The Rays this season are debuting a “Welcome Home” ad campaign tagline that is “built on the concept of ‘home,’” according to Alexis Muellner of the TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL. The team for art and creative is “using images it shoots of fans reacting to the experience at Tropicana Field.” The in-house campaign "features radio and TV, print, outdoors and social media.” The club is “taking advantage of the many possible places to place digital advertising.” For example, ads “may pop while surfing Weatherchannel.com.” In addition, the team will “expand its advertising on the mobile app for music website Pandora.” Ads are “geographically focused, and they can be targeted to music preferences that align with the team’s popular concert series.” Execs said that there are “no changes” in the amount of media the team is buying this season. The team is “being more aggressive this year in pushing the sunburst part of its logo, which appears in a home plate shaped box that contains the tagline.” Rays President Matt Silverman said that the team's '12 attendance "was last in baseball, but by far the most-attended product in Tampa Bay" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/18). In Tampa, Robert Trigaux notes the campaign “kicks off later this week and features" Rays 3B Evan Longoria, P David Price and manager Joe Maddon. Other players "also appear in the campaign.” Silverman said, "The idea of the campaign is that a fan can settle into a Rays game whether they are in the ballpark or on the couch at home and feel like they are in a familiar place." The "Welcome Home" message on radio and TV “will be spoken by Rays players or Maddon to deepen the connection with listeners.” Rays VP/Marketing Tom Hoof said that the Rays “will soon reach out via the team website, inviting fans to share their favorite stories about the Rays.” Fans with “compelling tales will be featured as part of the ads” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/19).
