Grading all 22 Knights baseball game promotions. Light sabers to dog collars.
I had a former colleague that was close to becoming an investor in a minor league baseball operation. He told me that it’s all about the marketing promos. I love baseball. I love marketing. I love free random items. So naturally, I’m excited to tell you about the Knights 2015 promotional calendar.
— Okay, first let’s look at the 5 recurring promos —
Concept: $1 Hot Dog Knight
Dates: Mondays (total of 3) sponsored by Sahlen’s
C5 Grade: C-. You’ll get a skinny dog and wish you had a bratwurst.
Concept: Thirsty Thursdays, $3 small drafts until end of 7th inning.
Dates: All Thursdays during the season (total of 13) sponsored by Hickory Tavern.
C5 Grade: C. Like an old, crotchety man, I remember growing up with the Vero Beach Dodgers where Thirsty Thursdays meant $1 beers. I know the Knights need to make some cheddar, but considering our emerging craft beer scene, if they lower the prices to $3 on all games, this city would love the Knights forever.
Concept: Twitter Tuesdays
Dates: Win prizes throughout the game by following @KnightsBaseball.
C5 Grade: B+. Like the social tie in, but a lot depends on the execution and prizes. Would prefer instagram over twitter.
Concept: Friday Knight Fireworks
Dates: Each Friday home game (total of 10).
C5 Grade: A-. Baseball, fireworks and German beer from OMB – what’s more American?
Concept: Kids Run the Bases
Dates: Most Sunday games (total of 10) sponsored by Sunbelt.
C5 Grade: A. Love it when the kids get too excited and face plant. Even better is when they unnecessarily slide and you can tell their parents are freaking out over laundry.
— Now it’s time for the 17 big boy promos —
Date: Friday, April 3rd – Rally Towel Giveaway
Free Item: Rally towels for the first 5,000 fans for the exhibition game against the White Sox.
C5 Grade: C. Solid start, but more originality is necessary.
Date: Tuesday, April 14th – BB&T Ballpark Canvas Picture Giveaway
Free Item: Canvas print of stadium for first 3,000 fans.
C5 Grade: C+. Dare you to hang this above your mantel and see what your wife says.
Date: Saturday April 18th – KnightinGals Poster Giveaway
Free Item: Cheerleader poster for the first 3,000 fans sponsored by Hickory Tavern.
C5 Grade: A. Did you try out? When your wife makes you take down the ballpark canvas from the previous game, replace it with this.
Date: Sunday, April 19th – Bark in the Park
Free Item: Dog collars for the first 1,000 fans and doggie vendor showcase.
C5 Grade: A-. People love their dogs, but I hate dogs. I know, I know, it’s un-American.
Date: Tuesday, April 28th – Knights Light Saber Hat Giveaway
Free Item: Knights hat with the “K” as a light saber sponsored by CHS. Oh, the hat is also glow in the dark.
C5 Grade: A+. Unreal.
Date: Thursday, April 30th – Superhero Knight
Concept: Meet and greet with pro wrestler Hurricane Helms.
C5 Grade: B+. We support wrestlers that are NC natives.
Date: Wednesday, April 29th – Education Day
Free Item: TBD, but sponsored by Duke Energy.
C5 Grade: D. Are they trying to keep kids from the ballpark?
Date: Sunday, May 3 – Trick-or-Treat Bag Giveaway
Free Item: Knights bag for first 3,000 fans.
Extra: Wear a halloween costume to the ballpark for other weird stuff.
C5 Grade: D+. Halloween in May? You kidding me? .04% of kids will actually still have this come October.
Date: Saturday May 16th – Pink Baseball Giveaway
Free Item: Pink Baseball for first 2,500 ladies to raise awareness for breast cancer (sponsored by Charlotte Radiology).
Extra: Knights players will wear a pink uniforms that will be auctioned off after the game.
C5 Grade: A+. Hate breast cancer and love pink baseballs.
Date: Tuesday, May 26th – Kellogg’s Giveaway
Free Item: TBD Kellogg’s item for first 3,000 fans.
C5 Grade: D. Hope it’s not those cereal bars, they’re dry.
Date: Sunday May 31st – Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba!
Concept: An odd looking children’s monster character makes his appearance.
C5 Grade: C+. Creepy looking character and if you don’t have kids that like creepy characters, you won’t know what’s happening.
Date: Wednesday June 17th – Caddyshack Knight
Concept: Dannon Noonan (Michael O’Keefe) will make an appearance.
C5 Grade: A+. This is so random it makes my head spin. Would love to know his appearance rate and the backstory on this one.
Date: Sunday, June 21st – Grill Tongs Giveaway
Free Item: Grill tongs for first 2,500 men.
Extra: Dad’s can play catch with their kids on the field.
C5 Grade: B. Would be an A+, but the grill tongs will likely be flimsy.
Date: Tuesday July 7th – Jersey Cooler Giveaway
Free Item: Jersey cooler to first 3,000 fans.
C5 Grade: N/A. What is a jersey cooler?
Date: Tuesday July 21st – Youth Jersey Giveaway
Free Item: Jerseys for the first 3,000 kids sponsored by CHS.
C5 Grade: B. It’s for the kids.
Date: Tuesday August 4th – Joel Skinner Bobblehead Giveaway
Free Item: Bobbleheads to first 3,000 fans.
C5 Grade: A-. Had to google “Joel Skinner” to find out he’s the manager. #embarrassed
Date: Tuesday August 11th – Dale Murphy Appearance
Concept: Dale will be here to sign autographs and hangout.
C5 Grade: A. Seems like a cool dude and has 66,700 twitter followers.
Date: Tuesday August 25th – Kellogg’s Giveaway
Free Item: TBD Kellogg’s item for first 3,000 fans.
C5 Grade: A+. Congrats to the Knights promos group for signed a 2x giveaway deal without a concept locked down.
This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 12:46 AM with the headline "Grading all 22 Knights baseball game promotions. Light sabers to dog collars.."