The Oakland Athletics Baseball Company announced the
selection of San Francisco-based Hoffman/Lewis as its new ad
agency. One focus of the Hoffman/Lewis ad campaign is the A's
new ticket policy reducing ticket prices through April,
regardless of whether replacements are in uniform. Ticket prices
have been rolled back to '81 levels and reduced up to 78%. A's
VP/Business Operations Alan Ledford: "These are unusual times for
Major League Baseball. Given the current labor situation, our
marketing challenge is to re-awaken fan interest in the A's and
bring them back to the Oakland Coliseum." According to the A's,
Hoffman/Lewis created a "unique, highly recognized campaign" for
the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Commission last summer. This
effort raised awareness and support for keeping the A's in
Oakland (A's). OTHER AD NEWS: According to NEWSDAY's Steve
Zipay, new sales pitches for most MLB teams "essentially will
cover three bases: the image of the game, lower prices and the
ballpark atmosphere." The Tigers' current TV ads feature hot-dog
vendors; the Dodgers portray a trip to the park as "enhancing
family values"; and the Yankees promote a stadium tour including
the field and the dugouts (NEWSDAY, 2/10).
