Ready To Run: Brand Signing Propelled 76ers To Early Sales Goals

By Erik Swanson, Staff Writer

Elton Brand’s surprise decision to leave the Clippers for a five-year, $82M deal with the 76ers in July prompted an early launch to the Sixers’ season-long marketing campaign, giving an additional boost to the team’s already strong sales efforts. The Sixers, after a positive response to the “Run With Us” campaign introduced for last season’s playoffs, already had decided to utilize the same slogan for the ’08-09 season, and Brand’s arrival served as a springboard for the campaign, according to 76ers VP/Marketing Eric Blankenship. “He was obviously bigger than just a normal free agent signing for us, so the signing kind of rolled into our whole offseason full-season ticket campaign.” Following Brand’s signing, the Sixers launched a promotion offering a free autographed Brand jersey to fans who purchased new season tickets for the ’08-09 season. Blankenship said the team already was pacing ahead of last season in ticket sales prior to Brand’s signing, but Brand served as the “tipping point” that got the ball rolling. “If there were any people that were kind of sitting on the fence a little bit, all those people jumped,” Blankenship said. “We saw immediate impact.” Blankenship said the Sixers hit early budget numbers for full-season sales a couple months ago, and the team has sold out of several partial season-ticket plans. Sources close to the team said the Sixers saw a 47% increase in individual ticket sales through their presale period. The Sixers also have seen a 10% increase in total full-season ticket sales, and the team ranks 13th in the league in new full-season sales, sources said.

POSTING UP: The Sixers utilized Brand exclusively in marketing materials for four to six weeks after his signing, partly because other players like guards Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala had not yet re-signed with the club. After Williams and Iguodala signed in August, the team expanded its marketing efforts to include eight Sixers players, Blankenship said. And while the Sixers have featured new acquisitions in marketing materials in the past -- the most recent example being the February ’05 trade for forward Chris Webber -- Blankenship said marketing Webber was “nothing compared to Elton Brand, it was a completely different dynamic.” Even former Sixers stars like guard Allen Iverson did not received the entire spotlight, as the team previously had focused on multiple players. Blankenship: “At the end of the day it is a team.”

READY TO RUN: Spending on the “Run With Us” campaign was not disclosed. Blankenship said defining an exact cost for the campaign would be difficult as the slogan permeates all of the team’s materials, from flyers to posters to video boards. And while Brand -- a 6’9”, 254-pound power forward -- may not seem to fit into the running theme, Blankenship joked, “Tell him that.” Blankenship said Brand “views himself as a very mobile type of player” and “firmly believes that he’s going to come in and basically add to the type of style that we have."