Dodgers Unveil Fan Rewards Program; Google Celebrates Jackie Robinson

The Dodgers on Thursday announced the launch of a free rewards/fan engagement program that will offer prizes based on a variety of digital activities, including online merchandise purchases and checking in at games via MLBAM's At The Ballpark mobile app. Fans also can become eligible for prizes by interacting online within the team's official website, Facebook page, Twitter feed and Instagram accounts. The first sweepstakes offers began yesterday and will run through March 15 (Dodgers). In L.A., Steve Dilbeck noted the basic premise is the "same for all you points freaks tied to a hotel chain or airline programs," and signing up "is required." Rewards for the sweepstakes "aren't too bad: two tickets to opening day or a Sandy Koufax signed baseball." The Dodgers are "getting ahead of the curve in MLB." But Dodgers Exec VP & CMO Lon Rosen said that teams such as the NFL's Ravens, Dolphins and Texans, as well as the NBA's Heat and Magic already are "utilizing similar programs." The Dodgers for the program partnered with Austin-based Lodestone Social Media, which has "launched similar programs with national universities and colleges, including USC and UC Riverside" (LATIMES.com, 1/31).

CHEERS TO YOU, MR. ROBINSON: In L.A., Brian Charles notes on what would have been Baseball HOFer Jackie Robinson's 94th birthday Thursday, the man who broke baseball's color barrier "graced the Google homepage adorned in his Dodger jersey and with a bat in hand." The tribute to Robinson "came as a surprise to the Dodger organization." Dodgers Assistant PR Dir Joe Jareck said, "I'd love to take some credit for the organization, but that was all Google." Illustrator Mike Dutton, who created the image, in an e-mail said, "By celebrating Jackie today, we're hoping to spread his message of respecting each other as a human beings" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 2/1).