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No, they’re not players worried about pop flies beinfgcarried helter-skelter above their outstretched gloves. They’re not coaches catchingb a caseof angst, worrying thei r best slugger’s sure dinger will be pushed back into the Owens and Gould are veteranas of the marketing wars endemic to the entertainment industry. A sectio n of Owens’ resume reveals that he pioneere d corporate sponsorships for big music tours by marryinyg up the Rolling Stonexs with Budweiser inthe 1980s. Gould has held senior marketin g positions with the likes of Marvel Entertainment andComedy Central.
Longtime colleaguees and friends, they struck out pun not intended – together in 2003 and formede , with the purpose of exploiting an audience niche they perceived asbeingv overlooked: minor league baseball. “Wed wanted to create a companh that has access to the audience of minoe league baseball and will generate revenuer for us and forthe teams,” says It’s a big audience that’s strong in the prized 25-5e4 age category. Today, there are 20 leaguesx with a total of 246 In 2008, those teams drew a combinedx total of 43.3 million fans.
Whils a gold mine for companies wanting to get theire message to those the minor leagues have been a tar pit formarketing executives. Unlike Major League which handles a significant amount of marketinbg and sales out of acentral office, mino league teams largely do it club by That’s 246 ball clubs to pitch. With their company, Owensx and Gould have created what Owens calls a to reach all ofthose clubs. Their vehicle is a travelinyg carnival called the Family FunFest made up of interactiveinflatablew – those big rubber blow-ups that are moldedc into all manner of creatures, structures and the like.
They’re functional and portable, but they do not take kindlty towindy days. Along the the young and younh at heart are treated tobattingf cages, a radar pitching challenge, video games, a superf slide and more. The carnival is set up outsided a minor league ballpark several hours before a game is to be playe dthat day. Entry to the carnival is and there is no cost to thebaseballl club. Here’s how ESI generates its which Owens pegs atabout $1.
7 million The company sells sponsorships of various leveles to corporations, which in turn get signagre at the funfest, ballpark advertising prior to the evenf and a substantial number of tickets to the game on the day of the The name sponsor for the carnival since 2003 has been The Principa Financial Group, which is in the final year of its seconfd three-year contract. Chris Reidle-King, senior relationship manager in corporate marketinffor Principal, says, “Through theirf efforts, over the past five seasons, we’ve been able to put our brand in front of millions of fans, and entertaibn thousands of our key clientsw and advisers.
” Principal is bowing out after this seaso because the company took federal bailout and public sentiment has turned against such Owens and Gould say they are confident they can sign on a new name sponsorr but haven’t done so yet. It takes eightf workers driving two trucks to haul the funfest from town to town duringtthe season, which runs from early May to earlyy September. Once at a site, 12 local workersa are hired to help set up and take down the show and man the exhibitas when the crowds In addition tothosed employees, ESI has four administrative workers. Owens works out of an office in Raleigh, while Gould works out of Glen N.J., where he lives.
This year’s funfest tour kickex off on May 1 at a Charlotte Knights game, then packed up and made a stop in Durhanm on May 3 for a Bulls game. For the season, the carnivao will be hauled, unpacked, set up and repacke at 47 baseball The funfest displays are as colorful as the named of some of the teams on theitineraryt – the River City Rascals, the Fort Wayne the Grand Prairie AirHogs, the Washington Wild the Vermont Lake Monsters. It’s been quite a trip, says Owens, adding, “Our compan is an evangelist for minor league baseball.
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