Comments on: The Nationals’ Big Marketing Mistake

By: Presidents Race

Presidents Race — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:54:50 +0000

I’m glad they’re advertising that, though it’s more evidence that their marketing backfired. They have empty space in the garages because even season ticket holders were scared away from buying parking passes.

I am one shining example. We declined to buy the parking not only because of the price, but because we listened to Stan and assumed driving would be a nightmare.

By: C in DC

C in DC — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:17:23 +0000

I’ve seen a lot of empty parking lots so far, although the RFK option seems to be popular.

I’ve also just started hearing ads on the radio telling people that they don’t need to be season-ticket-holders to get a parking pass.

By: Presidents Race

Presidents Race — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:06:48 +0000

Dave,

As another person who thinks about marketing all day, I agree with you wholeheartedly. The Nationals’ media plan is just textbook wrong, and all those empty suites and presidential suites are a marketing asset completely wasted.

I will stick to my contention that the fear campaign is marketing mistake #1, head and shoulders above all others. It has had a halo effect on the media, drowning out all positive stories on the new park, and snuffing out what should be the top message all spring (one which, BTW should require very little in the way of marketing dollars. All these stories should be about the park — not about the park-ing).

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:51:36 +0000

I’m sorry to disagree, but the marketing problem is much, much larger.

I blogged on it:

http://nats3play.blogspot.com/2008/04/attendance-woes-no-marketing-woes.html

However, the entire message is wrong. It’s not just parking. It’s the entire message. The message is about the park (which then is a message about how bad it is to get there) not a message about baseball, and certainly no effort to bond with the team.

This has to change. Fast.

By: Hendo

Hendo — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:45:41 +0000

Gotta admit, you bring up a good point. But I think everybody was apprehensive about Metro and traffic down there anyway — not that they necessarily needed to be made more apprehensive, I grant you.

The good news is that Metro and the RFK Nats Shuttle have turned out to be two reasonable, well-running transportation alternatives. We can use some good news right now, so I’m scoring that a win.

By: Sec 314

Sec 314 — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:14:22 +0000

THANK YOU!! I have been trying to figure out how to say this for the past week. The Nats SCARED people away with the relentless push of Metro.

By: Presidents Race

Presidents Race — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:28:38 +0000

Thanks. Great perspective from your terrific blog. This topic isn’t usually my wheelhouse, but after making similar comments on so many other blogs, I figured I should make the point here as well. It’s just driving me crazy.

By: Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball

Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:06:54 +0000

i said the same thing yesterday! glad to know i’m not the only one that has this opinion.

http://bottomfeederbaseball.blogspot.com/2008/04/where-is-everybody.html

best,
Dave