With a theme created to reflect a rejuvenated team and management, the San Diego Chargers’ marketing department is gearing up for what they consider a new beginning.
At its foundation is optimistic press coverage spurred by the team’s many newcomers , General Manager John Butler chief among them.
Others are quarterback Doug Flutie, defensive end Marcellus Wiley, promising draft picks LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees, and offensive coordinator Norv Turner.
Filling seats for the upcoming season should be easier than the last couple of years, said John Shean, the team’s vice president of sales and marketing.
Still, some of the pressures haven’t changed, including the Chargers’ much-debated ticket guarantee with the city of San Diego.
According to the agreement, struck in 1996 along with the stadium expansion deal, the city buys unsold tickets if less than 60,000 seats are sold for a game. Last year, the city spent $7.97 million for tickets, which was $1.72 million more than the team paid to rent the stadium.
So far, with a gross rent paid of $22 million since the ’97 season, the city has netted $3.08 million, said Carl Nettleton, a spokesman for the city manager’s office.
Still, Shean’s well aware of the pressure.
“We’re looking for innovative ways through every partner we have to extend that invitation to fans,” he said. “Of course, the best thing you can do is win.”
On Aug. 11, the team’s first exhibition game in San Diego drew 45,125 people, he said.
Name Recognition Spurs Optimism
Although he wouldn’t give details, saying it was proprietary, Shean said ticket sales are “significantly” stronger than last year.
Media coverage has played an important role, he said.
“You do those things you sign a Flutie, you sign a Wiley, you go out and spend $100 million … and it doesn’t go unnoticed,” he said.
With major headlines on a daily basis, readers’ awareness is already up, Shean said. “The public knows about it and from there, a lot of it is just positioning the product,” he said.
Shean wouldn’t disclose his marketing budget.
So far, the Chargers have held events such as “Fan Fest” at the team’s UCSD training camp and a draft day event at Qualcomm Stadium.
Although the former was a huge success, the latter, which took place on April 21, fell victim to a rainy day, said Brandon Ward, the Chargers’ marketing and advertising manager.
This year, the team’s taking a more streamlined approach to marketing.
For instance, the team eschewed an annual NFL promotion in which players hit the streets of their cities, personally thanking residents for their support.
“For the most part, what we’re trying to focus on isn’t so much those feel-good, one-shot-pop sorts of things, like that ‘thanking the fans’ so much as we’re trying to get out a clear, consistent message repeatedly with what it is we’re trying to do on the field and off the field,” Ward said.
Chargers Only Southland Team
According to Shean, the team is working on a new deal with Amtrak that could make games more accessible to fans up the coast. The plan banks on the fact the Chargers are the only NFL team in Southern California.
Shean is another newcomer, having joined the Chargers in late April.
After 20 years in San Diego, starting in sales for local radio and TV and ending with eight years with the Padres’ marketing department, Shean’s most recent sports marketing stint was in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals.
His department sells sponsorships for game days, including program advertising and various in-game options, sells stadium suites, and sells commercials around the team’s weekly “Power Report,” a paid program currently airing on local TV station KUSI.
Coming to the Chargers, Shean quickly saw a need to change what had been done.
Having endured a 1-15 season last year, the organization’s spirits were flagging, he said.
According to promotions manager Jennifer Khoury, the team salvaged enthusiasm by heavily promoting the team’s 40th anniversary during the 2000 season. Rather than focusing on what the team did on the field, the idea was to focus on the Chargers’ history, she said.
‘Recharge’ Makes Future Focus
This year, the team has taken the opposite approach. Red Lizard Creative in Sorrento Mesa, a new advertising group, crafted a concept that made the future the focal point.
Red Lizard’s first work for the team involved coming up with its current “Recharge” theme , symbolized by an electrified football image used on the team’s 2001 season collateral.
The theme quickly surfaced on the billboards, replacing a more complex advertisement that featured pictures of Tomlinson and Brees.
Red Lizard and the Chargers are finalizing plans for the campaign, said Ben Marion, Red Lizard’s creative director.
Marion did not want to divulge too much, but did say one idea involves using current fans’ own stories to inspire others to come to games.
Ward said the team’s performance will ultimately decide what direction ticket sales and other sales efforts will take.
“San Diego’s got a wait-and-see attitude,” Ward said. “They always have. I’m a San Diego native, and I’ve been dealing with it as long as I’ve been a sports fan.
“I think that people are a little more optimistic this year, and are believing a bit more because of the fact that the guys that we’ve brought in, Doug Flutie, most notably they’re proven guys.”
