Marketing Leftovers

Did you catch the story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about the marketing strategy Major League Baseball parks are using to sell less popular, and frequently unsold, seats?

To fill its right-field bleachers, Dodger Stadium is now wooing fans with an offer of all-you-can-eat food. In fact, you don't even need to be a fan to enjoy the complimentary hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, and soda - you just have to be hungry and pay the $20 to $40 entry fee. And at the St. Louis Cardinals' Busch Stadium, you can even get free-flowing beer, although the tickets there start at $60.

While I applaud the stadium's move to entice fans back to the park with a tactic that has worked well for cruise ships and casinos, my concern is whether money is really being made here.

The WSJ article reported that the Dodgers estimate the average fan who takes advantage of their all-you-can-eat offer eats 2.5 hot dogs, one bag of peanuts or popcorn, and one plate of nachos, on top of all the soda they can drink. Given the high cost of stadium food, I imagine that fans view this as a bargain, since they probably would spend more than $20 on food during a game anyway. With this deal, they get the food and a seat at the game for the same price.

Marketing is all about identifying potential fans and giving them a reason to attend more games. The Dodger's all-you-can-eat food strategy certainly does that well. But successful marketing strategies also generate a profit for the organization, and I question whether this offer qualifies. Is it a homerun or a foul ball? We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

But the core strategy is a good one - offer an enticement to help sell off less popular products. Retailers often have sales, consultants make a limited-time offer, and information product gurus bundle a bonus or two with their products to make them harder to resist. Think about what bonus you can offer to help increase demand - even short-term - for products that are languishing or services that have not been as hot lately.