Nothing beats a fun promotion. Here are some successful examples of marketing promotions that worked. From bald head night to vasectomy Tuesdays...here is a formula for your marketing success.

1. Having some fun and success, at your own expense
by troywhite | on December 4, 2012
Fellow business builder,
Nothing beats a fun promotion.
The laughter you get from those on your list.
And the fire within that wells up when you get into the zone and put together some kind of wacky promotion
that works.
I have just finished a great book by Jon Spoelstra called Marketing Outrageously.
Pick up a copy – it’s a great read.
Jon is a MASTER at creating fun, wacky, and highly effective promotions in the sports industry.
And YES, it does apply to you.
No matter what field we are talking about (pun intended) the ideas behind these promotions could easily be
changed to fit your own.
The sports marketing industry is very creative and they have to draw a lot of people out to their games … so
their marketing had better be good!
Imagine if you had to get 10,000 people to pay you money every single week or month … what would you do?
Many, with the marketing mindset, aim for product launches and successful campaigns for single products.
But what would you do if you had a weekly event to sell out that delivered pretty well the same experience?
Here are some great ideas that sports teams have used to get people through the gates, money in hand.
As you go through these, PLEASE start thinking about how you could make one or more of them work in your
business.
I guarantee they could … if you try.
• The promotions could be for a sale.
• For a launch.
• For a fun event.
• For a customer appreciation party.
• Or just to get some free publicity.
• As a co-operative promotion with other like-minded businesses.
• As a seminar or workshop.
• As a theme party you throw for all the photos and videos you could use.
Or any one of a hundred different reasons to get your customers and prospects interacting with you.

2. Wacky Marketing from the field
Baldhead night: anyone who has their head shaved gets in for free.
Mustache Appreciation Night: Fresno Grizzlies fans were encouraged to grow
mustaches. They also were incented to encourage their friends to contribute $ to a
worthy cause as part of the promotion. Contests were also held for “best in show,”
“best Tom Selleck look-alike,” and most pathetic attempt at a mustache. Great times
– and great results.
Second Chance Night: Probation officers got in for free. As well as anyone
who brought in a traffic ticket and promised to never do it again also got in for free.
Kevin Federline Night:The first 3,000 fans got free temporary K-Fed tattoos. They
also got to watch videos of K-Fed’s rise through the ranks, and a dance contest
between the dance troop to which Kevin Federline once belonged and the Grizzlies’
mascot.
The Hagerstown (Maryland) Suns had a McDreamy Day: Everyone was encouraged
to dress the medical part … and to know their medical lingo to win prizes.
Or what about Anger management night – held by the Augusta (Georgia) Green
Jackets. One of their rival teams manager had a meltdown … so let’s turn it into a
promotion! They offered the first 250 fans free stress balls and DVDs of the movie
“Anger Management.”
[Look at all the new movies out and coming out on DVD – is there any way you can
tie a promotion into the theme of the movie? The newest as of this week: “Mall Cop,”
“Valkyrie,” “My Bloody Valentine,” “Million Dollar Mutts,” “The Last Word,” “The
Grudge,” “Flirting With Forty,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “New In
Town,” “Addicted to Plastic,” “Defiance,” “Gran Torino,” “Street Fighters,” “45
RPM,” to name just a few.]

3. How can you go wrong with a Britney Spears promo? She certainly gives us all lots
of great opportunity to make fun of her antics. The Newark (New Jersey) Bears held
a Britney Spears Baby Safety Night. Anyone who dressed as a baby, brought a baby
toy, or brought an actual baby got in for free. Everybody else that attended received a
brochure about baby safety.
[NOTE: before you get uptight about how “hokey” or “unprofessional” these events
sound … remember how many TICKETS they sold. Thousands and thousands of
tickets sold per event. They didn’t worry about the “hokeyness” of the event … they
cared about the newsworthy parts of the promotion only. News and buzz gets people
talking about buying … these events did everything you and I should be aiming for!]
The San Antonio Missions held a Used Car Night and gave away a dozen luxury used
automobiles randomly.
Or how about the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays and their College Course
Giveaway Night? Each fan received a free three-credit course of their choice at
nearby Kellogg Community College.
The Charleston RiverDogs minor league baseball team is a master at using wacky
promotions to get people in the seats. Some of their events: a Run, Forrest, Run 5-K
Race; My Hot Dog Is Green Night and Salute to the G-string Night in which select
fans will receive a G-string.
Get this … they even had a Vasectomy Night where a lucky male fan would win a
vasectomy. That was canceled after management received complaints. Talk about
getting some press!
Or this: They even staged a Nobody Night, locking out fans at the door as the club
attempted to set a minor league record for lowest attendance at a game.

4. Steal of a deal. Recessionary promotion gone wild with the Minnesota Twins offering
an entire season (81 games) for only $250. Comparable seats in New York go for
$250 per seat – per game.
Hungry fans unite! The Athletics, Orioles, Rangers, Royals, Braves, Dodgers and
Padres all have designated All-You-Can Eat sections for fans hungry to see more
than a game. Ranging from $30-$45 per person to eat their way through the game.
Musical fanfare. The Pirates have offered up REO Speedwagon and Collective Soul
and the Marlins offer KC and the Sunshine Band. The Devil Rays have the most
interesting series featuring The Commodores, Trace Adkins, Kool And The Gang, LL
Cool J and MC Hammer. (Could you not offer something like this in any of your
promotions with lesser-known artists?)
Luring them in. The Twins promotion department hooked some new fans by offering
a Joe Mauer fishing lure. Only available to the first 5,000 fans, this was a runaway
winner.
How about some NON-sports promotions?
What about the Beer-for-Bags event, which the company promoted that they would
accept beer for merchandise. They grew their sales by 20% using this promotion
(including all the free publicity they received as well). The company hopes to make
“Beer For Bags” an annual event, as it is in Australia.
Gonigam’s World Furniture Mall near Chicago offered customers up to $10,000 of
free furniture if the Chicago Bears shut out the Green Bay Packers (which they did).
The company had prize reimbursement insurance to cover their backs. They saw
huge traffic growth to their site and an increasing amount of new sales to people who
never bought from them before.
Long John Silver’s offered to give customers free “Giant Shrimp” if NASA found
conclusive evidence of an ocean on Mars.
This is a great list you could use anytime you need a promotion.

5. The key is to MAKE IT FIT.
I realize 99% of those who read this blog are NOT in the sports marketing business.
But … so what?
Why can’t you put some time and effort into this list and find some ways to use these ideas?
Keep your eyes on the local news, industry news, Hollywood movies, strange trends, technology trends, and
pretty well anything you see on the covers of the magazines like Star, National Enquirer, The Globe, etc (those
are the ones the majority of the population reads … and you should be finding a way to tie into them!)
All it takes is some effort – and the results could be exceptional.
You won’t know until you try … right?
There is absolutely no rational reason at all you cannot take the list above, with a pen and pad of paper and
create at least a dozen wacky promotional ideas to carry you through to the New Year.
Why pen and paper?
The Wall Street Journal just reported this week the study results that prove the immense power of writing for
learning and creativity.
“And one recent study of hers demonstrated that in grades two, four and six, children wrote more words, faster,
and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard.”
Give it a try – I always LOVE the results with pen and paper – it may feel painful and slow – but the ideas are
better.
Have fun – and come up with some fun, crazy, and highly profitable promotional ideas over the next few days!
To your success,
Troy
This entry was posted in At home business, Marketing a home business, Marketing beach
bum, Marketing online, Marketing plan
Tags: sports marketing, unusual marketing ideas, wacky marketing
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6. About The Author: troywhite
I'm a weird and unusual guy who adores my twin 11 year old daughters. Nothing I want more in this world, than giving them the
upbringing and education that inspires them to live a life they love, just like their dorky dad. I love to write, and have a real
passion for beaches (see http://www.marketingbeachbum.com). Having been self-employed for over a decade now, I bring quite a
diverse background in helping people build businesses that support their lifestyles.