Minor League Baseball. The term is something of a misnomer. In 2006 alone, more than 40 million fans went to watch 242 teams compete in 20 different leagues. And when it comes to at-game marketing, there is nothing minor or amateur at play. Companies collectively spend millions of dollars on advertising, promotions, and giveaways in an effort to win over fans.

“There’s a real opportunity to reach families,” says Robert Tuchman, president and founder of TSE Sports & Entertainment, a New York–based sports marketing outfit. “It’s much less about the game, but about the entire experience.”

In minor league stadiums across the United States, advertising banners decorate the outfields, marketing campaigns tap into game night crowds through consumer polls and the distribution of product samples, and many companies commission special ads to air on the large screens strategically positioned around the ballpark. As with any professional sport, there is a constant search for ad revenue.

Although most minor league teams are based in smaller markets than their major league counterparts, integrated marketing campaigns can often reach statistically significant market segments across broad geographic regions. Owners of teams like the Charleston (S.C.) RiverDogs, the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Wizards, and the Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Quakes eagerly package their franchises to lure advertisers, sponsors, and fans, providing valuable lessons in how small companies and organizations can outperform major players in their fields.

“Minor League Baseball is a great example of the adage ‘Know who you are and how you’re different,’” says Bill Glenn, vice president of insights and analytics at the Marketing Arm, a Dallas-based agency. “They are often competing for entertainment dollars. [Franchise owners know] it’s not about the teams and players; it’s about the fans and giving them entertainment value.”

A Unique Approach
To ensure high entertainment value at each game, minor league teams often incorporate a combination of traditional and guerilla marketing tactics. The Philadelphia Phillies’ Double-A ball club in Reading, Pa., for example, offers 40 live performances, 28 fireworks nights, and 30 giveaways over the course of its 71 home games. “We try to be unique to draw people into the ballpark,” says Rob Hackash, director of communications for the Reading Phillies. “It isn’t just baseball, it’s family entertainment.”

Mascots play a key role in building customer loyalty. The Greenville (S.C.) Drive, a Class-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, offers up a replica of Fenway Park’s Green Monster. Some teams have a mascot, or even multiple mascots, to appeal to different groups of fans. The Reading Phillies, in fact, have five official and at least 12 unofficial mascots.

Peter Shankman, CEO of the Geek Factory, a New York–based marketing and public relations firm, says the minor league marketing model is similar to that used by small companies competing in markets where there is a large, established player. “Minor league teams are more willing to try things that major league teams or established companies wouldn’t do,” he notes. “They’re willing to take risks.”

And those risks are what endear minor league fans, says the Marketing Arm’s Glenn. “The biggest mistake minor league teams could make would be trying to emulate the Major League Baseball teams,” he adds.

Keeping It Fun, Fresh
For most minor league teams, no advertising space or time slot is regarded as unmarketable. Jonathan Nelson, general manager of the Birmingham (Ala.) Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, offers advertisers packages that deliver their messages in print, on signage (billboards and the like), on the radio, and on the team’s scoreboards.

Although the revenue-building opportunities are important, sponsorship opportunities also help teams amuse — and retain — audiences. “We always have to re-create ourselves to stay fresh,” Nelson says. “You never want the audience to get bored.” Humor helps. Nelson successfully got Alabama Telco, a local credit union known for making auto loans, to sponsor a Used Car Night, in which nine used cars were given away over the course of a game. The team also endorses products. Dale’s Steak Seasoning, headquartered in Birmingham, is the “official steak seasoning” of the Barons.

When fans aren’t occupying seats, many minor league teams find other uses for their ballpark. The Birmingham Barons have rented out the glassed-in portions of their home stadium, Regions Park, for corporate affairs, weddings, and even a funeral.

Opportunities Abound
Most minor league teams rely on a mix of local sponsors, as well as on national name-brand advertisers. “We try to create opportunities for the corner sandwich shop, as well as for the Fortune 500 company,” says the Reading Phillies’ Hackash, whose team’s stadium has some 40 billboard spaces to fill.

Minor league ball clubs have succeeded on the premise that the game is only part of the picture. “You have to sell the bells and whistles, not just the baseball,” Nelson says. “Our biggest competitor is other forms of entertainment.”

Even so, the bells and whistles of minor league games often convert to profit. Each of the 98 special events presented each season by the Reading Phillies has also represented a sponsorship opportunity. “Our sports marketing shows how to sell something other than the core product,” Hackash says. “We produce a nine-inning carnival.”

And a marketing home run.

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