Vontoo Helps Memphis Grizzlies Boost Game Attendance 1,500 tickets
sold with one phone call
Client: Memphis Grizzlies
Goal: Sell Tickets for upcoming Game
Call Size: 6000
ROI: 4000%
When the Memphis Grizzlies tipped off its sixth NBA season in Memphis,
FedExForum was full of cheering fans, and for good reason. Head Coach Mike
Fratello was the team’s all-time winningest coach the preceding year and
the team’s seven-foot forward, Pau Gasol, became the team’s first NBA
All-Star. Fans were anxious to see if the team looked like it could make a
fourth straight playoff appearance.
Yet playing in the $250 million FedExForum brings challenges to the
team’s marketing group. With 18,000 seats to sell for each game, they need to
be creative to entice fans to fill up the arena for the Grizzlies’ 45-game
home schedule.
One recent promotion focused on their rookie forward Rudy Gay. The team was
offering free Rudy Gay jersey’s for the first 3,000 fans who come through the
admissions gate, and a special “two for $22” ticket plan for the general public.
Since the team decided on the ticket promotion just 10 days before the game,
the marketing group had to get the word out quickly and effectively.
The Grizzlies’ Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service, Dennis O’Connor,
enlisted the help of Vontoo, the first on demand, permission voice messaging
company. Vontoo enables organizations to create, send and track permission-based
voice messages to existing customers.
O’Connor’s idea was to motivate his database of 6,000 fans that had purchased
single-game tickets over the past year and get them to attend “Rudy Gay Night.”
To add even more excitement to the promotion, O’Connor enlisted the help of Rudy
Gay himself to record the message inviting fans to the game.
Recording the message was easy. Rudy used a web browser to log into the Vontoo
system and record his message. The marketing group imported its fan list and
scheduled delivery through the same browser. Results could be tracked immediately.
The team sold 1,500 tickets, resulting in $33,000 in sales with that one call.
The cost, just $650.
According to O’Connor, the emotion, enthusiasm and energy delivered through Rudy’s
message via Vontoo made the viral marketing promotion successful. “Using the player’s
voice was the key,” said O’Connor. “The message boards lit up with fans telling us
how much they loved getting a phone call from Rudy. It was a real boost to the fans.”
There was even a bonus; some fans were so thrilled to get a call from an NBA player
that they forwarded the Rudy Gay message to their friends.
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