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November 12, 2008
Nets to give free tickets to jobless fans
Newark Star-Ledger
by David Waldstein
The Star-Ledger picks up the Nets tickets-for-the-unemployed story, and runs with it.
The Nets program was applauded by Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a marketing firm that has been consulted by many professional teams on fan loyalty and branding. He said the team is "acknowledging that people in fact do not have the discretionary income they once had."
"The job fair clearly is a very powerful signal of corporate citizenship, and these days that can be a lot more meaningful than a free hat or a bobblehead doll. The team is willing to take a hit in order to be able to ensure the continuity of fan visits, and that is something that people will ultimately appreciate," Passikoff said.
NoLandGrab: Um, "take a hit?" By giving away seats that are sitting empty, and maybe enticing some folks to buy $8 beers and $6 hot dogs, while making the Izod Center seem a little less empty?
Many of the paying fans (who may not be so psyched that the people next to them are getting in free) are getting a break, too.
Based on a random sampling of fans at recent home games, however, many weren't paying full price.
Ray Massa of Jersey City, who works for T-Mobile in Parsippany and describes business as "sloooow," got four decent seats in the lower bowl to Friday night's Nets-Pistons game for $15 apiece. The tickets were part of a plan in which Nets sponsors buy up to 80,000 seats over the season and distribute them to schools, which often use them as rewards for kids who are doing well.
"We couldn't come if the tickets were full price," said Massa, who noted that he, his wife and two daughters ate before the game to save money.
NoLandGrab: So while New York's taxpayers, many of whom are unemployed, too, are lavishing hundreds of millions of dollars on Bruce Ratner, Bruce is in turn giving away free tickets to New Jersey's jobless. Shouldn't we maybe cut out the middleman?
Posted by eric at November 12, 2008 2:23 PM