Take Me Out to the Ballpark – The Tribe Did!!!
Last year, my friends (and one is literally my childhood friend!) at the Cleveland Indians decided to take a really progressive (yes, a little play on words since “The Jake” was officially renamed “Progressive Field” – ick!) approach to marketing. The marketing and PR team in the Tribe’s organization decided to introduce the first-ever area dedicated to Social Media enthusiasts. They dubbed the section in the left field bleachers “The Tribe Social Deck”. For each game, the Tribe organization would provide tickets to Indians fans who were engaging with others on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. It was a brilliant move and planted the seed for fantastic grass-roots marketing. Read a little more about the Tribe Social Deck here.
Proudly sporting my Tribe shirt!
I grew up near Cleveland, and have been a life-long Indians fan, but if you recall, this time last year, I was living in Orange County, CA – thousands of miles from the CLE. So, although the team reached out to me and offered me tickets, I was not able to arrange a trip to make it to a game and check out this ground-breaking program. Instead, I read tweets from others who were really excited to be part of the Social Media action.
Now that I’m living in MI, it’s easier for me to make a 3 hour drive (vs a 4+ hour flight) to visit my family on the east side of Cleveland. I decided to take a week off last week and enjoy some golf (okay, LOTS of golf), and I took the opportunity to ask @TribeTalk, the Indians’ PR team, if they had any spare tickets for the newly upgraded “Social Suite” while I was in town. It couldn’t have been even ten minutes before Rob Campbell got back to me and offered me tickets to the first game in the Toronto Blue Jays series on July 7, 2011! I was really excited, and grateful to Rob and the team.
Then, I realized that I could have requested tickets to the Yankees series – which the Tribe took for the first time since 2006! I might have been disappointed to attend the Blue Jays series, since they’re hanging out at the bottom of the division, but everything happens for a reason. More on that in a minute. First, when we arrived, we were warmly welcomed and equipped with the official game program “Batter Up”, and 8 pages (Legal paper size!) of team notes, stats, and fun facts to share with others, etc.
Welcome to the Social Suite Batter Up! Game notes, stats, fun facts, etc.
The team at the Tribe is engaged and takes time to arms their guests with all the right info! We’re also encouraged to utilize Twitter hashtags: #SocialSuite and #Indians, to help other fans follow along. And, we did “nerd it up!”.
Here a screen, there a screen, everywhere a screen!
All Tribe communications are very thorough and professional, but encourage attendees to show their own personality and enthusiasm for the team.
So, here’s the kicker about being at first post-Yankees series game…those of us who hung around through the bottom of the ninth inning saw Travis “Pronk” Hafner come up to bat with bases loaded and one out AND HIT A WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM!!! The Indians would take the “W” after seeming to hand the game over to the Jays early on. The atmosphere in the ballpark was electric!!! It was awesome, to say the least! I couldn’t have asked for a better game to attend!
Bottom of the 9th, 1 out, bases loaded...PRONK!!!!!!!
Some other highlights from the night:
1) Seeing my former physical education teacher, Rik Danburg and his son, my former classmate, Curtis Danburg – both employed by the Cleveland Indians in the suite. (see pics)
3) Not a highlight, in the sense that he took a major hit to the helmet & face, but being able to quickly tweet hopes for a quick recovery to Lonnie Chisenhall b/c the Tribe has a comprehensive list of staff & team on Twitter was nice.
4) Spending quality time with my brother at the ballpark.
5) Having a private bathroom!!
All in all, my evening in the Tribe Social Suite was an awesome experience, and one that I hope many others get to enjoy. I extend great personal gratitude to the @TribeTalk team for inviting me to the game. I hope to return to see Rob, Curtis, Rik and the rest of the team soon!
Cheers! And, GO TRIBE!!!!!
Tags: #Indians, #SocialMedia, #SocialSuite, @TribeTalk, baseball, MLB, social media, Tribe
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