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I sat in the Wrigley bleachers a few weeks back. While the experience and the fact that the Cubs won was nice, the best return on that pricy ticket (bleachers are $89 now?!?) was the commemorative T-shirt I got as soon as I walked in the gates. Yes, baseball has an attendance problem, much like any other professional sport these days. People enjoy watching the game from their climate-controlled living room on a comfy couch with cheap beer and snacks easily accessible nearby — shocker. As this trend continues, professional teams need ways to draw fans back to the stadium, which is why small, silly things like a free T-shirt when you walk in continue to appeal to the masses. Not only is it usually an awesome shirt you can’t get anywhere else, but it also connects you back to that experience every time you wear it. Unfortunately, the crushing death-stare of the millennials might have ruined another good thing, and it’s not really our fault.
Last week, premiere sports brand guy Darren Rovell shared a Tweet that almost ruined my day. The Los Angeles Dodgers had announced a promotion for an upcoming game on September 21st, and it is truly awful: A digital bobblehead you can only access via your blockchain-based Ethereum wallet. When you walk into Dodger Stadium and scan your ticket, you’ll get three “crypto tokens” for digital bobbleheads of players like Clayton Kershaw that you can only view digitally, on this minimally-used Ethereum wallet. Can you shake your phone to make the head virtually bobble? Will this thing be a hologram on your shelf? The actual explanation of how people would use this thing is unsurprisingly TBD.
I follow the crypto market minimally. It’s incredibly volatile and has unearthed some incredible personalities and get-rich-quick schemes, which has led to some great viral moments and a bunch of obsessive media coverage. It’s also used actively by a minimal part of the population. I’d bet my next month’s rent payment that maybe 10% of Dodger fans entering the gates on the 21st will know what Ethereum — or Bitcoin — even are. Maybe 1% of that small amount actually has the wallet and would get actual value (or joy?) out of this “first-ever” fan-focused innovation.
The Dodgers aren’t the first to fall into the millennial-placating trap. I mean, the Minnesota Vikings hired a “millennial consultant” to help with their emoji usage last year. And while organizations are getting increasingly more adept at engaging with the new generations of their fanbase across social media, what the Dodgers are doing here is just an incredible reach, particularly because it encroaches on the beautiful, time-tested tradition of in-person fan giveaways.
Regardless of your age, the appeal of instant gratification will always draw a line to your stadium, bar, or even team meeting at your office (just bring donuts). Being able to offer something tangible that will A) Give people a jolt of happiness and B) Be easily accessible with very minimal effort works to up attendance in probably 99.9% of social situations. Yeah, people might “ooh” and “ahh” about the free Taco Bell soft shell taco you get after a baseball team steals a base in the World Series, but how many people actually go to their local taco spot and redeem that offer? How many people are going to justify a liquor purchase due to the advertised mail-in rebate and then never even bother to pick up stamps? My guess is it’s a pretty high statistic for both, and I can’t blame them. People are busy, maybe now more than ever. When I pay good money for baseball tickets, I’m going to opt for a free T-shirt or hot dog instead of a buzz-worthy digital edition of the opening day starting pitcher. I appreciate the effort the Dodgers put into this, but I have a feeling this isn’t going to go over well with the Dodger faithful..
[via Twitter/@darrenrovell]
Image via Twitter/@darrenrovell
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@TaylorLaabs
@taylor1laabs
instead, they should focus on blockchain-ing ticket sale transactions to prevent cottage industries and inflated reseller markets while mitigating fraud. But what do I know, I just keep saying shit into the void and everyone is like “oh that would be cool” and then we all just keep going to jobs and falling asleep on the couch while watching Netflix overnight with a TV dinner and some beer lol
New season of Bojack coming up!
Love that show!
I don’t watch television.
You act like falling asleep to Netflix and beer isn’t the American Dream.
This would be actually kind of cool if it was a physical stand that held several different holograms.
Intangibles will never hold the same emotional value as their counterparts. Plus I don’t see there being a lot of overlap in the baseball fan and block-chain enthusiast ven diagram.