The Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League have taken marketing and ticket sales to whole new level this year with their new sales campaign of “If we don’t make the playoffs your season tickets will be free!” Now that is taking the art of the gurantee to a complete new level, could you imagine if Joe Namath were to say “I gurantee we win Super Bowl III, and if we don’t I will refund you your money?”
Now for those of you who don’t follow Arena Football that closely let me tell you something about the Arizona Rattlers, they finished last season with a record of 4-12 which was good enough for the second worst record in their conference. This one time juggernaut of the AFL (Arena Bowl Champions in 94 and 97 and Runner-Up in 02, 03, and 04) has a lot winning to do in order to keep their front office happy.
Is it a clever marketing scheme? Yes, and probably will never be duplicated by anyone else. (Not even Mike Veeck would attempt this one) But is the risk of throwing an entire seasons ticket revenue down the drain worth it? Hell if I lived in Arizona I would buy season tickets and root my heart out for the opposing teams all year. (Great way to attract fans with no allegiances) Whats better than getting to see an entire season of football and possibly not have to pay for it?
Not even George Steinbrenner or Jerry Jones could put this much pressure on their teams. The Rattlers front office is basically saying to their new head coach Kevin Guy the playoffs are an absolute must. Have fun Mr. Guy trying to come up with an excuse to your owner on why your team didn’t make the playoffs. Personally I’d just leave town right from the arena after that last game if you don’t make the playoffs.
In the AFL to make the playoffs you must finish in the top 3 of your 5 team division, not that difficult right? Well for the 2008 Arizona Rattlers it is seemingly to be easier said than done. The Rattlers are currently 2-3 and 1-2 in division play and are only one game away from not being in the playoff picture. An injury here and a few bad games there and this organization could be saying goodbye to thousands and thousands of dollars!
Tags: afl, gurantee, joe namath, playoffs, rattlers, season tickets
April 22, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I think thats a good marketing idea from a fan perspective yet as the article says could be a huge loss for the front office. This is a great way to show fan appreciation since they are practically giving away free season tickets if the team loses all year. It shows that the organization strives for success and will expect nothing less than excellence. Unfortunately if they dont make the playoffs, management will be scrutinized for its “fan appreciation” tactic.
April 23, 2008 at 1:27 am
I definitely agree from a fan perspective that would be a great idea…However from a business prospective, that is the worst idea I’ve ever heard of. Way too many factors can go into a losing season such as injuries, suspensions, increased competition to guarantee a playoff bound season. However, I do agree that at least the team is trying something new to reach out to its fans by getting them to either buy season tixx because there is a chance it will be free as well as flat out telling the fans that the team will be good enough this year to make it to the playoffs. Lets see if this was a great idea or the worst idea ever…