kepdawg
05-14-2008, 09:10 PM
LINK (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051508dnmetgpmarketing.3122247.html)
Grand Prairie baseball team to reward fan with a funeral
08:55 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
By JON NIELSEN / The Dallas Morning News
jnielsen@dallasnews.com
The Grand Prairie AirHogs baseball team wants to attract lifelong fans during its inaugural season.
But if you die, the team might take care of you for eternity.
The AirHogs will award a funeral to a fan at its June 3 game, complete with a casket, headstone, services and a plot – whether you want to be cremated or buried 6 feet under.
As the newest American Association of Independent Professional Baseball franchise competes for fans against other professional sports clubs, including the Texas Rangers, the AirHogs ownership knows it'll have to rely heavily on the marketing front.
That means gimmicks to get fans talking.
Zany promotional gags may be new to Grand Prairie fans, but the minor-league baseball circuit has been doing them for a while.
One team held a Tonya Harding Bat Day. The Arthur Andersen Appreciation Night allowed fans to shred documents at the gate. Then there was the proposed Vasectomy Night on Father's Day. Promoters snipped that idea, though.
Grand Prairie will have All Hogs Go to Heaven, probably the first funeral giveaway in minor league baseball history.
"Even though it's going to be a funny promotion, on the flip side there is some seriousness to it," said Dave Burke, the team's vice president and general manager. "With funeral services you're talking about savings of thousands of dollars."
All expenses, estimated at $10,000, will be covered by the Irving-based Chapel of Roses Funeral Home and Oak Grove Memorial Gardens.
Ron Alexander, the office and sales manager at Oak Grove Memorial Gardens, said he wants to encourage funeral preplanning. He said it's not something that has to be left to the family after death.
And Mr. Alexander assured that the award won't expire until the winner does.
"If you're 20 and you get it and you live to be 90, of course we'll still honor it," he said.
The AirHogs opened their season last week in St. Paul, Minn. They will debut at the new QuikTrip Park at Grand Prairie in their home opener on Friday.
Mark Schuster, the AirHogs' managing partner, said fans can expect quirky marketing in the future.
"We're going to try to be a little edgy," Mr. Schuster said. "The criteria is what will get people talking about us in general conversations around the water cooler."
AirHogs fans can expect to see the customary T-shirt, hat and bobble-head giveaways. And $1 beer night and fireworks are staples on the promotional scene.
But the AirHogs are working on a pre-game kite giveaway to try to break the record for having the most kites flying on one night.
There's also the yet-to-be-scheduled Jessica Simpson Appreciation Night to prove that not all Dallas Cowboys fans blame her for this past season's playoff debacle.
"Unfortunately, when they lost the playoff game, everyone said she's bad luck," Mr. Burke said. "I want to prove she's not bad luck.
"I'm going to guarantee a victory that day. If we do lose, [fans] get a ticket to any future AirHogs game."
Mr. Burke said Jessica Simpson look-alikes, or those wearing a pink Dallas Cowboys jersey, will get in the game free. And he's working to get her to make an appearance.
"If she does come out, I want her to be an honorary bench coach, which I'm sure the players will love."
Grand Prairie baseball team to reward fan with a funeral
08:55 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
By JON NIELSEN / The Dallas Morning News
jnielsen@dallasnews.com
The Grand Prairie AirHogs baseball team wants to attract lifelong fans during its inaugural season.
But if you die, the team might take care of you for eternity.
The AirHogs will award a funeral to a fan at its June 3 game, complete with a casket, headstone, services and a plot – whether you want to be cremated or buried 6 feet under.
As the newest American Association of Independent Professional Baseball franchise competes for fans against other professional sports clubs, including the Texas Rangers, the AirHogs ownership knows it'll have to rely heavily on the marketing front.
That means gimmicks to get fans talking.
Zany promotional gags may be new to Grand Prairie fans, but the minor-league baseball circuit has been doing them for a while.
One team held a Tonya Harding Bat Day. The Arthur Andersen Appreciation Night allowed fans to shred documents at the gate. Then there was the proposed Vasectomy Night on Father's Day. Promoters snipped that idea, though.
Grand Prairie will have All Hogs Go to Heaven, probably the first funeral giveaway in minor league baseball history.
"Even though it's going to be a funny promotion, on the flip side there is some seriousness to it," said Dave Burke, the team's vice president and general manager. "With funeral services you're talking about savings of thousands of dollars."
All expenses, estimated at $10,000, will be covered by the Irving-based Chapel of Roses Funeral Home and Oak Grove Memorial Gardens.
Ron Alexander, the office and sales manager at Oak Grove Memorial Gardens, said he wants to encourage funeral preplanning. He said it's not something that has to be left to the family after death.
And Mr. Alexander assured that the award won't expire until the winner does.
"If you're 20 and you get it and you live to be 90, of course we'll still honor it," he said.
The AirHogs opened their season last week in St. Paul, Minn. They will debut at the new QuikTrip Park at Grand Prairie in their home opener on Friday.
Mark Schuster, the AirHogs' managing partner, said fans can expect quirky marketing in the future.
"We're going to try to be a little edgy," Mr. Schuster said. "The criteria is what will get people talking about us in general conversations around the water cooler."
AirHogs fans can expect to see the customary T-shirt, hat and bobble-head giveaways. And $1 beer night and fireworks are staples on the promotional scene.
But the AirHogs are working on a pre-game kite giveaway to try to break the record for having the most kites flying on one night.
There's also the yet-to-be-scheduled Jessica Simpson Appreciation Night to prove that not all Dallas Cowboys fans blame her for this past season's playoff debacle.
"Unfortunately, when they lost the playoff game, everyone said she's bad luck," Mr. Burke said. "I want to prove she's not bad luck.
"I'm going to guarantee a victory that day. If we do lose, [fans] get a ticket to any future AirHogs game."
Mr. Burke said Jessica Simpson look-alikes, or those wearing a pink Dallas Cowboys jersey, will get in the game free. And he's working to get her to make an appearance.
"If she does come out, I want her to be an honorary bench coach, which I'm sure the players will love."