The Cubs are "teaming up with Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management to conduct a survey involving kids' experiences at Wrigley Field, asking selected fans to help provide the 'right opportunities for your kids to connect with the team and grow as the next generation' of fans," according to Paul Sullivan of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Cubs Senior Dir of Marketing Alison Miller said, "We've done a couple things just with trying to get better research on our fans, and just being smarter about what our fans want. We've done a lot of focus groups in the last couple of months." Sullivan notes fans were asked about kid-friendly topics such as "batting cages and radar gun zones, kids apps for smartphones and tablets, a kids section, a new Cubs song and 'interaction with a mascot.'" Sullivan wrote, "A mascot at Wrigley Field? In the ballpark that still boos the Wave?" The Cubs are "one of only a few teams that eschew the marketing ploy, joining traditionalists such as the Yankees, Dodgers and Angels" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/10). Meanwhile, in Chicago, Floyd Sullivan conducted an informal survey to gauge Cubs fans' reaction to the team's new "Committed" marketing campaign. Sullivan wrote it "hasn't gone over too well so far." One respondent said, "Makes me think of a nut house." Another added, "It sounds like they haven't been 'committed' up until now." The press "hasn't been too kind to the campaign theme either." Sullivan: "I've been surfing the web for opinions and have not found a positive review." The word committed "isn't even a baseball word." The Cubs on Friday held their launch event for single-game ticket sales, and there "couldn't have been more than a couple hundred fans there at most" (CHICAGONOW.com, 3/9).
