The Nationals have planned an extensive marketing and advertising campaign this season to mark 10 years playing in DC. A series of ads, developed with the aid of Philadelphia-based branding agency 160over90, features key moments over the last decade of Nationals baseball, including the first game at Nationals Park in '08 and P Stephen Strasburg's MLB debut in '10. A series of commemorative giveaways has also been scheduled, beginning today with a collector's tin, and continuing on one Tuesday per month during the season. Each of the giveaway items are more collectible in nature, such as lapel pins, nesting dolls or replicas of an '05 Opening Day ticket. An additional giveaway effort has five bobbleheads slated to be distributed this season, each marking a key moment in franchise history. "The anniversary campaign is very much about the collectibles, which generally see moving the needle with our fans much more than a basic T-shirt or hat," said Nationals Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Valerie Camillo. The club will also honor original manager Frank Robinson on May 9. Other elements include special patches on team jersey and home caps, and logos on the sides of bases and balls used at Nationals Park.
: The club enters '15 with a season-ticket base of nearly 20,000 full-season equivalents, similar to totals in the last several years. The total, however, has been boosted by a more than doubling of single-game ticket sales compared to preseason sales last year, and a reduction in broker-based sales. "We've really worked to draw down our broker base, and we're not doing any discounting, things like buy-one, get-one that we would do in years past," Camillo said. "So what we've done in a lot of instances is trade a low-yield customer for a high-yield one. And as a result, we've got a much cleaner set of numbers."
PRESIDENTIAL ACCESS: The Nationals today announced a three-year partnership with the White House Historical Association in an effort to grow awareness about the nonprofit and educate DC-area students about the history of the White House. The partnership will include the introduction of a White House history curriculum in area middle schools, signage at Nationals Park and a White House History Challenge at each Nationals home game. "We hope to educate these young students about the White House's history using something, an introduction via baseball that we think will be a nice tandem," said WHHA President Stewart McLaurin. Much of the organization's support comes annually from the sale of its White House Christmas ornament, which this year features Calvin Coolidge -- a president who had strong ties to the Washington Senators in the 1920s. The ornament will be sold in official Nationals team stores. The sponsorship, managed by Charlotte-based Bespoke Sports & Entertainment, marks the association's first deal with a pro sports franchise.
