S1/E9: Experiencing "America's Pastime"

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Season 1 / Edition 9

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CASE STUDY

“You have to get past the purity of the game.”

That’s what Tom Kramig, President of the Minor League Baseball team the Lake Erie Crushers, said when he explained that while he’s passionate about the magic of “America’s pastime”, he’s running a business: “90% of the people who come can’t name a player on the field, don’t know the standings, or even who the opponent is. They’re not emotionally invested in the team, they’re emotionally invested in whether they’re going to have a good time.”

That reality – the understanding that the atmosphere and experience around the game is more of the “product” than the game itself – informs everything from the design of that experience (the in-game side events they create can be as memorable as the game itself) to the customer service approach (“if your kid spills his popcorn, I just want you to be given another one”) to the marketing and messaging used to get people in the door.

How are they designing that experience?

They survey extensively – both from buyers (a focus on in-person conversations at games, captured on iPads) and non-buyers (people in their target audience category in locations where they might congregate - again, using in-person capture).

They also ideate through their entire (12-person) team – from interns to leadership – to harness the diverse perspectives of a broad range of ages and life experiences so they can create things that will appeal to multiple generational groups.

Then, it’s all about the final push…

“We have good brand awareness, and everyone says they’re a fan - but the challenge is the ‘last mile’ – how do you get off the couch?” That’s why promotions – e.g. Star Wars Night, half-priced beers, fireworks – form a major part of their marketing efforts: to get people to finally pull the trigger.

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OBSERVATIONS

• In my opinion, one of the most important reports on the cultural sector produced in the past decade was LaPlaca Cohen’s Culture Track ‘17. While it identified some of the most profound shifts happening in our field, one takeaway that’s stuck with me is that they found the top motivator for cultural participation was “having fun.”  How often is that goal foregrounded in our conversations about programming, visitor experience, etc.?
  

• …thus, my inspiration to explore Minor League Baseball - a sector that understands fun, and is a bit of a laboratory in itself: from bold, impactful brand strategies to harnessing the ‘Disney model’ in creating “parks within a park”.
  

• Whose perspectives are we including - or not including - when we create our ‘user experience?’ Tom’s involvement of his entire staff to capture a diverse set of viewpoints is a good lesson, as is his effort to survey non-buyers. Can we build a product around the core experience, like they have?
  

• “Everyone says they’re a fan” sounds familiar to me: people who say they love the organization but haven’t actually attended in a while. What strategies might we utilize for our ‘last mile?’ Could we adapt the idea of promotions?
  

• Getting past “the purity of the game” can be tough for institutions who want to make their artists or performers the star – but it’s only natural that our audiences (and certainly new audiences) are going to be more “emotionally invested in whether they’re going to have a good time.” Marketing that speaks to this will likely be much more effective, despite what the artistic director thinks (they’re not the target audience). The "magic of the game” can only be experienced if you’re in the ballpark.
  

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