With the new MLB season just over a month away, it’s time for marketers to start planning baseball-themed events.
Half the country’s sports fans follow Major League Baseball and excitement is never higher than at the start of a new campaign. If you’re a small business or a marketer, capitalizing on this enthusiasm is absolutely crucial. You don’t have to run a bar or sports-themed store to throw an MLB marketing celebration.
Today, we’ll give you a guide to event marketing during the baseball season. At Auctus, we’re pitchers and catchers of experiential marketing, so keep reading and learn what you need to do to throw a successful event this baseball season.
Hire a Former Baseball Player
If you’re holding an MLB-themed pop-up event, one of the best ways to engage local fans is by getting a local legend to attend. A beloved celebrity spokesperson touting your brand will not only get more people to your event, but it’ll also keep them talking long after it’s over.
It’s important to think about logistics when hiring a former athlete. Reach out to their people first to find out about rates because you don’t want it to blow up your entire marketing budget. That said, the ROI on such a special guest is massive.
Engage Your Street Team
There’s always a lot of excitement and anticipation at the start of any new sports season. Get your street team out to hit the pavement ahead of opening day and let people know what you’ve got going on.
It’s one thing reading about an event in the local news or seeing it on social media. It’s another thing entirely to get a special invite from someone on the street. Equip your street team with VIP tickets to get into your event and you’ll see attendance rise.
Competition and Giveaways
You can boost engagement at your event by planning games and giveaways. People are going to be in the mood for competition, so come up with a few games to play. For example, if you’re a local bar, you can hold a flip-cup tournament.
Separate teams into American League and National League, then have them clash for a special prize at the end. Set aside some of your budget to have additional prizes for the losing teams so that you’re encouraging participation.
Launching New Products
A marketing event, especially one during the baseball season, is the perfect time to launch new products. You can easily tap into the excitement and hope of a new baseball season to generate anticipation around whatever you’ve got planned for the year.
It’s always a good plan to give your event attendees an exclusive taste of the new product. Staffing an event with extra bodies to walk around and do handouts is a great move.
Let Auctus Help Your Event Reach New Heights
A baseball marketing event is a brilliant idea, especially in a great sports city like Minnesota. These are a few ways to generate more excitement around your event, but if you want to go the extra mile, contact us at Auctus.
We’re a premier experiential marketing firm based in Minnesota. Our campaigns are centered around guerilla engagement and our event production services are second to none. Check out our site to learn more about what we do and how we can take your event to another level.
