Falcons Unleash Marketing Blitz In Atlanta, Push Season Tickets
The Falcons have "purchased about 250 30-second slots on two Atlanta TV stations and 2,000 spots on local radio stations," according to a sports section cover story by Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY. Since April, "23 billboards have declared 'Screamers Wanted.' Translation: Tickets are still available." The Falcons also have sent out "mass e-mails," as "more than 600,000 recipients in the team's database have been spam-targeted for sales." The Falcons are trying to "re-brand themselves as a team with a renewed focus on character." Falcons President Rich McKay: "We need to get people understanding what we're about again. We need people feeling good about us again, to turn the page." The Falcons indicated that the pricetag for the marketing campaign "was in the mid-six-figures." One TV ad contains draft-day footage of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell presenting QB Matt Ryan with a Falcons jersey and "ends with a plea outlined in bold, stenciled letters: Believe." WQXI-AM sports talk show host Ryan Stewart said of the ad, "You definitely notice it. But there's one commercial that makes me sick to my stomach. It's where [Falcons Owner Arthur] Blank tells people, 'Come and meet my new regime.' Then he says how the GM came from the New England Patriots. How in the hell do you put another team's name in your ad? That's ridiculous." Stewart said Blank "is a marketing genius. But he's also desperate" (USA TODAY, 7/22).
LIFTING BLACKOUTS: McKay said that the Falcons "have not yet put single-game tickets on sale and likely will hold off longer than usual to continue concentrating on season-ticket sales." The Falcons are holding off because the team is "trying to guard against television blackouts of home games by assembling a large enough season-ticket base to reasonably ensure sellouts." McKay said that "sales to new customers have gained momentum since the Falcons launched an aggressive marketing campaign in May." McKay: "We have sold more than 10,000 to new season-ticket holders -- people who were on the waiting list before or people we were able to reach through the campaign. That number continues to be added upon. We know what our goal is: to be sold out and be able to lift the blackout." McKay added, "We have a second push of the marketing campaign and the start of training camp (ahead)" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/19). McKay said the Falcons have "virtually sold out" of their 16,000 season tickets priced at $250, the team's lowest price point, down from $280 last season (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/19).
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