The Savvy Girls "Win-Win" Gameplan
would they find us? Interestingly,
the answer was right before us. In a very innocent and organic fashion,
Savvy Girl pre-game ballpark events grew into its own vehicle to help us
get the word out about our books (Yes, "books." There are more in the
pipeline). The events also help MLB teams and sponsors get the word out
about how they value women fans and consumers.• Savvy Girls In The News
• Click here to Read about the beginning of the Savvy Girls events.
About a year ago, when we finally got a book deal, we decided that we'd try to branch out on our Savvy Girls events when our book hit the shelves. This made sense because women fans make up the greatest portion of baseball's spectator base (those who have rarely, if ever, played baseball). This also made sense because we are women and fully understand the feeling of being somewhat relegated to a second-class fan status.
So, when our book is published in the Spring of 2008, we are planning a big book tour complete with Savvy Girl events at ten MLB ballparks. These events will closely mirror the four successful events that we've already had with the Seattle Mariners. The crux of these events is to give women and their kids a special connection with the team and baseball, overall. This warm and fuzzy feeling is achieved through a full partnership with the local MLB team and an appropriate sponsor that is looking for a unique way to reach women. The event is not a "Ladies Night" where a team may offer a pink visor to women as they enter the stadium. It is a pre-game reception geared specifically to women. Some women look at the event as a business networking event, others have invited dozens of friends for a big birthday party and still more use it as an easy way to bond with their kids at a sporting event -- an opportunity rarely offered in professional sports.
• Request a copy of the Savvy Girls marketing video.
The reach of the event goes far past the event, itself. In a true partnership with MLB teams and a suitable sponsor or two for each city visit, the gathering becomes a feel-good story, worthy of substantial news coverage in print and broadcast. Features and sports. By way of the media exposure the story is capable of capturing, thousands of people hear that women matter to the team and to the sponsor. That's a reach much further than the confines of a party for a few hundred women.
Because of our partnership with the Mariners, these events have grown from forty women attendees in 2005 to more than 300 women and children in August, 2007. There are also about 700 tickets sold in a specially priced Savvy Girls section where others who can't come to the event can join us (think husbands, boyfriends, etc., etc.) Additionally, the Mariners introduced us to their corporate sponsor, Safeco Insurance, and the company sponsored the
August 28th Seattle event
and a giveaway for the first 7,000 women (click
for .pdf of giveaway item) that entered the stadium that
day. The giveaway is a "Mariners Memory Scorebook" that was developed by
us and designed by the Mariners. (Our scorebook is
available
on-line for Christmas
delivery and will be coupled with our book in some markets.) Safeco
Insurance and the Seattle Mariners were rewarded with what has become a
"turnkey" event that offers the team and sponsor media exposure all
while helping women feel appreciatedIt cannot be emphasized enough that each event is a partnership with the local team and an appropriate sponsor. .So we'll plan to work diligently to provide the kind of event that will work in each city.
SPRING TRAINING 2008:
We are also planning on another spring training tour in 2008. This visit will be a media tour to help us sell books. BUT where we go, what we do and what stadiums we visit will be tied closely to the ten MLB teams working with us to plan their own Savvy Girl
event for the
2008 regular season. There are so many opportunities here to reach out
to this fun and fabulous fan base. We're excited to explore as many of
these ideas as we can.We had a similar tour two years ago when we built our publishing platform. At the time, we visited as many stadiums as we could in three weeks (Florida and Arizona) and talked with women fans about what they enjoyed about baseball. We even raffled off a salmon to those who completed an information form. We were on NBC-TV in Miami and Tampa, interviewed on a national radio program and covered in papers in Tampa and Palm Beach. We were exhausted. But it was a good exhausted.
As can been seen by the success of our four events, interest has grown dramatically with every, single one. We will continue to work to ensure that our sponsors and the MLB team co-hosting the party are properly recognized for contributing to this great, somewhat unorthodox sporting event. In short, it is at least one day of the year that women lead the charge to the ballpark and are treated with a warm and special welcome.
Please contact us if you are interested in finding out more about Savvy Girl events or to request an Electronic Press Kit.