Indians Make Social Media A Priority In Relationship With Fans

With baseball “thriving in the age of social media,” the Indians are “finding new ways to convince fans to promote the game for them,” according to Dave Scott of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Last season, the Indians created the Social Media Suite, a place where “bloggers, tweeters and other online talkers can tap out messages about their fun at the ballpark.” In ’10, the outfield bleachers served as the “first setting for the Tribe’s social media section." But Indians Digital Media Coordinator Robert Campbell said that the team discovered the bleachers’ “direct sunlight was making it hard for techies to read the screens of their smartphones and laptop computers.” This year, Social Media Suite guests are “living the good life with air conditioning, televisions and padded seats in the third row of loges down the left-field line.” They get in for free, but only “about a dozen are allowed.” Scott notes three employees from Cleveland's Wyse Advertising -- Dan Boyce, Patrick Langdon and Joe Hannum -- recently produced a podcast from the Social Media Suite for their blog, TalkBackFans.com. The Indians were “so appreciative of their promotional help they presented the three men with an official-looking certificate” acknowledging that theirs was “the first podcast” from Progressive Field (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 6/9).

A PROGRESSIVE APPROACH: In Cleveland, Chuck Yarborough reports Brad Paisley will headline the “inaugural Indians Music Festival” at Progressive Field on Saturday. Indians President Mark Shapiro noted that for the majority of the ballpark's 17-year history, the Indians viewed it in “a traditional way." The team only used it "in the summertime.” But the “stock market crash, Cleveland’s own economic woes and dwindling population are forcing new, more creative (i.e. moneymaking) thinking.” In addition, the “No. 1 reality is that the Indians need to get more bang for their buck.” The Indians’ “Snow Days,” a month-long promotional event that turned Progressive Field into “a wintry amusement park, was the first step in that direction.” Shapiro said that the success of the event means Cleveland will likely “see a Snow Days II, and probably with additional features” (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 6/9).