Click here to submit the question for one of our reporters to take it to the source. Look for the answers on Page 2 of Saturday's Arizona Republic.
"I've been watching the Cardinals, and I think they're doing all the right things," said Jim Kahler, executive director of the MBA sports business program at Arizona State's W.P. Carey School of Business. "They're tying their brand to a new coach who has a tradition of winning. I think their creative (effort) is pretty sharp. Lately they've been getting a lot of publicity."
Since the Cardinals' arrival in the Valley in 1988 they've been fighting to win the loyalties of transplanted fans. Many local bars do a booming business catering to followers of such traditional clubs as Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Dallas. Few inroads have been made with those die-hards.
"Can the typical NFL fan in this town tell you who's starting on both sides of the ball (for the Cardinals)?" Kahler said. "In Cleveland, they sure can."
Black marks
The Cardinals have had a hard time connecting with local fans because their home games are nearly always blacked out, as per NFL policy. When Arizona is at home, local stations typically have to air out-of-market games. That's a shame, because seven of the Cardinals' eight home games a year ago were decided by eight points or fewer, with four settled on the final play.
"You miss your team's game and you miss a big portion of your team's season," said Becky Vallett-Wallace, executive editor of Chicago-based Team Marketing Report.
The Cardinals are hoping to reach that elusive fan base with a range of marketing initiatives.
"It's been well-documented what the challenges are," said Ron Minegar, the team's vice president for marketing and sales. "But what can we do to make that emotional connection with the fan?"
The best way is to get them to come to the stadium. The Cardinals recently unveiled a four-game "FlexPack" ticket plan that includes the Sept. 19 home opener against defending Super Bowl champion New England plus three games of the customer's choice. Packages range from $120 to $600 per seat, with no minimum seat requirements.
"To be able to cherry pick NFL games on a package like that, that's something that's really unusual," Kahler said. "They're in position to cultivate people in flex plans so that, as they get closer to the new building, they might be able to convert those people to full season tickets if they've had a good experience."
Jason Macchione, 30, of Scottsdale, is a lifelong Valley resident. He counts himself as an NFL fan but has no loyalties to a particular club. He said he hadn't noticed the marketing efforts but hadn't been paying real close attention. "They haven't hooked me yet," he said.
He rolled his eyes when he was asked about Dennis Green's promise that they're going to make the playoffs this year.
"What's he gonna say?" said Macchione, who sees a 6-10 finish.
Macchione said he agrees with management's belief that there are multitudes of Cardinals fans in the Valley just waiting to be converted. But he said he thinks the club will have to produce on the field for that to happen; he's not buying the company line that all will change when the Birds have a new nest in Glendale.
"I've never believed the new stadium would change anything," he said. "Leopards don't change their spots. Zebras don't change stripes."
QB on the town
McCown's media tour of Los Angeles was a small, though highly visible, part of the marketing push. It's hard to imagine the Packers asking Brett Favre to do that. But the Cardinals aren't the Packers. And McCown isn't Favre, although he shares Favre's easygoing way with the media and fans.
"This was an easy way (to promote the club), frankly, at a time when there's not a lot going on in the sports world," said Mark Dalton, the team's new public relations director.
The Cardinals hope it all adds up to increased interest and stronger ticket sales at Sun Devil Stadium, which was quieter than a public library on some Sundays last autumn. But marketing can only do so much.
In 1998, when the Cardinals posted their only winning record in the desert, they drew four home crowds of more than 50,000, and 71,670 packed Sun Devil Stadium to see the team battle for a playoff berth on the regular season's final Sunday. The momentum carried over to the following autumn, with more than 70,000 showing up for the 1989 home opener.
"Obviously, what the fans want, what we want, is to win," club Vice President Michael Bidwill said. "Marketing plan No. 1 is winning more games."
Andrew Bagnato
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 3, 2004 12:00 AM
Cardinals quarterback Josh McCown may as well have worn a "Hello-my-name-is-Josh" sticker on a media tour to Los Angeles this week.
Everywhere he went, from the Best Damn Sports Show Period to Tony Bruno's national Fox Sports Radio show, he was asked whether people ever confuse him with former UCLA star Cade McNown. McNown, McCown - it's easy to mix them up.
Going for Green
The Cardinals hope Dennis Green's hiring will provide a boost at the box office. The club wouldn't disclose sales figures for the season, but officials denied reports that Green hasn't had much effect on ticket sales.
"A fair statement would be that there's definitely been an impact," said Ron Minegar, vice president for marketing and sales. "It's not the landslide you've seen with Buddy Ryan, nor did we expect that. But it's been a significant uptick."
Here's the first-year attendance for each head coach since the club moved to the Valley, with total attendance and the change from the preceding year:
1990: Coach: Joe Bugel. 347,652: up 2,454 (.007 percent).
1994: Coach: Buddy Ryan. 497,330: up 134,864 (37.2 percent).
1996: Coach: Vince Tobin. 320,508: down 59,806 (15.7 percent).
2001: Coach: Dave McGinnis. 263,295: down 96,414 (26.8 percent).
- Andrew Bagnato
"When they start doing the Cade McNown thing, that gets frustrating," McCown said from Los Angeles.
But it didn't take long for McCown to set the record straight. He brought along a video of the last-second touchdown pass he threw to Nate Poole to knock the Minnesota Vikings out of the playoffs last season. That's when people realized McCown is no McNown, an NFL bust.
"They show the last play against Minnesota and everybody goes, 'Oh, it's that guy,' " McCown said. "That's what's nice about that play - it gives people something to identify the Cardinals with. It's a great starting point, that last game of the year. It's been nice to see how people are interested. Now it's up to us to build on that heading into this year."
It might seem unusual for an NFL team to dispatch a player to another city to drum up attention. But McCown's quickie tour of Los Angeles is a small piece of a marketing campaign aimed at broadening the Cardinals' appeal - and the team's timing couldn't be better.
Win games, win fans
Mike Munch, 17, of Ahwatukee was spotted wearing a black Cardinals cap backward at the Diamondbacks game Thursday night. "I like the look," he said. He said he's not a big fan - he's been to one game - but he roots for the Cardinals because they're here.
"I just follow the team because it's the home team," said Munch, a Valley native.
He has a solution for the marketing question.
"You win games, you get publicity," he said.
The marketing effort comes at a low point in Valley sports history. The Diamondbacks, Coyotes and Suns all stink. So do the Cardinals, for that matter. But unlike the other three clubs, the Cardinals have manufactured some momentum recently. They hired master rebuilder Dennis Green who quickly made headlines by promising a playoff berth this season. They also are constantly reminding fans that the new Glendale Stadium, which has won early rave reviews, will open in two years.
Have a question for your favorite Suns, Cardinals or D-Backs player? Click here to submit the question for one of our reporters to take it to the source. Look for the answers on Page 2 of Saturday's Arizona Republic.
"I've been watching the Cardinals, and I think they're doing all the right things," said Jim Kahler, executive director of the MBA sports business program at Arizona State's W.P. Carey School of Business. "They're tying their brand to a new coach who has a tradition of winning. I think their creative (effort) is pretty sharp. Lately they've been getting a lot of publicity."
Since the Cardinals' arrival in the Valley in 1988 they've been fighting to win the loyalties of transplanted fans. Many local bars do a booming business catering to followers of such traditional clubs as Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Dallas. Few inroads have been made with those die-hards.
"Can the typical NFL fan in this town tell you who's starting on both sides of the ball (for the Cardinals)?" Kahler said. "In Cleveland, they sure can."
Black marks
The Cardinals have had a hard time connecting with local fans because their home games are nearly always blacked out, as per NFL policy. When Arizona is at home, local stations typically have to air out-of-market games. That's a shame, because seven of the Cardinals' eight home games a year ago were decided by eight points or fewer, with four settled on the final play.
"You miss your team's game and you miss a big portion of your team's season," said Becky Vallett-Wallace, executive editor of Chicago-based Team Marketing Report.
The Cardinals are hoping to reach that elusive fan base with a range of marketing initiatives.
"It's been well-documented what the challenges are," said Ron Minegar, the team's vice president for marketing and sales. "But what can we do to make that emotional connection with the fan?"
The best way is to get them to come to the stadium. The Cardinals recently unveiled a four-game "FlexPack" ticket plan that includes the Sept. 19 home opener against defending Super Bowl champion New England plus three games of the customer's choice. Packages range from $120 to $600 per seat, with no minimum seat requirements.
"To be able to cherry pick NFL games on a package like that, that's something that's really unusual," Kahler said. "They're in position to cultivate people in flex plans so that, as they get closer to the new building, they might be able to convert those people to full season tickets if they've had a good experience."
Jason Macchione, 30, of Scottsdale, is a lifelong Valley resident. He counts himself as an NFL fan but has no loyalties to a particular club. He said he hadn't noticed the marketing efforts but hadn't been paying real close attention. "They haven't hooked me yet," he said.
He rolled his eyes when he was asked about Dennis Green's promise that they're going to make the playoffs this year.
"What's he gonna say?" said Macchione, who sees a 6-10 finish.
Macchione said he agrees with management's belief that there are multitudes of Cardinals fans in the Valley just waiting to be converted. But he said he thinks the club will have to produce on the field for that to happen; he's not buying the company line that all will change when the Birds have a new nest in Glendale.
"I've never believed the new stadium would change anything," he said. "Leopards don't change their spots. Zebras don't change stripes."
QB on the town
McCown's media tour of Los Angeles was a small, though highly visible, part of the marketing push. It's hard to imagine the Packers asking Brett Favre to do that. But the Cardinals aren't the Packers. And McCown isn't Favre, although he shares Favre's easygoing way with the media and fans.
"This was an easy way (to promote the club), frankly, at a time when there's not a lot going on in the sports world," said Mark Dalton, the team's new public relations director.
The Cardinals hope it all adds up to increased interest and stronger ticket sales at Sun Devil Stadium, which was quieter than a public library on some Sundays last autumn. But marketing can only do so much.
In 1998, when the Cardinals posted their only winning record in the desert, they drew four home crowds of more than 50,000, and 71,670 packed Sun Devil Stadium to see the team battle for a playoff berth on the regular season's final Sunday. The momentum carried over to the following autumn, with more than 70,000 showing up for the 1989 home opener.
"Obviously, what the fans want, what we want, is to win," club Vice President Michael Bidwill said. "Marketing plan No. 1 is winning more games."
