Despite street addresses that define them as teams of Chicago’s south side and current first-place records, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Fire have little else in common. The White Sox, players of America’s grandest pastime, are a century old franchise with a long line of loyal followers. The Fire, meanwhile, an eight-year-old club in Major League Soccer, represent the upstart kids—a young program with immediate success and desires for stability and growth.
And from those differences emerge drastically variant marketing schemes. While the White Sox maintain a steady fan base in the hundreds of thousands and refine the franchise’s yearly marketing plan to bring more people into the ballpark, the Fire aggressively market their product in a different direction, simply urging people to give their game a try. With the Fire, a significant let-up can mean dangerous trouble. It’s a classic tale of keeping what you have versus earning what you want.
In the early to mid-1990’s, when the Chicago White Sox were perennial division contenders and a uniform redesign spurred new directions, the ball club ingrained the slogan “Good Guys Wear Black” in the minds of Chicago baseball fans.
Years later, with a slew of young talent and a quasi-rebuilding phase underway, the Sox looked at the character of their team and chimed, “The Kids Can Play.” Truth be told, some of the kids could play while others struggled to find success at the Major League level. Now, under the enterprising styles of both manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Kenny Williams, the 2005 edition of the White Sox adopted the mantra “Win or Die Trying.” In a near perfect merger of sports marketing and sports reality, the slogan has matched the team on the field as the White Sox currently boast baseball’s best record.
“You never want to make promises with your slogans,” said Brooks Boyer, Vice President of Marketing for the Chicago White Sox. “People wanted us to play hard, smart, and win—that’s what it all comes down to. The guys on the field have taken care of what’s needed to be done.”
Yet even before the 2005 season’s first pitch, the team’s marketing staff consistently searched for ways to better the fan experience at U.S. Cellular Field. More than ever before in American sports history, the fan’s lofty expectations have moved from the product on the field to the entire entertainment experience. Everything from music to parking and cuisine achieving an elevated level of attention in the 21st century sports world.
“The number one priority is to make the experience great for the fan,” said Boyer. “All of the money that came from the park’s naming rights went back into the ballpark and breaking the stigma that [the new Comiskey] lacked character. We put things like a cover on the upper deck to make it more intimate and the Pontiac Fundamentals Deck so kids could have something. People are coming out and realizing that U.S. Cellular Field is a convenient, friendly place. The result is that we’ve created a fun experience for a wide range of people.”
Couple an improved fan experience at the stadium with the tremendous success of the 2005 White Sox and new marketing ideas develop to capitalize on all the good will.
“We got a Chevy Avalanche from a local dealer and we’ve created the White Sox bandwagon,” Boyer said. “Now, we’re taking it around and inviting people to jump on.”
And while the bandwagon approach is a relatively new one for the White Sox, it’s old hat to the Chicago Fire. Starting from scratch in 1997, the expansion Fire had to get riders on the bandwagon immediately. And while winning traditionally breeds success at the gates, the impermanent home of Soldier Field coupled with a temporary residence at Naperville’s North Central College for two seasons, dealt the Fire some unnecessary blows in building a steady customer base despite numerous on-field successes.
The club’s move into a new 20,000-seat stadium in Bridgeview, slated for opening in 2006, should provide the stability and continuity the Fire has long sought. With that, however, comes a new marketing focus.
“Moving to our own home in Bridgeview, one that better suits our needs, allows us to better control the presentation of the event,” said Fire President and CEO John Guppy. “Now, we’ll reach to create a more intimate atmosphere within the stadium that’s driven by the hard-core fan. We’ll try to create something different for the live event experience. The best selling tool is always word of mouth and we’ll want people to leave talking about us.”
While the White Sox have the benefit of season ticket holders and a steady stream of individual ticket sales, the Fire turn aggressively to group sales to spur the club’s financial fortunes. Working closely with Chicago area soccer leagues and teams, especially on the youth level, the Fire pursue group attendance at home games with a furor unlike their baseball counterparts.
“We’re more aggressive with group sales than any other sports team in Chicago,” Guppy said. “And that’s because we have to be. To build that strong foundation, you start with people who have a connection and support for soccer.”
And that aggressiveness extends beyond group sales, eventually reaching the average Chicago sports fan.
“The White Sox have decades of history and awareness. Everybody knows when their seasons starts and where they are,” Guppy said. “People are not programmed in such a way with the Fire. People are aware of us, but it’s not top of the mind. That’s why it’s even more important that we’re aggressive getting in front to people and educating them on why they should come to a Fire game. Our marketing strategy is akin to a political campaign. Get in front of them and tell them why you’re a good choice.”
Guppy also acknowledges the shift in the sporting fan’s expectations when coming to a game. Just as the White Sox aimed to create a more intimate, fan-friendly experience, the Fire seek to achieve a similar feel in their new Bridgeview stadium.
“There are more entertainment options available for people each day and so it’s become more incumbent on sports teams to create a positive experience for the people,” said Guppy, echoing the thoughts of Boyer. “Once it was purely about what happened on the field of play. Now, it’s entirely about the experience and the entertainment value. Fifteen years ago, sports was sports. Now, more than ever before, sports is entertainment.”
Given the realization that sports has matured into a viable entertainment option, both of Chicago’s south side teams have committed themselves to the entertainment experience first and foremost, adding another similarity to a growing list.
“You want to make the experience as good as it can possibly be for everybody who walks in—from the diehard fan to the novice guest,” said Boyer. “You want the fans to be participants in the action, not sitting on their hands.”
And though Boyer speaks specifically of the White Sox and U.S. Cellular one can’t help but think similar thoughts are being expressed among Guppy and his front office colleagues with the Chicago Fire.
“The interesting thing about sports,” said Boyer, “is that the more things change, the more they actually stay the same.”
