The Case
On June 7, 1999, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) conditionally awarded an expansion franchise to The Ackerley Group, owner of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics.
However, delivery of the franchise for the 2000 season was contingent on the owner's ability to secure 5,500 season ticket deposits of $50 each by an Oct. 15 deadline.
Generating support for a WNBA team would be difficult in Seattle, given the recent demise of the American Basketball League (the ABL was a rival league to the WNBA) and its
local team, the Seattle Reign. Reign ticket holders had been shortchanged when the ABL went bankrupt in 1998, and were suspect of a new team's viability. Moreover, ticket sales
during the Reign's most successful season averaged only 1,200 season tickets and 3,900 spectators per game - far short of the target goal of 5,500 season ticket commitments. And
the new team franchise had yet to be named, which left the owners with little to work with in the way of branding.
Full House Sports & Entertainment, the marketing arm of the Sonics, recruited the PR firm MWW/Savitt to generate the popular support needed to meet its ticket sales goal.
The challenge was to convert the city's Reign loyalists to WNBA fans, and to recruit more than 4,000 new fans - many of whom had never been to a women's pro basketball game.
The Strategy
Full House and MWW/Savitt identified their key target audiences as former Reign fans, women business owners, parents with kids (particularly young girls) and city residents in
general. Their goals were as follows: To create awareness of the WNBA and its potential contributions to the city of Seattle; to generate enthusiasm and anticipation of the 2000
season; to mitigate any negative feelings that former ABL fans may have harbored toward the WNBA; and to actively engage community leaders as ambassadors for the new team.
The Game Plan
Full House and MWW/Savitt formed a "Drive to 55" committee comprising representatives from both firms, and set ticket sales goals for key target dates leading up to the October
deadline. A play-by-play of the tactical moves that followed:
Press Conference. On June 7, a few hours after the WNBA announced nationally that it had granted four new expansion franchises (one to Seattle), the Drive to 55 committee
staged a press conference, explaining to local media why a women's pro basketball team would benefit Seattle.
Speakers' Bureau. Coach Lin Dunn and the team's senior director of operations, Karen Bryant, were quickly booked as keynote speakers at more than 40 meetings of charities,
women's groups and civic service organizations. Their appearances helped rally community enthusiasm and personify a team that had yet to possess a logo, mascot, name or players.
Ambassadors' Council. A select group of prominent Seattle citizens received invitations to attend various events in support of the new team. These prospective "ambassadors"
for women's basketball were the first to meet Coach Dunn at a luncheon.
Nonprofit Alliances. To demonstrate its commitment to the community, the team announced plans to donate $10 of every $50 season ticket deposit to the Susan G. Komen Foundation
in support of local breast cancer research. The team also selected 16 other youth and service organizations, such as the YWCA, to receive tickets and "signature nights" at each of
the 16 home games during the season (provided the necessary number of ticket deposits were obtained).
Bounce to 5500. As the deadline approached, MWW/Savitt planned an event that would provide a good photo opp. For nearly five hours on a September day, Coach Dunn led
basketball-bouncing supporters (clad in WNBA shirts) on a 5.5-mile trek through the city streets. Organizers passed out WNBA balloons, balls, T-shirts and window clings. The event
received coverage from all major local media, and ticket deposits spiked 250% the next day.
Calls and Balls. As the campaign hit its final stride, Coach Dunn (formerly an ABL coach in Portland) made personal calls to all former Seattle Reign/ABL season ticket holders.
The PR team at MWW/Savitt mailed officially licensed WNBA basketballs to members of the Ambassadors Council, along with a ticket deposit form. Enclosed instructions asked
interested fans to fill out the ticket form, sign the basketball and pass it on to other ambassadors.
Final Score
Seattle was awarded its WNBA expansion franchise, and the team - now named the Seattle Storm - played its first game last week. The "Drive to 55" committee exceeded its ticket
deposit goal by nearly 2,000 tickets, securing a total of 7,200 season ticket deposits and outperforming all other expansion teams in season ticket sales. Roughly 50% of former
Reign ticket holders made WNBA season ticket deposits. Attendance at opening night on June 1 exceeded 10,000 fans (the WNBA league average for game attendance is 10,207).
(Christina Prather, MWW/Savitt, 206/689-8505)
Foul
At the 11th hour, Seattle's city council raised the price tag on the team's three-year lease agreement in a thinly veiled attempt to recoup arena costs that were lost during the
NBA's earlier lockout. In doing so, the council unknowingly provided an opportunity for the WNBA - formerly known as the "bully" of women's pro basketball - to shore up its
position as a champion of the women's pro league cause. MWW/Savitt orchestrated a media push to expose the council's tactics. Local fans and sports reporters subsequently
criticized the council's actions, and rallied to support the team. The city council backed down.
MWW/Savitt Lineup
Founded: 1993
HQ: Seattle
Parent: MWW Group
Clients: Mercata, Guru.com, Starbucks Coffee, VacationSpot.com, Trillium
Corp.
Revenues (1999): $5.6 million
Employees: 69
Staff on WNBA account: A flexible 4-7
Campaign time frame: June 7 - Oct. 15, 1999
Budget/fees: Would not disclose.
On the Web: http://www.mwwsavitt.com