Despite MLB's introduction of their "Welcome to the Show"
marketing campaign during last night's Marlins-Dodgers game,
questions remain on the campaign's relationship with separate
team strategies. Former MLBP President Rick White, making the
case for a central strategy: "There never have been coordinated
efforts. It shows a lack of leadership; every team shouldn't be
doing their own thing." But in this morning's N.Y. TIMES,
Richard Sandomir reports that the "Welcome to the Show" ads that
premiered during last night's ESPN broadcast "correctly ignore
the strike. They don't cry. And they're better than past
pitches like, 'Baseball Fever. Catch It.' The 'Welcome' spots
remind fans of why they enjoy baseball." Jeff Goodby, co-creator
of the ads, said, "We explicitly tried to avoid the p.r. apology
that went with Tylenol, New Coke, or Jack in the Box debacles.
We believed the work stoppage should be dealt with in deeds on
the field" (Richard Sandomir, N.Y. TIMES, 4/26).
CRANKING IT UP? In Boston, Jack Craig writes that since
many advertisers pulled back when the strike "lingered on," more
public service announcements may be seen early in the season in
place of spot advertising. But baseball's return has meant a a
boost to The Baseball Network. One TBN official, discussing ad
sales: "We are cranking now." TBN ad sales have "passed" $100M
and could reach $175M (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/25). In Canada, Jeff
Osborne, Group VP with Media Buying Services in Toronto, calls
this the "quietest lead into a season" he has ever seen. And as
a result, he is "bargaining for better rates through package
deals and guarantees" for rebates if the games don't deliver a
certain rating. But sponsors such as McDonald's and Canadian
Tire Corp. have "stepped up their baseball advertising spending."
Expos Spokesperson Richard Morency said the team has sold about
C$12.5M worth of radio, TV, and stadium ads -- with "roughly $10
million more left to auction off" (Marina Strauss, Toronto GLOBE
& MAIL, 4/26).
