Bradley - AJC Article about our new policy

[Admin]

Trying to win fans through guarantees

Mark Bradley - Staff

Thursday, June 20, 2002

Suddenly the local franchises are trying to out-market one another. The Hawks have monetarily guaranteed they'll make the playoffs. The Falcons are seeking to guarantee that patrons enjoy themselves. Who says you can't buy good publicity?

The Hawks could wind up owing $500,000 to season-ticket holders if they finish ninth in the East, and still that would be money well spent. The Hawks have this profile problem --- they lack one. They have this nice new arena that nobody wants to visit and some pretty good players whom nobody cares to see. This has ceased being an issue of personnel. This is now about perception.

The guarantee likely won't do much to drive ticket sales. Who puts up $1,025 on the off-chance he'll get $125 back? What matters is that the Hawks, who are generally portrayed as indifferent to the concept of winning, have declared that they're serious about next season. No more Isaiah Rider experiments. No more winters devoted to on-the-job training. Either they win enough to keep playing after 82 games or they give you (part of) your money back.

Yes, there's backfire potential. Yes, the 2002-03 Hawks face the possibility of being known as the team that couldn't put (part of) its money where its mouth was. Still, that beats being known for nothing at all, which is what the Hawks have been. They'd make moves and nothing would happen and nobody would get fired. The guarantee buys the Hawks a shred of credibility that they haven't otherwise been able to purchase. The guarantee essentially says, "This time we mean it."

The guarantee also tells us something about sports in general. No longer can a franchise hang out a sign reading "Game Tonight" and expect people to show up. Money is too tight. Entertainment options are too varied. A team must offer more than the promise of seeing a ballgame. A team must brand itself as different in the marketplace. A team must make like an encyclopedia peddler and sell, sell, sell.

The Falcons have always been a curious case. They'd trot out another in a series of underwhelming teams and wonder why the Georgia Dome would sit half-empty. They'd take their marketing stabs, but at no time did they convey the simple message that this team was committed to, as opposed to mildly interested in, excellence. Arthur Blank is trying to change that. Improving access to the Dome won't help Michael Vick on third-and-8, but it figures to put a few more bodies inside the Dome to watch what Vick does on third-and-8.

The Falcons aren't the Green Bay Packers, to whom loyalty is a birthright. The Falcons have to hustle for customers, same as Home Depot had to hustle. Because he's seen as a capable man, Blank has been afforded the benefit of the doubt. (The Smiths exhausted theirs 30 years ago.) This benefit, however, carries an expiration date. Either Blank makes noticeable upgrades in Year 1 or, come Year 2, he'll be seen as just another empty suit. He has to get people talking about the Falcons, and he has to make that conversation positive for a change.

Blank has had less than a year to put together a front office and a roster, but he has had a lifetime's preparation in customer service. He cannot yet suggest that he's guaranteeing a winner, but he can guarantee that the Gameday Experience ---to Blank, the phrase is a mantra --- will be immediately rewarding.

The Hawks are different. The Hawks have been assembling this team since 1999. It's time to deliver the goods or scrap the plan. Trouble is, the audience abandoned the Hawks a while ago. Give the organization credit for realizing that, when it comes to getting someone's attention, nothing beats a good ol' ultimatum.