Oct

10

Former P&G employee gives Rays a makeover

Filed Under Brand Marketing, Sports Business News 

Thanks to former Procter & Gamble brand manager Darcy Raymond, the Tampa Bay Rays have been given a makeover this season and it appears to be working. He has used P&G brand mantras like the five critical brand pillars and other philosophies to help turn the team brand around.

So what changes did they make? First, they removed Devil from the team name and created a new logo including a color change (from green to blue). The team then used focus-group research to make a list of 30 consumer touch points that they can use to measure consumer satisfaction (known as fan experience in the sport business). As the VP of branding and fan experience, measuring the consumer’s satisfaction is crucial so these touch points are essential to his work. It also doesn’t hurt that the team has made a significant jump in the MLB standings. After finishing last in the league, the team improved largely thanks to the efforts of its young players and made the playoffs.

Rays executives said past “worst-to-first” teams have also experienced a one-year lag effect between when a team improves dramatically and when ticket sales follow suit. “With consumer package goods, you can pretty much dictate everything about the product,” said Darcy Raymond, the team’s VP-branding and fan experience, who joined the franchise as a consultant in 2006, shortly after it was acquired by former Goldman Sachs managing partner Stuart Sternberg. “But in this world, the media controls so much of what gets said, so it’s a little different.”

Sports and politics are known for generating passion in its fans and even the reporters themselves. Unlike most brands, teams have fans that are willing to paint themselves for games and even get tattoos with the team’s logo. As a result, it is certainly a lot harder to have a say in the discourse about your brand. From a PR perspective, I would suggest that the team continues to reach out to publications like Advertising Age to get coverage on this change in brand image resulting in increased business sales. Publications such as BrandWeek and Sports Business Journal may be interested outlets.

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