Foundations of Marketing 5th Edition by Ferrell,William Pride

Exercise 5

The Toledo Mud Hens Make Marketing Fun
Since their dismal beginnings in 1896 when they played near a swamp (earning the name Mud Hens in honor of the coots inhabiting the marshy land), the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens have become one of the most successful minor league baseball teams in the country, and their games some of the best attended. How did they leverage their climb from such a murky start In a word: marketing. With their two slogans, "Toledo's Family Fun Park" and "Experience the Joy of Mudville," the Mud Hens harness the twin themes of family and history. These days, the Mud Hens are the Triple-A affiliate of the major league team the Detroit Tigers. Because the Tigers do all of the hiring and firing of players, trainers, and medical staff, the Mud Hens' home office can focus all of its energy on improving the image and profitability of the Mud Hens enterprise.
The Mud Hens do not have the star power of the major league teams (aside from their popular bird mascots, Muddy and Muddonna), so marketers must seek another way to promote the games. They advertise the games as wholesome, affordable family fun-an alternative to bowling or going to the movies. People of all ages can come to the games and socialize, while watching potential up-and-coming baseball stars develop into mature athletes. Because there is no star paraphernalia to sell, most of the marketing attention is paid to promoting Mud Hens merchandise, like T-shirts and hats, and food and beverage sales. In fact, the team has been the league leader in ballpark merchandise sales since 2000. The on-premise Swampshop offers dozens of styles of T-shirts and baseball caps in all sizes. Truly avid fans can shop online from anywhere in the world. As fans wear the merchandise, it creates good work-of-mouth advertising and buzz about the team.
The league's continued sales and revenue growth stand in contrast to an overall downturn in attendance and purchases at minor league baseball games. This statistic attests to the strength of the Mud Hens' marketing strategy. They market directly to advance ticket buyers in order to target those people who are apt to buy tickets early, buy in quantity, and spend cash at the games. Other marketing channels include radio, television, print media, and even Facebook. The Mud Hens enjoy an especially close relationship with local newspapers, where a prominent story about the team is almost guaranteed whenever the Mud Hens have a home game.
Even in the midst of a recession, the Toldeo Mud Hens managed to boost revenues by incorporating a new network to integrate its e-mail platform with other applications. This ability allows the Mud Hens to target segments of its customer base with tailored messages. For example, in a recent year, three of the Mud Hen suite rentals were available, without any obvious takers. By using the new system to identify customers who had clicked on the online suite rental links in the past six months, the Mud Hens sent e-mails to 50 to 60 specific people to inform them about the rentals' vacancies. All three suites were rented that same day. By integrating this new system into its marketing communications strategy, the Mud Hens are able to coordinate promotional and marketing efforts so as to have maximum impact on customers.
In addition to its successful marketing strategies, the Mud Hens have become an integral part of the community-through direct marketing and regular media coverage, but also through charitable endeavors. Because the marketing focus is so much on family fun, community, and socializing, the organization does its best to give back to the community that so avidly supports them. The organization engages in educational and community outreach through various programs such as Muddy's Knothole Club, which provides tickets to underprivileged kids; regular fundraisers and auctions; and donations to local charities. Even pro-bono activities such as these can be part of a well-managed, integrated marketing communications strategy because they increase goodwill toward the organization and encourage people to attend games.
How do the Mud Hens identify and market to their target audience