The SF Giants Use Infomercial to Drive Merchandise Sales

Sports organizations looking for new, creative ways to drive sales of tickets and select merchandise should consider modeling a tactic recently implemented by the San Francisco Giants. The Major League Baseball Club's marketing department created a terrific infomercial spot to promote Tim Lincecumb wigs (called Timmy Wigs) the team is selling for $10 at the ballpark. Lincecumb, the team's ace who has won the last two NL Cy Young Awards is a fan favorite in the Bay Area and one of the league's shining stars. 

Since the team created the infomercial spot, Timmy Wig sales have skyrocketed and the video is on its way to becoming a huge viral hit. 

Informercials are becoming a relatively mainstream practice in the sports business space as teams and athletes have used them to drive buzz in the social media marketplace. As you will note, the Minnesota Timberwolves created a Mr. Love Miracle Glass Cleaner spot in 2009 to promote Kevin Love as ROY and Vitaminwater has used Steve Nash, 50 cent, and Kobe Bryant in several infomercial spots. 

Hats off to the San Francisco Giants on a well executed merchandise campaign! Check it out below:

The Giants Kick off 2010 with a Flash Mob

Are you looking for new ways to drive buzz and celebrate the start of a new season? Are you looking for ways to engage fans and consumers alike with a unique awareness driver designed to attract media attention?

The San Francisco Giants recently celebrated the start of the 2010 MLB season by featuring a flash mob at Union Square, a popular locale in San Francisco. The event served as a fan rally that featured a couple hundred boisterous Giants fans singing Bye Bye Baby (a ritual for Giants fans). To pull off the stunt, the Giants held a pep rally at AT&T Stadium and distributed lyrics to the song that fans could print off and memorize before coming to participate.

Check out the execution of the event below:

The Giants drove participation for the event by offering fans the chance to take part in an Official team commercial and receive a free "It's Magic Inside" t-shirt via campaign postings on their team website, Facebook, and Craigslist (as shown below):