Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks, I don’t care if I never get back!
Major League Baseball is in full swing and teams are just as serious about finding the best in-stadium giveaways as they are about winning on the field. Promotional product giveaways on fan appreciation days have proven to have a direct correlation with attendance. This approach is working, and this year, instead of asking for peanuts and crackerjacks, fans are skipping the concession stand lines and arriving at the ballpark early to ensure they are one of the lucky fans to receive limited edition Bobbleheads, Beard Hats, and other clever promotions!
We do quite a bit of work with MLB teams and have put together this roundup of the best promotional giveaways of the year. And just to prove we’re playing fair, we’re including examples from teams that we don’t even work with!
Showing Fan Appreciation with Bobbleheads
Many MLB teams include Bobbleheads, a timeless collectors item, in their promotional giveaway schedules each year. This year, some of the teams that have given away free promotional bobbleheads include the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Cincinnati Reds.
Why are bobbleheads such a great giveaway? A new survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal shows that MLB teams that gave away Bobbleheads to fans this year increased their attendance by an average of 4.8% on the days of the promotions.
One of our favorite projects this year was the 2013 New York Mets Broadcast Booth Bobblehead we created featuring Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Gary Cohen (see the picture above!). We made 1,000 of these for the Phillies vs. Mets game on August 27 and now they are selling on eBay for over $130!
Taking Giveaways to the Next Level with Beard Hats
The Seattle Mariners put on their proverbial promotional products thinking caps and came up with the first ever Beard Hat Night.” The Mariners had one of the most creative promotional giveaways in recent memory on April 26th as they held their first ever Beard Hat Night. The first 20 000 fans to walk through the gates of Safeco Field received a free beard hat. The “Put a Beard on It” campaign swarmed social media got both players and fans involved and was called the “Giveaway of the Year” by the Bleacher Report.
Both of these promotional products giveaways were homeruns! So the next time you are thinking about going to a Major League Baseball game get there early in order to reap the benefits of the amazing fan appreciation giveaways?.
For it’s one two three strikes you’re out
At the old ball game.
[Image credit – beard hats]
