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Indiana Pacers use marketing to win back fans(Indianapolis Star, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 2--The Indiana Pacers are not only touting an up-tempo new look this season, they're also working with a new business strategy aimed at winning back fans. It's been a blitz. Bold blue and gold decals are splashed on Downtown sidewalks. Discounted ticket packages are gaining popularity. Advertisements emphasize the character and determination of team members, and managers are emphasizing zero tolerance for embarrassing misbehavior. With guidance from results of a poll of ticket holders last month, the team is even offering a new atmosphere for fans at Conseco Fieldhouse -- one that harkens back to Indiana's high school basketball glory days. A new Pacer pep band was unveiled at Saturday night's opening home game. Organ music replaced some of the blaring rock music. "Our fans want to see a basketball game. They don't come because they want to see Vegas entertainment," said Jim Morris, president of Pacers Sports and Entertainment. "People want to hear the squeak of the sneaker." The Pacers, like other businesses looking to boost performance in a tough economy, is rethinking just about every aspect of its operations. But recovering from recent on- and off-the-court troubles will be no easy task. The struggling economy has many consumers guarding their wallets tighter than some defenders guard their opponents. The team's record has not provided incentive. The Pacers missed the playoffs two years in a row and ranked last in the NBA last season with average attendance of 12,222, down from a peak of 18,345 in 1999-2000, the year Conseco opened. This year's full-season ticket sales -- a key gauge of fan loyalty -- are down slightly from last season. The team appears headed for another financial loss. The Pacers had an operating deficit of $1.3 million on revenue of $107 million last year, according to Forbes magazine. The organization's strategy is now focused on turning the team and its reputation around. Herb Simon, a Pacers owner and now chief executive officer, said he sees plenty of room for optimism. "We're determined to improve in all areas and to make the experience at Conseco a real positive experience for the fans, their families and their friends," Simon said. "We looked at our whole organization, and we're geared for a nice turnaround." Sports business experts credit the Pacers' management with aggressively tackling problems. But they also say turnarounds take time. "It couldn't get any worse than it had gotten, and it had to improve," said Howard Bloom, publisher of sportsbusinessnews.com. "They're turning the corner. To have turned the corner, you have to give it at least a year of no issues. . . . It has to be both on and off the court." Pacers executives have been busy consulting with NBA marketing brass, pollster Frank Luntz, the Portland Trailblazers -- another team that faces an image makeover -- and the team's own fans. According to a Luntz poll of 600 ticket holders conducted last month, fans are starting to like what they see from Pacers management, head coach Jim O'Brien and the players. Sixty-seven percent of those polled said they had a favorable opinion of the team, up from 43 percent a year ago, according to the online survey conducted by Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research. And 88 percent of the ticketholders said they think the team is headed in the right direction. Last year, 60 percent thought the team was on the right track. Sales of mini-season ticket packages, where fans get 11 games for the price of eight, already have exceeded last year's sales, according to the team. Group sales also are ahead of last season's pace. As a top contender for the finals in the 2003-04 season, the team had 61 wins and 21 losses, a number not reached since then. The next season looked promising, until the brawl in November 2004 involving Pacer players and fans of the Detroit Pistons. Then in late 2006 and early 2007, as the Indianapolis Colts enjoyed a Super Bowl championship season, the Pacers neared rock bottom. In October, team members Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter were involved in a scuffle outside the Club Rio strip club on the Northwestside. Months later, in February, Tinsley, Daniels and Keith McLeod were involved in a separate incident at the 8 Seconds Saloon on the Westside. And then there were multiple incidents involving Shawne Williams' association with unsavory characters. With all those distractions, the fond memories of Reggie Miller draining clutch threes quickly faded. The problem players are now gone. The new roster is built around promising and popular young players such as small forward Danny Granger, veteran center Jeff Foster and newcomer guard Jarrett Jack. And management has made it clear that players are expected to follow more than just X's and O's. "They didn't emphasize it, but they kind of gave us places to stay out of. Told us to act just accordingly," Jack said. "I think all of us have good common sense. Most of the time when you get in trouble it's probably something you had no business doing when you look back on it." Foster, the team's longest tenured player, added: "We have a lot of guys here that want to prove themselves and work hard and make the playoffs and show that this organization is headed in the right direction without the off-the-court problems." Larry Bird, the Pacers president of basketball operations, called the rebuilding of the Pacers the toughest challenge of his professional career. "It's a killer. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and think about it. That's not what basketball is about. I've never had that before . . . getting the 6:30 phone calls telling me one of my players got in trouble the night before," Bird said. "That's not what this is about. This is a professional league. It should be viewed as a professional league." Bird, legendary for his work ethic and competitive streak, said he made it clear to the current roster what's expected. "I didn't want them to come here if they weren't going to be a part of our change," Bird said. "Every guy that we have wants to be here to play in Indiana, and that's the difference from what we had in the past." The Pacers have been out in the community in a positive way. In one promotion, team members pumped free gas at area Crystal Flash convenience stores. "They're just much more aggressive in their marketing than they have been," said John Lombardo, NBA writer for Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. Saturday's free opening-night concert with Blues Traveler was a prime example. There are also $5 tickets for military personnel and "family packs" -- four tickets, T-shirts, hot dogs and sodas, all for $80. The Pacers can look to other NBA turnaround stories. Several years ago, the Portland Trailblazers lost fans as multiple players landed in the news for marijuana citations and other incidents. But after roster changes, attendance is up again. According to the NBA, the Trailblazers' more than 20 percent increase in attendance last year was the largest in the league. Bloom, of sportsbusinessnews .com, pointed to the San Antonio Spurs as an example of a team finding the right players to win on the court and in the community: David Robinson, who is now retired, and Tim Duncan. "When you think of the San Antonio Spurs, you don't really think of a bad thing at all," Bloom said. For the Pacers, the strategy has been to emphasize what the team considers the core values of basketball in Indiana: hustle and hard work by team players. Some fans already are optimistic. "I'm hoping we can have a turnaround and Indianapolis can support (the Pacers) like they do the Colts," said Kim Brucker, Fishers. Dressed in a Pacers hat and shirt, she attended the free Blues Traveler concert Saturday before the Pacers' home opener against the Celtics. "Things like this, I think, will do it," she said. Star reporter Mike Wells contributed to this report. To see more of The Indianapolis Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.IndyStar.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Indianapolis Star Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |