Draft Day Trade Ignites Season Ticket Sales For Grizzlies

Mayo Helping Grizzlies Sell Tickets In Memphis

Grizzlies season-ticket holders are "signaling their approval" of the team's NBA Draft day trade to acquire G O.J. Mayo by re-upping for the '08-09 season, according to Jim Masilak of the Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL. The Grizzlies "aren't saying how many season-ticket equivalencies they've sold since draft night, but the early indications are heartening for a team that sold just 9,000 season tickets" last season. Grizzlies VP/Ticket Sales & Service Dennis O'Connor said, "There has been more excitement stemming from draft night on the business side than in any year since I've been here." O'Connor added, "New sales are there as well, but we're really getting fence-sitters back in the fold. This is a wait-and-see market, and a lot of people wanted to see what we did on draft night." Grizzlies President of Business Operations Greg Campbell said, "It's just a great opening for our sales guys. Even when we were winning 49 or 50 games, we were still getting heat about how we weren't offensive enough, that we were too defensive. ... This kid [Mayo] has a lot of credentials ... That's great for our salespeople and for sponsorships." Masilak notes the Grizzlies "haven't wasted any time introducing Mayo to the public." Mayo and F Darrell Arthur, who also was acquired in a draft day deal, "recorded voice messages that were sent to current, former and potential season-ticket holders." Grizzlies Senior Dir of Marketing & Communications John Pugliese: "There's a lot of excitement right now, and we definitely want to take advantage of that." Although the Grizzlies "won't roll out the bulk" of the their '08-09 marketing campaign until late summer or early fall, Pugliese said that "they'll do what they can to take advantage of the sudden spike in interest." Pugliese said that the idea of using "local 'guerrilla' marketing" could include "window wraps and strategically placed posters" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 7/2).