Scott O’Connell has witnessed many of the changes to Minnesota baseball since the Twins hired him in 1984, including two World Series wins, two different ball parks, and the implementation of CRMs & dynamic pricing. O’Connell talks about the state of ticket sales back in the 1980s, when prospects were overlapped by sales staff several times over and the state of Minnesota sports as new venues come online. As 2012-13 president of the Association of Luxury Suite Directors, O’Connell provides his expertise on the state of the suite marketplace and where he believes it is headed in the next 5-10 years.
Nic Barlage is part of a fascinating new territory when it comes to the NBA and dynamic ticket sales. Not only do the Cavs dynamically price their seats and/or premium seating, but they also use the same model for their suites while also considering concessions to put in the variable pricing mix. Barlage discusses some of the new enhancements that the Cavs had pioneered, including Flash Seats, which has allowed them to earn the second-highest renewal rate in 2012-13 of non-NBA playoff teams at 89 percent.
A companion to this podcast is a special minicast exclusively for premium subscribers, where Nic Barlage discusses how to implement a proper “pricing communication plan” to a sales staff.
The Las Vegas Wranglers ECHL team is known for its crazy hockey promotions; they do two midnight games annually. Two of the people behind this trend to give the fans a dose of something different are Todd Hutton (VP of Sales & Marketing) and Matt Langseth (Director of Tickets). And while the rest of Vegas may be considered a "comp city," Hutton and Langseth move a ton of tickets through dynamic promotions, massive group buys and attempt to stay away from giving out a lot of premium items. They even break through the idea that people stop spending right after the holidays and talk about what really attracts fans to their product.
A companion to this podcast is an exclusive minicast for premium subscribers, where Langseth and Hutton talk about "Marketing Minors."
If the name sounds familiar, it’s not your imagination. The Veeck moniker is almost a baseball legend thanks to the efforts of Night Train’s grandfather (Bill) and his father (Mike). But Night Train is no slouch himself, the man learned his crazy minor league marketing as part of The First Family of Fun, working for the family’s Charleston RiverDogs as their sales manager/promotions for 12 years, working everywhere from sales, promotions to the grounds crew and gameday operations. Now at the Chicago White Sox, a franchise that his grandfather once owned, Night Train is a group sales executive with a rising future. Night Train discusses his family history, the story behind his nickname, and what the fans really want when they go to a ball game. Twitter: VeeckAsInWreck
A companion to this podcast is a minicast exclusive to premium subscribers, where Veeck talks "Online Competition"