PORTLAND BEAVERS

The Portland Beavers had a history of marketing to the very individuals – avid baseball fans – who were already going to the games. The entertainment value of the game and its appeal to the general public had long been overlooked, and the results could be seen in their most obvious bottom line – attendance. When DVA was put into the lineup, we migrated the Beavers’ message from the sports page to the A&E section. We focused less on the game and more on the atmosphere and environment. We re-positioned Beavers baseball, and tapped into an entirely new audience by emphasizing the concept of wholesome, affordable family entertainment from the first pitch to the final out. The results were as good as a walk-off home run: attendance that season topped 400,000 fans, an 18 percent increase from the previous season despite a losing record.