Boosting fan morale during down years, unfavorable trades or unfortunate weather is no easy feat. But when a season holds playoff promise, a loyal fan base brings the required energy.
Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush hosted the inaugural Chicago Sports Summit, bringing together five executives from the Windy City's professional sports teams for a lively discussion about athletics, marketing and sports medicine.
During a panel titled, "The Business of Marketing & Franchising Pro Sports Teams: Developing a Brand, Developing Sponsors, Promoting Loyalty and Sustaining a Fan Base," five business leaders from the Chicago Fire, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bulls discussed how to brand powerhouse teams.
The panelists included:
• Mike Ernst, senior vice president ticket sales, service, marketing & club operations, Chicago Fire
• Beth Grabowski, director of marketing & analytics, Chicago White Sox
• Pete Hassen, vice president of marketing and fan development, Chicago Blackhawks
• Alison Miller, vice president of marketing, Chicago Cubs
• Scott Sonnenberg, director of marketing, Chicago Bulls
Building a brand
A successful brand will deliver an unwavering promise to its supporters.
Blackhawks
Four factors define the Blackhawks brand: the history of the team, the sport, the approachable players and the iconic logo. Once a definition is carved out, a company should zone in on the business behind the brand. Mr. Hassen highlighted ticket sales and sponsorship as driving business in the NHL.
After the Blackhawks established a solid brand definition and keenly understood the business behind the brand, Mr. Hassen said they focused on developing long-term relationships with "like-minded businesses that want to succeed along with [their] brand."
With all pieces in place, Mr. Hassen emphasized a brand's consistent voice. "You have to have a real consistent voice about your brand — it can't change year to year…You have to be 365 with your brand, it can't just be in your season." Mr. Hassen advised placing a brand in a surprising place, such as within another professional team's stadium.
The Blackhawks' consistent voice replays the following goal: "To win, to be the best and to be champions."
White Sox
Ms. Grabowski jumped in with a similar message, noting "the concept of branding, in and of itself, is a consistent promise to your consumers." This proves challenging in the world of sports, as sports teams are ultimately marketing an inconsistent product.
Business executives can't control what occurs on the field of play, but they can offer an exceptional game-day experience outside the unpredictability of the scoreboard.
"It's going to be inconsistent from year to year, month to month and I would argue for those of us who are outdoors, from hour by hour, depending on the weather forecast," said Ms. Grabowski.
The White Sox's consistent message rings out, "passion, pride and tradition," built upon the foundation of tradition, as baseball is a generational sport. Ms. Grabowski explained the Sox developed its brand based on the idea that baseball brings generations of families together, meaning a Sox game-day experience offers a family-friendly setting.
Fire
On a whole different playing field, the MLS only extends its history back about two decades. Therefore, Mr. Ernst said the Fire has built its brand with a different approach.
"We have our 17 home match days, but that's only roughly 5 percent of the year," said Mr. Ernst. "For us, as a brand that's growing, we need to be active the other 95 percent of the year."
The Fire's branding strategy involves programming that integrates the team's message beyond the field. The team focuses on soccer in the community, getting kids excited about soccer at a very young age.
"The whole thought process behind it is, we want to get involved with these folks at the youngest of age as possible, because that's when they're most likely to be playing," explained Mr. Ernst. "And we see a future, where those kids will be parents and those kids will be taking their kids and someday those kids will take their kids."
Cubs
The Cubs possesses the benefit of two brands — the baseball team and Wrigley Field — playing off the more beneficial marketing strategy depending on team performance.
In 2014 for example, the Cubs lost 96 games, so all marketing focused on "100 years of Wrigley Field." Fast forward to 2016, equipped with a post-season team, Ms. Miller said, "Now it's our job to capitalize on that, and how are we making sure our fans are getting to know Addison Russell and getting to know Kris Bryant."
With the introduction of the millennial fan, the Cubs marketing team also focuses on content for social media and ultimately providing their own media channel.
Ms. Miller also emphasized the impact of honesty with fans, building credibility by being transparent with touchy subjects like player trades.
Bulls
The Bulls team has the privilege of Michael Jordan in its history, which packs a full arena every night.
"We've had the benefit of building a brand on the most iconic athlete in the history of sports, so when you build our brand on Michael Jordan and the dynasty of the Bulls, that's going to have sustainability," said Mr. Sonnenberg.
With a solid brand foundation, the Bulls marketing team has turned its focus on bolstering its fan base. The first step involved identifying the team's key fans with the help of an analytics team, and then entering partnerships that could help the team actually reach the targeted fan base.
"How do we continue to build that fan base overseas? We have this great brand in two-thirds of the countries throughout the world — the Chicago Bulls are the number one team," Mr. Sonnenberg said.
League coordination
The NBA plays a large role in extending teams' brands overseas, with offices in the Philippines and China. Additionally, the NBA Global Games take the sport outside the United States.
"[The NBA] is also building our social and digital platforms," said Mr. Sonnenberg. "The Bulls are the second most followed team in sports… so we spend a lot of time there in building out great platforms for our fans to engage them."
In the MLB, the focus is all on the youth, as the sport is clearly aging. Little League numbers are down, so the MLB initiated the "Play Ball" platform to encourage kids to get back on the diamond.
The MLS allows teams to place sponsors on actual jerseys, so much emphasis is placed on partnering with companies that share similar objectives as the teams.
Attracting new sponsors
Sponsorships are all about relationships and results. In a partnership, Ms. Grabowski said her team ensures they are providing assets that match and allow the sponsor's goals to flourish.
"We all have a product that is pretty neat for a sponsor," Ms. Grabowski said. "There's a lot of brands that I'm very excited and passionate about, but I never sit and scream at the T.V. about it. So, there's a really unique passion component that we can bring to the table for our sponsors."
When bringing in new sponsors, the Bulls utilize an agency approach, bringing in individuals from every department to discuss potential partners.
"What's come from those meetings is a lot of exciting and new opportunities, things that we haven't done in the past," Mr. Sonnenberg explained. "We've broken down barriers within our own organization."
Dealing with a loser
The fact of the matter is, all sports yield a winner and a loser.
"While it is certainly way more fun to win, there's still something really great about attending a baseball game," said Ms. Grabowski.
The White Sox created a "Win, Lose, Draw" marketing campaign, where certain game days will always promise certain products, like free t-shirts on Thursdays, no matter the outcome of the game.
"You're fans through thick and thin, that's kind of part of the essence of being a fan," said Ms. Grabowski. "That's what makes it so great when you did win after years of losing."
Mr. Ernst chimed in, noting, "expectations don't change off the field."