Get drafted by the Dolphins
Well, sort of. The Dolphins have put together a creative interactive marketing campaign for which the tagline is: “This offseason, the Dolphns’ most important signing … is you.”
OK, so it’s a little cute, but it’s done well and even includes snippets of interviews with players and Coach Tony Sparano talking about … well, you. It’s not really you, but the team has done a nice job embedding your name into the online video. You’re recruited on the news, on the Land Shark Stadium scoreboard, on fans’ signs. You even get your own jersey hanging in the team locker room – next to Chad Pennington. And you can share the video with your friends.
“We wanted fans to be able to experience the game through this viral video, putting them in the forefront of it all,” Dolphins Enterprises spokesman George Torres said. “They are the main performer at the stadium, what it feels like to come through the orange carpet, into the locker room, to hear the rest of the fans cheer for them.”
Even Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross sits across from you and hands you a contract to sign. Then he invites you to tell the region’s fans. Kudos to Ross for embracing the idea. It’s in keeping with his plans to boost the fan experience.
Fans and ticket buyers have been receiving emails from the team with the video message. Access the video at at the team’s Web site or at mydolphinslive.com. (You have to wait a few seconds for the video to load.)
The idea is to encourage fans to buy season tickets. Torres said the feedback has been good and ticket sales are ahead of schedule.
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.