A recent article in Advertising Age put forth an interesting re-branding proposition. The article: "Tampa Bay Rays Get a P&G-Style Makeover," caught my eye. After all, it focuses on pro sports as well as brand revitalization. What's not to love?


Of course it helps that the Tampa Bay team has an in-house marketing guru, former Procter & Gamble brand manager, Darcy Raymond, as its VP Branding & Fan Experience. Mr. Raymond came aboard as a consultant in 2006 and he's been analyzing and changing things ever since.
Employing the following P&G staples were an immense help in the re-branding process:
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Focus group research
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On-going analysis of consumer touch points with the brand
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Product improvement
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Constant monitoring of customer satisfaction
As a result, a number of changes were made to the Tampa Bay team:
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Team name has changed from the Devil Rays to simply the Rays.
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Team color has changed from green to blue.
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Team personnel was addressed with great success–the Rays have gone from worst to first in their division, beating out the Boston Red Sox and NY Yankees to do it. The Rays now have one of the best young squads in Major League Baseball.
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Focus was placed on building ticket sales to boost attendance–the Rays are in 26th place for home game attendance among MLB's 30 teams.
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Additional focus was placed on building sponsorship sales–up 35% this season and expected to double next year.
Judging from results, while inroads have been made, significant challenges remain. For one thing, home game attendance is still spotty. Embarrassing for a team that's experienced such a dramatic turn-around since last season. Still, the Rays' first two play-off games sold out at home, as we might expect. And team management is optimistic, knowing that attendance will grow after a one season dramatic turn-around isn't seen as a mere fluke.
The Rays organization is also working with a group of its "most hard-core fans" to create new cheers, give cowbells away to fans and use You Tube style fan-generated videos on the stadium's JumboTron. All of this in an effort to counter the vociferous "armies of Northern transplants in the area who flock to the stadium to cheer against the home team whenever the Yankees or Red Sox come to town". Now that is, no doubt, a big challenge!
P.S. There's nothing like going to the World Series this year to change perceptions, is there? Congratulations to the Rays and their fans!
Questions:
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What do you think of the idea of employing CPG marketing strategies to a professional sports team?
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What other kinds of businesses, besides consumer products and services, might benefit from these kinds of strategies?
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Do you know of any examples of business successes that benefited from strategic marketing?
I'd love to hear from you.