About Polansky Report
Polansky Report has two main content areas, The Blog and The Vault. Each area is completely searchable powered by Google Search. All items are tagged by level, sport and category. Categories include playing surface, concourse, seating, in game, mascots, sound effects, and fundraising among other things. The categories and tags are all hyperlinked for ease of use. Below is a brief description of what to expect in The Blog and The Vault.
The Blog
The Polansky Report Blog covers anything and everything of interest that one might see during an event. This could range from bathroom ads, to halftime entertainment, to game day giveaways. The Blog also occasionally features answers to questions submitted by our readers. Typically a blog update is posted every Wednesday. The Blog is viewable for free to all registered users. To register click here.
The Vault
The Vault is a large subscription database filled with ideas on how to make your events more profitable and entertaining for your fans. Each entry highlights a single promotion or idea and explains how to activate it. Some promotions require things like giant toothbrushes. We do our best to find the most cost efficient and reliable suppliers on the market. None of our ideas are paid advertisements, so there is never a conflict of interest in our reporting. When we recommend a supplier it is simply because we feel they are the best option available.
Many promotions in The Vault are broken out into one of three levels: Professional, Minor League and Amateur. Professional references major sports on the major league or elite college level. Minor League encompasses many major colleges and second tier professional level leagues. Finally, amateur references lower level college, high school and club athletics. Below is a sample item from The Vault entitled “Seat Upgrade”.
Seat Upgrade
Last weekend I was at home stewing over another Oregon Ducks football loss when I decided that I could no longer watch football. I turned the channel and settled on watching the “StubHub Legends Classic,” a preseason men’s NCAA basketball tournament. StubHub, the on-line ticket reseller recently acquired by eBay, title-sponsored this inaugural event and effectively activated the sponsorship with a ticket upgrade promotion.
Professional Activation:
During the broadcast two lucky fans with tickets in the nosebleeds were upgraded to a prime location behind one of the team’s benches. Included in the seat upgrade was a bag of StubHub goodies. This promotion is a great example of a win/win for both the seller (the tournament host) and the sponsor (StubHub). The tournament host likely included this promotion and associated costs (value of seat upgrade and television time) in the price of the tournament sponsorship. Undoubtedly, the tournament was paid a handsome sum for this simple, yet highly visible sponsorship. On the other hand, StubHub received a nationwide platform during in-game coverage to succinctly show the benefit of its ticket brokering service.
Sponsoring or selling a basketball tournament with nationwide appeal and media coverage is clearly not in the cards for many. However, a national player like StubHub and a hefty sales premium are not necessary to make this promotion work.
Minor League Activation:
At an independent league baseball game in Lancaster, PA I witnessed the same promotion executed on a smaller scale. A family of four attending the game with general admission seats on the Barnstormers’ grass berm was upgraded to four plush, theater-style seats located on the main concourse. Needless to say the new seats had a great view and looked extremely comfortable. The family was given popcorn and sodas from the concessionaire to complete the home theater experience. A local furniture company that supplied the chairs sponsored this promotion. In exchange for the use of the chairs and a sponsorship fee, the furniture company was given appropriate signage and recognized on the video board and over the public address system. Additionally, the placement of the seats provided great value for the furniture sponsor. The architecture of Clipper Magazine Stadium allowed for the seats to be located on the main concourse near many of the concessions. As a result, the location alone drew fans to the chairs. Most people who passed wanted to know what theater-style seats were doing at the park and how they could sit there.
I am not certain how the Barnstormers selected the seat winners. If this were my promotion, I would have fans on the grass berm fill out a registration card and randomly select the winner. Any information an organization can collect from its consumers is valuable and this promotion presents the opportunity to collect information.
Lancaster Barnstormers Clipper Magazine Stadium
Amateur Activation:
The key to selling sponsorships for amateur or local sports is knowing the local supporters. Obviously, a ticket broker or a furniture company is great for this sponsorship but certainly not the only option. A local theater company, airport, airline, doctor, dentist, mover or home improvement store could also be a viable sponsor. Any company or person that wants to advertise comfort, movement or improvement is fair game. Ideally a sponsor for this promotion on the high school level would provide the “best seat” and some cash considerations in exchange for signage and public address system recognition. Additionally, the best seat could be used for revenue or motivational purposes. A raffle with an entry cost of $1, or whatever is deemed reasonable, could determine who gets the opportunity to sit in the “best seat in the house.” Another idea would be to reward students for their academic performance by choosing them to take a front-row seat.
When creating a “best seat in the house” promotion, remember one thing: The only limits to this promotion are those that are self-imposed. Work with the sponsor to determine how far it wants to take the promotion and go for it. Below is a YouTube clip showing how StubHub and the Arena Football League’s Austin Wranglers teamed up to bring their fans a “best seat in the house” promotion.
Austin Wranglers
(The sound has been deleted from this video but in the stadium the song "Movin on Up", the theme from the Jefferson's, was playing while the fans made their way to their new seats. This is a great song selection that I would highly recommend to anyone running the promotion.)