2014 Promotions & Community relations

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1 Introduction We here at the Vermont Lake Monsters are beyond honored to have received the 2014 Leo Pinckney Promotional Award in the New York-Penn League, and for our consideration for the Minor League Baseball Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy. There are so many excellent promotions and events each year in the New York-Penn League, and all of Minor League Baseball. We are very proud and appreciative to be mentioned alongside them. FRESHENING THINGS UP Our home stadium here in Vermont, Historic Centennial Field on the campus of University of Vermont, is the oldest professional baseball stadium still in use in the country, opening in Having a ballpark with this kind of history has both it s character and charm, as well as its shortcomings as expected ballpark amenities continue to progress. With this in mind, Centennial Field has undergone over $2 million in privately funded enhancements and renovations since 2012, to bring the park up to speed, while also maintaining it s historic charm. Major renovations have included: installation of 27 by 16 outfield video board, installation of 1,500 brand new grandstand seats, replacement of 1,500 reserved seats with brand new ones, brand new home and away dugouts, construction of a field level luxury box behind home plate, new field lighting system, renovated home and away clubhouses, and much more! Even with all of these investments and improvements to the ballpark experience at Centennial Field, the Lake Monsters have not raised ticket prices at all during this time. Coming to a Lake Monsters game is now a significantly better experience, for the exact same price it has always been. BEFORE OLD SCOREBOARD OLD CONCRETE BLEACHERS CONSTRUCTION OF FIELD DECK AFTER NEW VIDEOBOARD BRAND NEW SEATS COMPLETED FIELD LEVEL BOX 1

2 New Logo/Uniform Unveiling NEW LOGO After a monumental re-naming and re-branding in 2006, as the team moved on from the Montreal Expos affiliation, the Lake Monsters unveiled it s first updated identity in over 8 years this past season. With the single most important part of our team and our identity being our beloved mascot CHAMP, centering our logo and uniforms around him was a no-brainer. From his image, to his bright lime green color, we built around CHAMP, and the fans love it. The new logo shows the fierce demeanor of CHAMP emerging from the waters, while also providing secondary logos that cater to our younger demographics. PRIMARY LOGO CAP LOGO SLEEVE PATCH The new logos were unveiled with much fan-fare to a huge capacity-crowd at the Lake Monsters Offseason Fan Fest in November. New merchandise was available immediately at the fan fest, and it started flying off the shelves. NEW UNIFORMS Along with the new logo came brand new uniforms. Three brand new jerseys, and three brand new hats were unveiled in early April through the Lake Monsters social media accounts throughout the day, with help from some Vermont Lake Monsters alumni and current players on the parent club, the Oakland A s. Custom jerseys were made available to fans the day of the unveiling. YOENIS CESPEDES HELPING WITH THE UNIFORM UNVEILING NEW UNIFORM UNVEILING 2

3 GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS FAN EXPERIENCES Fan experiences at Centennial Field continue to be the priority for the Lake Monsters, and creating a fun and positive atmosphere for your fans to make memories is always top of mind. We continue to offer unique experiences on a daily basis for fans of all ages to really engage with our players and ballpark atmosphere. Some of the daily promotions and experiences we offer on gamedays include: KIDS RUN THE BASES (postgame every Mon, Tues, and Wed), KIDS EAT FREE (every Thursday), HAVE A CATCH SUNDAYS (play catch on the field postgame every Sunday), FIREWORKS SATURDAYS, NOTHING FOUL ABOUT IT (allowing fans to get foul balls signed by the player who hit it), and other ancillary events such as BALLPARK BINGO (every Friday), and exclusive KIDS CLUB EVENTS (at 5 games per year). KIDS RUN THE BASES HAVE A CATCH KIDS EAT FREE POST-GAME FIREWORKS SPECIAL APPEARANCES Everybody enjoys meeting their favorite sports heroes, and we do our best every year to host special guests that are near and dear to our fans here in Vermont proved no exception, as Centennial Field welcomed Red Sox World Series Champion and fan favorite Trot Nixon. Spending over two hours with fans, signing autographs, and throwing out the first pitch, Nixon had as much of a blast at Centennial Field as the fans did meeting him. But Trot wasn t the only champion to stop by this summer -- 2-time Stanley Cup Champion (and former Boston Bruin) Shawn Thornton met with fans and threw out the first pitch as well. Last but not least, we had the pleasure of hosting local hero, and subject of the major motion picture Captain Phillips, Captain Richard Phillips. Fans (and especially Lake Monsters players and coaches) were thrilled to meet with and talk to the local legend, as he spent the evening at the ballpark late in August. TROT NIXON SHAWN THORNTON CAPTAIN RICHARD PHILLIPS GIVEAWAYS Giveaways have been a fixture at Centennial Field for years, and each year introduces new exciting items for fans to get their hands on. By far our biggest draw of the year falls on Burton Backpack night, where our local snowboard giant of a partner offers free backpacks (seriously AWESOME backpacks!) to students as the school year draws nearer. In addition, unique items such as a CHAMP bobblehead toothbrush holder, a jersey lunch cooler, custom lake print baseballs, and limited edition T-Shirts on fan appreciation day made for a great season for our fans to add to their memorabilia collection. 3

4 2014 Promotions & Community relations GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS cont... IN-GAME PROMOTIONS On-field promotions continue to be a staple for the Lake Monsters and Minor League Baseball in general, and keeping them fresh and fun is extremely important. The Lake Monsters stay with plenty of tried and true promos, while introducing new ones along the way. Along side staples like the Hot Dog Race, CHAMP s famous dugout dances, and Ben and Jerry s Ice Cream eating contest; the Lake Monsters introduced several new promotions in Some new kid-centric favorites included JUNIOR ANNOUNCER and PAINT THE PLATE. Other new promos included SHOW ME THE MONEY (a blindfolded search for CHAMP with $25 on the line), and the Vermont Lottery Cash-N-Ator (a fans dream come true, grabbing up to $2,000 in cash from mid-air). Several new videoboard trivia games kept fans on their toes in-between innings, and provided fun prizes for those who participated. PAINT THE PLATE SHOW ME THE MONEY CASH-N-ATOR THEME NIGHTS The Lake Monsters and their fans love to have fun, and theme nights continue to be one of the treasured ways we do that at Centennial Field. Theme nights this year included our beloved Hot Dog Heaven (25 hot dogs all night, 3 times per season!), Ben and Jerry s Summer of Love Night (a tie-dye-centric throwback to the times of Woodstock), and of course CHAMP s Birthday celebration. Other theme nights at the ballpark this season included Military Appreciation Day, Breast Cancer Awareness night, and a favorite of Frozen fans everywhere...princess Night. MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT PRINCESS NIGHT SUMMER OF LOVE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS VIDEOBOARD The Lake Monsters game presentation staff created a brand new set of content for the Centennial Field videoboard in 2014, undergoing a comprehensive re-brand along side the new team logos and uniforms. The new videoboard content included new player bio cards (home and away), videos, info graphics -- as well as new video board promotions for fans to participate in. This fresh new content appealed to fans, players, and staff across the board, enhancing the gameday experience that much more. 4

5 IN THE COMMUNITY OUR MASCOT -- CHAMP As the identity of the team, our mascot CHAMP continues to be the forefront of our gameday entertainment, our biggest draw for kids, and an essential part of our community outreach. Easily the most recognizable mascot in the area, CHAMP brings a smile to anyone s face, no matter where he goes. Aside from his favorite 38 days a year (the Lake Monsters home games!), CHAMP is in high demand around Vermont to appear at events, community gatherings, private functions, and much more! CHAMP now does a nightly meet & greet with fans at the exit of the ballpark, where fans can give him one last high five, or grab a photo and an autograph. The response to this promotion was incredible, as fans have posted their photos with CHAMP all over their social media pages. CHAMP SIGHTINGS CHAMP s enormous impact in the local area is why the new CHAMP Sightings initiative was created in 2014, to bring CHAMP out into the community to see his fans as much as he can. CHAMP Sightings are complimentary appearances, made available by a local partner, to organizations, charities, schools, little leagues, and any other organization who is looking to have CHAMP appear at their event. CHAMP SIGHTINGS LITTLE LAKE MONSTERS The Lake Monsters were proud to introduce a spectacular new promotion called Little Lake Monsters, which saw 9 local kids signed to 1-day contracts with the team. Kids ages 7-15 were able to register throughout the season, and answered essay questions on sportsmanship, living a healthy lifestyle, and community involvement. Participants were chosen by a selection committee based on answers to those questions. The nine winning kids spent a dream-come-true day with the Lake Monsters. Their day consisted of being represented by a local sports agent, signing a 1-day contract with the team (which was also signed by A s GM Billy Beane), were presented with custom Lake Monsters jerseys at a press conference, rode in a limo to the field, took batting practice with the team, threw out the first pitch, watched a special Baseball Tonight segment recorded by ESPN s Buster Olney, and received their very own baseball cards. Truly an unforgettable day for those 9 lucky kids! [See attached Buster Olney video]. SIGNING 1-DAY CONTRACTS LIMO RIDE TO THE FIELD TAKING BATTING PRACTICE THROWING THE FIRST PITCH BASEBALL TONIGHT VIDEO 5

6 IN THE COMMUNITY cont... CLINICS The Lake Monsters host several clinics for kids every summer at Centennial Field. The centerpiece of these clinics is the twoday baseball skills clinic, put on by the Lake Monsters players and coaches. Kids age 15 and under spend two days practicing and learning from our players and coaches, who go through the fundamentals of hitting, fielding, throwing, pitching, and plenty of other developmental drills. Along side our baseball clinic, we also host an annual Healthy Kids Fitness Clinic. Led by the team trainer and strength coaches, kids at this clinic learn different aspects of staying healthy and active, learning plenty of exercises and techniques to maintain their health. This ranges from stretching, conditioning, weightlifting, agility drills, as well as information on food health. BASEBALL CLINIC BASEBALL CLINIC HEALTHY KIDS CLINIC FUNDRAISING Fundraising programs and outreach with local organizations is a fantastic way for us to both help out local organizations financially, as well as create new touch-points with fans and community members that otherwise may not have come to a game, or known about our team, etc. We have three different fundraising programs, each one allowing the participants to sell discounted tickets to Lake Monsters games. The programs are broken into different groups: the first benefiting local schools, the second is for youth sports organizations, and the third is for other qualifying local non-profits and organizations. In 2014 alone, the programs raised over $33,000, 100% of which went directly to 51 different local schools, 31 sports organizations, and numerous other local organizations. YOUTH SPORTS FUNDRAISER MAY DAYS FUNDRAISER GAMEDAY CHARITY PROGRAMS We run several different gameday charity programs, which through generous corporate partners, donates thousands of dollars to some greats charities and community efforts. Here s To The Heroes is a program that donates money to a scholarship fund, as well as provides complimentary tickets for every Lake Monsters home game during the season to Military members to attend games (Over $4,500 in tickets donated in 2014). TD Bank Home Runs for Charity donates $100 to Special Olympics for every Lake Monsters home run saw the 250th home run in the programs history, surpassing the $25,000 mark in donations. Finally, the NBT Bank Strike Out Hunger campaign donates money for each strike out recorded by a Lake Monsters pitcher, which benefits the local Chittenden County food shelf. 6

7 IN THE COMMUNITY cont... SHARE THE EXPERIENCE The Lake Monsters are proud to offer the Share The Experience program to the community, which offers complimentary tickets to organizations and non-profits, to allow individuals who would otherwise not be able to experience a baseball game, the opportunity to come to Centennial Field and take in a Lake Monsters baseball game. Our goal is to welcome as many youth programs and charitable organizations as possible to Centennial Field throughout the season, and Share The Experience allows for that to happen. Funds are raised in various ways throughout the year, including charitable gameday programs, gameday silent auctions, and team fundraisers. GAMEDAY SILENT AUCTIONS TO BENEFIT SHARE THE EXPERIENCE GAMEDAY RECOGNITION Recognizing excellence in the community is extremely important to the Lake Monsters, and gamedays are a great time to shine a light on these positive accomplishments. We highlight students and youth athletes through several different programs. The Outstanding Student program recognizes local students, who are nominated by their school for trying their best and giving extra effort in the classroom. The program brings them to the ballpark for recognition on the field pre-game, as well as having their photo in the newspaper. Another program through the schools is our Monster Athlete program, which recognizes students who excel both in the classroom and on the field. Hit The Books is a summer reading program that encourages kids to read throughout the summer, and rewards them with a free Lake Monsters ticket, as well as recognition on-field. And finally we have our Field of Dreams program, which allows local little league and softball teams to be recognized on-field pre-game, as well as run out onto the field with the Lake Monsters players and stand on-field for the National Anthem. All great programs for recognizing the accomplishments of the local youth in our community. FIELD OF DREAMS MONSTER ATHLETE OUTSTANDING STUDENT PLAYER APPEARANCES Every season, an integral part of the players time in Vermont is the time they spend interacting with those in the community. The Lake Monsters player appearance program allows organizations to request player appearances throughout the summer to visit and interact with their group. Appearances have included going to local libraries and reading to children, visiting summer camps and programs to play and visit with the kids who attend, as well as visiting local schools and little leagues. DONATIONS Every year, the Lake Monsters donate to several causes, both in and out of the gameday experience. Over $10,000 in tickets, merchandise, signed memorabilia, and other fun experiences are donated to raffles and silent auctions every year. In addition, gameday donation drives are held each year, with 2014 bringing in more than 525 lbs of clothes at our clothing drive, and 410 lbs of non-perishable food items at our food drive. 7

8 MORE PROMOTIONS FREE LAKE MONSTERS FAN FEST To unveil our new logo this past November, rather than holding a press conference, we hosted our first annual Family Fun Fest at the local fair grounds. An event that was expected to draw a couple hundred people, saw over 1,000 people come through the doors on the chilly November day. Kids and families got to enjoy a free day of entertainment on us. The event included our inflatable obstacle course, bounce castle, speed pitch machine and our hitting machine. These fun activities were coupled with a temporary Lake Monsters tattoo station, a balloon artist on hand, and a coloring station. And of course, what would the event be with our everyone s favorite mascot, CHAMP, being on hand to entertain the fans. LAKE MONSTERS FAN FEST WORLD SERIES TROPHIES APPEARANCE A special day during the 2014 season was the appearance of a collection of Red Sox World Series trophies (from the 2004, 2007, and 2013 Championship teams) at Centennial Field. Being in Vermont, Red Sox Nation is heavily populated in our area, so getting an up close look and a photo with the most recent World Champions hardware was a truly special opportunity. Making the day even more special, was the inclusion of the privately owned, and rarely seen 1912 Red Sox World Series trophy, which appeared compliments of it s generous local owner. 2004, 2007, and 2013 RED SOX WORLD SERIES TROPHIES 1912 RED SOX WORLD SERIES TROPHY 8

9 MORE PROMOTIONS CHAMP s KIDS CLUB One of the best parts about being a kid in Vermont is being in CHAMP s Kids Club. CHAMP s Kids Club is completely free to join, and gives each child who registered a free ticket to attend FIVE (5) games each year. Not only do they get to attend these games for free, we host exclusive kids club events at each game, which are available only for CHAMP s kids club members. Events this past season included a helicopter candy drop, an ice cream social, an exclusive player autograph session, an exclusive meet and greet with CHAMP, and of course an invitation to CHAMP s birthday party with all of his mascot friends. With the club being free, it s obviously a great value, but we do our best to make these days a truly unforgettable experience for each child when they attend. CHAMP s MASCOT BIRTHDAY PARTY CHAMP MEET AND GREET HELICOPTER CANDY DROP PROMO BOY SCOUT & GIRL SCOUT SLEEPOVERS The Lake Monsters host two scout sleepovers each season, one for Boy Scouts, the other for Girl Scouts. Lake Monsters staff work hard to connect with troops across the entire state of Vermont, bringing them together for a great night sleeping under the stars on the grass of the Centennial Field outfield. The effort pays off as the Lake Monsters Scout Sleepover is the single largest boy scout event in the state of Vermont each year. The night includes going to the Lake Monsters game beforehand, spending time together at a pre-game barbecue, watching a movie on the outfield videoboard, and eating breakfast in the morning BOY SCOUT SLEEPOVER FUN PATROL The Lake Monsters are fortunate to operate in an area with a high tourist footprint. Church Street, just 1/2 a mile from the Lake Monsters ballpark, draws millions of visitors every year. We send fun patrol staff to these areas to capitalize on the foot traffic, get info on our upcoming promotions in the hands of everybody, and pass out fun giveaways at the same time. Fans always love seeing our fun patrol around town, especially if they re joined by CHAMP. There may be a free t-shirt or hot dog in it for them too! 9

10 MORE PROMOTIONS CONT... SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTIONS Social media obviously continues to grow, and the uses for it grow as well. The Lake Monsters grew their use heavily, especially via Facebook and Twitter. We thoroughly enjoy doing fun interactive giveaways and contests, such as CHAMP Madness (which pitted fan s March Madness brackets against CHAMP s), as well as teaming up with local rock star Grace Potter to give away tickets to her local music festival here in Burlington...a great benefit for our fans, and awesome interaction with them via social media. Social media was also instrumental in the team s new logo and uniform unveiling. HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS Each season, prior to the start of the Lake Monsters season, Centennial Field is proud to host and support the Vermont High School Baseball Championships. It s a special opportunity for the high school players to play the final game of the season for the state title, on the most beloved baseball field in the state. Utilization of the videoboard and production of player bio cards/photos adds to the experience. VERMONT HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 10

11 MORE PROMOTIONS cont... PROMO T-SHIRTS FOR STAFF A unique way that we promote our upcoming events is to have our staff wear specific shirts on a nightly basis that call out these upcoming promotions. Staff shirts highlight either nightly promotions (such as Ballpark Bingo Fridays, Kids Eat Free Thursdays, etc), or a specific upcoming events such as a player appearance, giveaway, or theme night. This unique utilization of staff uniforms allowed us to significantly increase the exposure for these awesome daily promotions, or upcoming events. COMPLIMENTARY NEW JERSEYS FOR SEASON TICKET HOLDERS As a way to celebrate the unveiling of our new logos and uniforms in 2014, as well as thanking them for their continued passionate support of our organization, the Lake Monsters gave a free custom jersey to every season ticket holder before the season. The jerseys were made to order and available prior to our season starting, so fans could wear them to the games they attended. 11

12 ADVERTISING TELEVISION/VIDEO ADVERTISING With a new team logo and brand identity, capturing that in our video and television advertising was extremely important. By running video ads online, on local television, as well as locally on web device streaming apps (such as Hulu), we were able to capture a huge market of our fans, get across our new branding/identity, as well as communicate our upcoming events and promotions during the season. Increased numbers of eyes on these promotions help drive traffic to specific events such as Hot Dog Heaven, Summer of Love, and Kids Eat Free night LAKE MONSTERS VIDEO ADVERTISING SPOTS LOCAL RADIO PARTNERSHIP Another key way we maintain a local media presence is through our radio partnership with ESPN here in Burlington, VT. A topnotch broadcast of our games on the radio (both home and away games) allows us to reach more fans, even when the team isn t in town. The team also benefits from our relationship with local ESPN radio host Rich Haskell, who just completed his 21st season as the Lake Monsters in-stadium PA announcer. The notoriety of this relationship brings an extra dose of entertainment to the Lake Monster game presentation. RICH HASKELL LAKE MONSTERS PA ANNOUNCER 12

13 ADVERTISING CONT... WEB ADVERTISING As is the case with any Minor League team, our team website is a crucial space to capture fans attention, sell tickets, and promote your upcoming events. We set out to utilize spaces such as the media wall, the promo buttons, and other ancillary space on our site and display compelling info graphics to really get the fans attention. These info graphics made for an appealing promotion of upcoming events, laying out all the information in an easy to read manner, and offering a link to purchase tickets directly from our site. SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING Similar to our website, our social media platforms were crucial to our promotion of upcoming events. We would again use compelling info graphics to promote our upcoming promotions, however with social media, utilizing an interactive tactic is important as well. Both to get your message across, as well as to promote growth of your reach on these platforms. Utilizing these accounts for giveaways, fan interactions, special promotions, and other special incentives, the Lake Monsters saw a 30% increase in followers on both Twitter and Facebook from 2014 opening day through the final game of the season. Dedicated fans definitely make this possible, but the excellent interactions we strive to have with them help make our social media as effective as it is. 13