Time to talk baseball. And a tale of two teams.
One has a great on-the-field product, winning this year to the tune of 90-plus games.
The other lost almost that many.
Team One has camaraderie, is in the playoffs, has charismatic leadership, players who go the extra mile for each other.
Team Two is under new management, under new ownership, doesn’t know which end is up.
The first team may well win the World Series this year.
The second team hasn’t done so in what only feels like an eternity.
Get This: Team One can’t give away tickets. Team Two pretty much sold out every game and is making money hand over fist.
So, in this corner, the Tampa Bay Rays – energy and enthusiasm on the field, tumbleweeds off it.
In the other corner, the Chicago Cubs – where winning isn’t everything (and this year it wasn’t anything), but the cash register has no problem ringing.
What can the Marketer learn from this?
Probably more than anything, the Rays sell “baseball.”
The Cubs sell “the experience.”
Like it or lump it, the knock on the Northsiders has always been this: world’s largest happy hour, go for the beer, don’t pay attention to the game, free sunshine, etc.
This same experience includes “lovable losers.” This is, after all, a team whose drought of 102 years (and counting) since a World Championship has become a calling card.
Neither marketing model, neither business model, is wrong. Both teams are profitable.
But, maybe, after all, you should ask yourself: are you selling “the experience?”
