Idea for concessions at the game -- support your team

[Hockey Team]

I thought of an interesting marketing idea for concessions at games..

If you're wearing a home team jersey, you get 10% off the price

If you're wearing an away team jersey, you get charged 10% more

It would probably piss off the away fans, but their opinion doesn't count anyway.

Obviously you don't explicitly mark up the price for away fans. There's any number of marketing tricks you can use to accomplish that which I won't get into since this is just a concept.

The primary reason for doing this is to encourage fans to support the team, and get a better atmosphere in the arena. There's nothing better to help ticket sales then if your fans are having a good time while they're at the arena. It may also encourage fans who don't have jerseys to get one.

You also discourages away fans from supporting their team, which again results in a better atmosphere for YOUR fans. And gouging away fans to make extra money isn't a bad idea either. They're only going to come for a couple games every season at most, might as well squeeze them for an extra couple bucks.

Or a simpler, less discriminatory way of doing this is a simple "support your team at the game, 10% off concessions if you wear a Rangers jersey" and of course adjusting prices a bit so the total revenue is around the same, but the jersey wearers get a slightly better deal.

Click to read more...

 

[LadyStanley]

As a STH, I get a 15% discount on most merchandise purchases. So, this means I get 25%?

 

[Hockey Team]

As a STH, I get a 15% discount on most merchandise purchases. So, this means I get 25%?

Well, the exact # would obviously depend on a lot of things, mainly how the team wants to go about doing it.

But yes, you would likely get a larger discount if you're wearing your jersey at the game.

 

[The Bob Cole]

Why do they need to do this? They make more money by charging the full price - a 10% discount won't encourage that many more purchases. Popcorn is something like $6.50 or something ridiculous for a large, getting it for $5.85 isn't going to suddenly make me have the urge to buy more. People who do buy concession food/drinks at the games will buy regardless.

People buy the jerseys regardless. That's why thousands are sold every year by each team in their own arenas, let alone all the replicas sold elsewhere. Offering a discount on concession items doesn't guarantee an increase in jersey sales (which you suggested in your other main-board thread) - in fact it's likely to have a negligible influence.

The primary reason for doing this is to encourage fans to support the team, and get a better atmosphere in the arena. There's nothing better to help ticket sales then if your fans are having a good time while they're at the arena. It may also encourage fans who don't have jerseys to get one.

You're also assuming that by wearing a certain item of clothing, that it instantaneously increases the enjoyment for an individual at a game, which is not necessarily true.

The only thing that drives ticket sales, is a winner. Fans show up when their team is successful, it's as simple as that. Offering small concessionary discounts won't justify spending upwards of 40 bucks on a ticket in a majority of markets. In the other smaller markets, most of them give away free items anyways with the purchase of tickets.

 

[Hockey Team]

Why do they need to do this? They make more money by charging the full price - a 10% discount won't encourage that many more purchases. Popcorn is something like $6.50 or something ridiculous for a large, getting it for $5.85 isn't going to suddenly make me have the urge to buy more. People who do buy concession food/drinks at the games will buy regardless.

People buy the jerseys regardless. That's why thousands are sold every year by each team in their own arenas, let alone all the replicas sold elsewhere. Offering a discount on concession items doesn't guarantee an increase in jersey sales (which you suggested in your other main-board thread) - in fact it's likely to have a negligible influence.



You're also assuming that by wearing a certain item of clothing, that it instantaneously increases the enjoyment for an individual at a game, which is not necessarily true.

The only thing that drives ticket sales, is a winner. Fans show up when their team is successful, it's as simple as that. Offering small concessionary discounts won't justify spending upwards of 40 bucks on a ticket in a majority of markets. In the other smaller markets, most of them give away free items anyways with the purchase of tickets.

Not sure about you, but sitting in an arena where the bulk of the people are wearing my team's jerseys makes for a more enjoyable atmosphere then if they're not. People go to games because they want to root for their team, and scream and yell when their team scores a goal. This is especially true when you're sitting in the upper bowl. I get a better view at home on my plasma TV then I do sitting in the upper bowl, or even in the lower bowl for that matter, since even there you often only get a good view at part of the ice.

The original idea could always be revised for events as well. "Wear your jersey, get a hot dog" day, or get a free puck (instead of just giving them to everybody) or something.

 

[bodybreak]

As a STH, I get a 15% discount on most merchandise purchases. So, this means I get 25%?

You'd get 15% off your jersey, which you could then use to get 10% off food at the concessions... Don't eat the merchandise!!

 

[29dryden29]

I thought of an interesting marketing idea for concessions at games..

If you're wearing a home team jersey, you get 10% off the price

If you're wearing an away team jersey, you get charged 10% more

It would probably piss off the away fans, but their opinion doesn't count anyway.

Obviously you don't explicitly mark up the price for away fans. There's any number of marketing tricks you can use to accomplish that which I won't get into since this is just a concept.

The primary reason for doing this is to encourage fans to support the team, and get a better atmosphere in the arena. There's nothing better to help ticket sales then if your fans are having a good time while they're at the arena. It may also encourage fans who don't have jerseys to get one.

You also discourages away fans from supporting their team, which again results in a better atmosphere for YOUR fans. And gouging away fans to make extra money isn't a bad idea either. They're only going to come for a couple games every season at most, might as well squeeze them for an extra couple bucks.

Or a simpler, less discriminatory way of doing this is a simple "support your team at the game, 10% off concessions if you wear a Rangers jersey" and of course adjusting prices a bit so the total revenue is around the same, but the jersey wearers get a slightly better deal.

That only works if the away fans actually use the concessions I know my friends and I never buy anything in the away teams barn we bought a ticket that is all they get out of us. Plus we make sure to be decked out in our fan gear and are as loud and obnoxious as possible.

 

[AnAirplaneOverTheSea*]

It's definitely "an idea." It's just not a good one.

 

[NYR89]

Another issue that comes up from this is counting change. Most arenas have things that cost an even dollar or .75, .50, .25 to make it easier of the workers and make things run much more smoothly. For someone who works in Heinz Field, I definitely would not want to be counting out pennies, nickles and dimes during a halftime rush.

 

[billycanuck]

Another issue that comes up from this is counting change. Most arenas have things that cost an even dollar or .75, .50, .25 to make it easier of the workers and make things run much more smoothly. For someone who works in Heinz Field, I definitely would not want to be counting out pennies, nickles and dimes during a halftime rush.

Then just make the promo for $1.00 or $2.00 off.

I like the idea with regards to encouraging fans to purchase jerseys. Pass this idea on the FHL and AAHL brass.

 

[Confucius]

Rarely would away fans go to the game alone. So it's hold my jersey until I get back....

 

[Bjorn Le]

I'm going to away games this year and I plan on wearing a jersey, and if a team ever did this (Which they wouldn't becauses its a very bad idea) I'd wear my jacket over top.

 

[NYRangers88]

As a Ranger fan, I go to away games all the time on Long Island, New Jersey, Boston, Philly, and Washington. All I would have to do is take off my jersey, buy food, then put it on again.

Idea would never work.

 

[Hoser]

You also discourages away fans from supporting their team, which again results in a better atmosphere for YOUR fans.

Then who would ever go to Coyotes, Thrashers, Lightning, etc. games?

 

[29dryden29]

Then who would ever go to Coyotes, Thrashers, Lightning, etc. games?

LOL good point look at the HABS Panthers game last night 3/4 of the fans were HABS fans. I guess we are now not ol=nly supporting these teams with our attendance at home and rev sharing but now trying to support them by going to their barns for games also same thing happened in T Bay the night before.

 

[Hockey Team]

Well, I'm going to go with the simpler idea of just

"Wear your jersey and get 10% off" (and of course they would increase base prices by like 5% so the total revenue stays the same).

And if it's an arena that makes prices a round .25, .50, whatever, cash registers can be programmed to make the final price a round #, or like someone else said, it can be a fixed $1.00 off or something.