While SMS marketing could be used for any level of sports, its low cost and easy deployment makes it especially cost effective for minor league sports teams with smaller budgets than their major league counterparts.  Most minor league teams do not have the staff or budget to manage costly direct mail campaigns and extensive media advertising.

Recently we worked with the Washington Wild Things, a minor league baseball team near Pittsburgh, PA, during the 2010 season to help them grow, and drive revenue from, their text message marketing database.

SMS List Growth: Minor league teams have a unique opportunity to grow an SMS subscriber database from every home game.  In the stands they have hundreds (and usually thousands) of fans already using their mobile phones to text friends and family.  By incorporating in-game SMS contests and promotions teams can build a list of mobile numbers very quickly without any additional costs for traditional media.  On average 10-15% of fans in attendance at a game will text-in for giveaways, on-field contests, voting, coupons, and more.  These SMS campaigns can be executed using the team’s existing Jumbotron or PA system.

Revenue Drivers: Perhaps the biggest driver of revenue for a text message marketing campaign is the ability to sell last-minute tickets to games that haven’t sold out.  Teams can send same-day promotions to their mobile list and fill those empty seats within hours.  Last-minute and in-game promotions can also be sold as sponsorship opportunities creating new revenue streams.  Other opportunities for sales growth include early season ticket sales and merchandise.

If your team would like to hear more about our experience with SMS marketing and minor league sports please give JA Interactive a call at 1-888-932-0999 or request an online demo here.