Artie and Walt

There was a story in today’s Los Angeles Times that struck me as a perfect example of someone doing it right. The story has not been confirmed by the principals involved, so we will have to treat it as a tall story or “shaggy dog” tale for the moment, but it still bears repeating…

According to a short item in the paper, last Friday night after the ballgame there were 30 or so fans hanging around the lobby of Anaheim Stadium when the owner of the Angels, Arte Moreno and his wife came down from their seats and started chatting with the fans. Acting on the spur of the moment, Mr. Moreno unlocked the nearby souvenir shop and had the staff provide every one of the group of fans a free tee shirt and a hat (which he signed for himself). Needless to say, it made a big impression on the fans, at least one of whom apparently knows someone in the news media, because less than 36 hours later we were reading about these events in the local paper.

Now, as public relations gestures go, this wasn’t a very involved one. The total cost to the Angels organization can’t be more than a dollar or two per fan involved, and Mr. Moreno could probably write that off on his taxes as a business development expense – we will assume that somebody that astute would have kept the receipt – assuming that a man of his means would even bother to do so. The impact on the fans in this little group, however, should last for years and even extend to some of those reading about this story second or third hand. It’s an excellent example of how to build a good relationship with your customers, and it demonstrates how important it is for every member of the organization to think in those terms. Even if those thirty to seventy dollars are not recoverable, the cost of two additional tickets on the field level will recoup the loss – and I would bet money that the Angels will realize more than two additional ticket sales as a result of this gesture.

It’s worth noting that one of the other major entertainment venues in Anaheim is in the middle of a promotion making use of the same principles – although in a much more formal way. For the past nine months or so, Disneyland has been celebrating a special anniversary year with small, random giveaways at the park, punctuated by the occasional much larger prize. Typical small examples would be the free Mickey Mouse ears they were giving away when we went last summer, with larger awards being a free night’s stay in the park or the chance to ride in one of the park’s various parades as “Grand Marshall.” Here again, nothing that would actually cost the company very much in absolute terms, but things that could have a lasting impact on the “winners” (imagine a small child getting to ride in the parade or getting their own pair of ears).

Of course, for Disneyland, this program is a part of their regular marketing efforts, and the centerpiece of their current television advertising, while Mr. Moreno and the Angels do not have pockets deep enough to make this type of gesture on a regular basis. Nor would it be wise to try; the demographics of a rowdy pack of sports fans at a baseball game is by definition completely different from those found at the family-friendly theme park, and there would almost inevitably be trouble. Still, it does not take much imagination to believe that somewhere, somehow, Walt Disney might have heard this same story this morning and smiled…