Major League Baseball team the San Diego Padres is calling out-of-home up to bat.
In the past, the Padres generally avoided OOH advertising, because the team doesn’t have an awareness problem in its local market, said SVP and CMO Wayne Partello.
Although the Padres do buy local radio and TV to drive conversions among more casual fans, over the last few years it’s shifted most of its attention to lower-funnel tactics, primarily digital.
But Partello loves to experiment, and this year he carved out a bit of budget to test Wrapify, a San Diego-based startup that pays drivers to sheathe their cars in branded vinyl graphics and drive around specific locations.
Partello was wooed in large part by Wrapify’s ability to tie ad exposure to stadium footfall, a perennial challenge for ticket sellers. For example, it’s common practice for one person to buy multiple tickets for a group of friends or family, which is great for filling seats, but less useful from a marketing standpoint, he said.
“We have people coming to games and having a great time, but no way to go back to track how they got there,” Partello said. “Being able to know who comes in contact with our advertising and whether they actually enter the ballpark is huge for us.”
Continue reading »
