03/05/04

John Cimperman spells "team" with a capital I.

The sports marketing expert, under contract with the Indians, has come up with the concept to take the "I" in Indians and link it to fans. The red "I" is printed on everything from season-ticket renewal brochures to pocket schedules.

"There are two ways to market: focus on the field or the fans," said Cimperman, president of Cenergy Sports & Entertainment of East Aurora, N.Y., and former head marketer for the Cavaliers.

Slogans designed to create an emotional connection, such as "I am part of the celebration" and "I am part of the tradition," are already running on television and radio commercials; print ads were scheduled to start this week.

"It's always dangerous to focus on the field because you're making a promise. In this case, with an evolving team, let's not put the pressure on the guys," Cimperman said.

Besides, the "I" concept is just one component of the Indians' marketing strategy as the organization rebuilds from the glory days of the 1990s, when the team, playing to sellout crowds, had seven winning seasons and clinched the American League pennant in 1995 and 1997.

The Tribe is also banking on a new $7 million video display scoreboard, special events and promotions, a new food and beverage provider, a new seating classification and reduced ticket prices to attract more people to Jacobs Field. Executing the strategy comes at a hard time. The economy is soft. The Tribe has posted two consecutive losing seasons and average attendance pre game last season dwindled to 21,538, compared with 32,308 in 2002.

Add the high regional unemployment and the relative proximity of several other professional baseball teams, and the sell becomes even more difficult.

But team officials hope new seating categories and lower ticket prices will help: Mezzanine seats have dropped to $15 from $20 last season, and upper boxes are now $19, down from $21. Certain season-ticket plans are cheaper, too.

The team has also introduced a new seat type - the corner lower box. These seats, in right field and left field, are now $20, down from $25.

Tickets for single games go on sale today. Saturday, the Indians will hold the first of four open houses for potential season- ticket buyers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The other open houses are March 13, 20 and 27.

Jon Starrett, vice president of sales, said the open houses, which the Tribe has offered for the past several years, allow the public and invited guests to try out seats and roam around the Jake. It has been a very effective sales strategy, Starrett said, especially during the final month of season-ticket sales.

Creative marketing is nothing new for the Indians, unlike many other professional sports teams, said Dean Bonham, chief executive of the Bonham Group, a Denver sports marketing firm.

"We have found that [teams] end up getting caught up in the day-to-day world, reacting to whatever set of curriculum and don't sit down and think. . . ." Bonham said. "If you're not constantly thinking how to improve, you're not doing a service for your fans."

The team also hopes to kick up the stadium's menu a notch with a new food vendor. The Indians replaced Levy Restaurants with Delaware North Companies. DNC, through its subsidiary Sportservice, will start providing a variety of perks including roller grills, coffee makers and an expanded dessert cart in the suites and new services and choices for patrons of the Club Lounge and the Terrace Club menu.

Just beyond center field, the Picnic Pavilion has been renamed the Market Pavilion, to encourage fans to gather before, during and after the game.

The Indians are also excited about the new 36-by-149-foot scoreboard designed by Daktronics, which helped design the first system in Jacobs Field in 1994. Included in the new system are an out-of-town video board on the left field wall that will show other Major League Baseball scores, and new video boards at the third-base side patio and at East Ninth Street and Carnegie Avenue.

If parts of the Indians' marketing strategy sound familiar, it's because they are. More than two years ago, as the Cavaliers struggled to shore up declining attendance, the basketball team opened an all-inclusive court- level club now called Hughie's Court Club.

Then last April, the team expanded its club area bar into what is now known as the South End Club. Both cater to deep- pocket corporate types.

The Cavaliers say the strategy was successful and point to the sale of naming rights for Hughie's, a local electronics firm, as proof. But the real boost came when the team landed LeBron James in the NBA draft.

The Indians don't have a James, but Starrett said, "Our customers will see [the change] and say, 'This brings a tremendous value to my club seat experience.' We have to be able to market to the casual fan looking for entertainment."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

cthomas@plaind.com, 216-999-4870