john barnes

New York Mets Climb to the Mountaintop of Bad Marketing

The New York Mets' front office has made itself a villain in its handling of R.A. Dickey's Kilimanjaro mountain-climbing expedition. The solution to the marketing problem: Embrace the villainy.

The baseball club can solve its image problem almost overnight if the front office remembers that in sports, entertainment, and other fields where business leadership works behind the scenes, managers can get a long way by throwing themselves under the bus.

For anyone who hasn't been checking the teapot for tempests lately, R.A. Dickey, a durably reliable pitcher for the Mets, decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, as part of a celebrity charity operation that would raise money for an anti-sex-trafficking organization in India.

Normally this might have gotten three minutes of airplay, or possibly eventually become a movie if Kevin Costner suddenly needed money again, except that the Mets business office sternly threatened to invoke clauses that would let them cancel his multimillion-dollar contract if he were injured on Kilimanjaro.  The Mets' position of "never mind those Indian girls, your arm is our property" catapulted the story into the headlines. It was immediately taken up in the sports fan blogosphere, with Dickey's supporters considerably outnumbering and out-enthusing Mets-management supporters.

Dickey reached the summit on January 14, giving the Mets some of the best publicity they've had in a long time, and he's fine. Management now looks like a pack of nervous nellies who don't recognize a real hero when he bites them. 

This can be a first-rate opportunity for the Mets, if they're smart enough to use it.

Here's the takeaway lesson: When your public face is different from management, and the company screws up, smart management will throw itself under the bus, preserve the popularity of their public face, and reap rich rewards.

How many more Mets fans will buy more tickets or merchandize, or tune in more often because they like Dickey?  How many parents, happy to have a genuinely impressive sports hero for their children, will recruit a whole next generation of fans? The message the Mets need to send: Support R.A. Dickey, because wicked, soulless management couldn't stop him from following his dream and doing the right thing! Stick it to the Man! Buy Mets tickets and merchandise!

This tactic has been working here in Denver for the Broncos; a part of Tim Tebow's fascination for locals is that Broncos' management refused for three months to commit to him as starting quarterback, only deciding after their season ended. You don't have to listen very long in any bar or coffeehouse here to hear someone expressing sympathy for Tebow: Imagine, the poor guy is working his heart out and his boss won't even say whether he has a job next year!  That's not just good for Tebow's  image -- it's good for the Broncos' revenue stream, as people mob up to "support Tim."

Any number of books, plays, and movies have been advertisted as "They didn't want you to see it!"  Who is they?  Those people collecting all that money for delivering it to you.  Unh-hunh, sure, they didn't want you to see it.

Plenty of people irritated by Steve Jobs went right on buying Apple stuff in part to support those nice kids at the Genius Bar.  Notoriously starting with Star Trek, several networks have been "forced" by irate fans to continued to make money with a formerly-fading franchise.

When studio executives told Jerry Lewis to recut  his episodic comedy, The Bellboy, into a coherent plot, instead he just added two minutes at the beginning, mocking studio executives and coherent plots; not only did the public love it, so did the executives (thus proving this strategy works better with management who can take a joke).

If the Mets management is smart, they could be humiliated all the way to the bank.

Related posts:

— John Barnes Follow me on TwitterVisit my LinkedIn page is a marketing intelligence analyst pioneering the commercial application of statistical semiotics. He is also the freelance author of 29 published novels and hundreds of articles and short stories.
View comments: newest first | oldest first | threaded
Page 1 of 3   Next >   Last >>
cmophil
User Rank
Proponent

"They basically turned a win-win into a lose-lose all thanks to the emotion of fear."

smkinoshita,

That basically is a summarization of the NY Mets since there involvement in the Madoff scheme was made public a few years ago. Once you think things are looking up, you lower your expectations, & thins can't get any worse... it does.

smkinoshita
User Rank
Blogger

Heh, with all the arguments about rational vs. emotional, it's amusing to see that the Mets management were clearly making an emotional instead of rational decision in even calling him to threaten the clause.

Here's their emotional argument:  "Oh noes! He might get hurt and then we might not win too games! I'm scared!"

Here's the rational counter-argument:  "He's risking his neck for the sake of charity.  Give him full support -- if he gets hurt and fails, we'll forgive the discretion, donate a chunk to his charity and make a killing in 'This man is a tragic hero, support the Mets' type merchandise.  If he succeeds, we'll donate a chunk of change to his charity, selling 'This man is a hero, the Mets are awesome' merchandise and probably still win games"

They basically turned a win-win into a lose-lose all thanks to the emotion of fear.

AliceAMM
User Rank
Proponent

Ryck & Mitch, no arguement there. Timing is everything. I totally agree that it was mishandled.

Mitch Wagner
User Rank
Blogger

Ryck -  I firmly believe that they made this a public issue to garner fan support, but it backfired, and now they are trying to clean up the mess.

That's my read as well. 

There is a tendency on the part of peopel who are powerful in one area to think that power is more universal than it actually is. 

Ryck
User Rank
Evangelist

@AliceAMM - I understand your point, but if the restricted activity clause is part of Dickey's agreement does identify mountain climing as an activity not to be undertaken, the Mets' recourse is to void the contract.  As Dickey returned from this excursion unscathed, one would have to also look at the potential of a possible, career-ending injury may occur.  He could have his career shortened by an accident at home.  There have been cases where athletes have cut themselves with knives, but I don't see them banning the use of sharp utensils.  Some common sense needs to be used, and I don't think the Mets demonstrated any.  I firmly believe that they made this a public issue to garner fan support, but it backfired, and now they are trying to clean up the mess.

AliceAMM
User Rank
Proponent

Seems like this is a good example of once something is out there it's out there with a life of its own.

It makes total sense to me that they wouldn't want to jeopardize his million dollar arm. On a smaller scale, my daughter is a scolarship athlete at a D1 school and she's not allowed to ice skate, ski or otherwise engage in other activities that could endanger her ability to play the sport she's getting an education to play. She's not a professional yet she understands that limitatation and accepts it as part of the package. Why wouldn't a professional team who has so much more at stake have the same requirement?

If Dickey really wants to help this cause, then he can and should do so. However, there are ways to do it that wouldn't jeopardize his teammates, the organization and the fans. It's the price of being a professional athlete. Come on. Athletes get paid way more than anyone should to play. He knew when he agreed to do this that he shouldn't.

Did the Mets handle it well, hindsight says no.  But neither did Dickey.

Ryck
User Rank
Evangelist

Although we don't know exactly what the Mets were thinking by taking this public.  If I had to guess, I would think they were trying to get fan support to prevent Dickey, a key member of the Mets franchise, from doing something that potentially may affect his ability to help the Mets win games.  Unfortunately, this happened out-of-season, and more importantly, what he wanted to do was a very charitable act, one that probably tugged at the heart strings of many Mets fans.  If this was the Mets rationale, they completely underestimated the humanity within their fan base.

John Barnes
User Rank
Blogger

The standard MLB contract does carry a "if you do something voluntarily that results in an accident" escape clause for the team, and that's what the Mets were threatening to invoke.  Dickey said they did call him privately and simply ordered him not to do it; then they made the threats publicly.  That strikes me as another example of the Mets organization being completely clueless; if you're going to threaten, that strikes me as something to be done quietly and ideally deniably.

henrisha
User Rank
Evangelist

I agree with Infinity and Ryck. It's beyond me why the management's reaction was made public. I doubt that they would intentionally do so, just so they can get a lot of publicity and turn things around even at their expense. It would be interesting to see what course of action they'll be taking from here on for damage control.

infinity
User Rank
Proponent

@ryck -- exactly -- most companies would keep something that doesn't look favorably upon them completely under wraps. 

Page 1 of 3   Next >   Last >>


More Blogs from John Barnes
A careful analysis of words' meanings, as explained here, can give marketing messages pin-point accuracy.
With new analytic tools at hand, marketers can more precisely tune newly launched campaigns from day one.
Big-data is more than just collecting data and analyzing it. Analysts need to work closely with management to figure out what to measure and why.
Fuzzy set theory can help marketers do a better job in the crucial task of segmentation.
Statistical analysis of signs -- words, images, patterns, and so forth -- can help make marketing more effective.
quick poll
CMO videos
GM's Customer Focus
How GM uses customer metrics and analytics.
2:34
(4) comments
Del Mar Races to Win
How the racetrack uses social and mobile marketing
1:54
(4) comments
Social Media Resolutions
Ideas for social media marketing in 2012.
4:25
(35) comments
My Viral Tweet
What marketers can learn from a tweet.
2:54
(7) comments
Trikkes & Marketing
Retailers face three options in 2012.
3:41
(3) comments
Mobile Marketing Is Hard
Meet Amazon.com's Price Check app.
3:01
(1) comment
Neither Snow Nor Rain
The USPS plans to curtail mail delivery.
02:18
(5) comments
Careful With Foursquare
Mitch Wagner trips over his own feet.
04:26
(3) comments
Community Is 'Where It's At'
If brands want their names to stick they need to ...
2:27
(11) comments
Twitter Upgrades
Twitter is now more useful for brands.
2:42
(1) comment
Fonts Mean Brands
Mess with your font at your peril.
3:12
(5) comments
CMOs Need More Customer Time
CMOs are missing the opportunity to get info ...
2:21
(0) comments
Behavioral Ads
Marketers are losing on behavioral advertising.
2:54
(8) comments
'Moneyball' Marketing
"Moneyball," the new Brad Pitt baseball movie, is ...
3:00
(1) comment
leadership reports
Getting the Most from Mobile Marketing
The CMO Site, The CMO Site
The proliferation of smartphones and tablet devices presents new opportunities and challenges for marketers to reach customers where they are and when they’re ready to buy. Apps, the mobile Web, social check-ins, geofencing, and mobile ad standards are among the tools marketers need to master in this new world. Learn how to use new mobile technology effectively and avoid its hazards.
LEARN MORE
twitter feed
The CMO Site Twiter Feed
like us on facebook
The CMO Site Linked-In Group Ad
seven days of education
The CMO University offers executive marketers an entirely new way to get the education they need to forumlate next-generation marketing strategies.
Join interactive classes | Earn credits | Chat with peers
View archived courses on these hot topics:
LEARN MORE
Charlotte Blank
General Motors: Keeping the Customer at the Center
2|29|12   |   2:34   |   (4) comments

How the carmaker uses metrics and analytics to track all the proliferating information streams it has on customers, from social media, real life, and more.
Craig Dado
Del Mar Races to Win at Social, Mobile Marketing
2|15|12   |   1:54   |   (4) comments

Craig Dado, senior vice president of marketing for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, describes how the racetrack uses social and mobile marketing to attract a younger, female demographic.
Mitch Wagner
Social Media Marketing Resolutions
1|25|12   |   4:25   |   (35) comments

Ideas for boosting B2B social media marketing in 2012.
Mitch Wagner
My Viral Tweet
1|18|12   |   2:54   |   (7) comments

What marketers can learn from a tweet that went viral.
Mitch Wagner
Trikkes & the Future of Retail Marketing
1|9|12   |   3:41   |   (3) comments

Retailers face three options in 2012: Go low on price, go high on service, or go out of business.
Mitch Wagner
Looking 5 Years Ahead in Marketing
12|21|11   |   3:51   |   (3) comments

IBM made five predictions for the future in its annual 5 in 5 projection, and three of them are relevant to marketing.
Mitch Wagner
Mobile Makes Retail Marketing Harder
12|19|11   |   3:01   |   (1) comment

Amazon.com's recent Price Check app heralds the beginning of a new era of creative destruction for brick-and-mortar retailers.
Keith Dawson
Neither Snow Nor Rain
12|13|11   |   02:18   |   (5) comments

As the US Postal Service prepares to curtail mail delivery, marketers relying on first class will have to plan more carefully and, over time, move into other channels.
Mitch Wagner
Don’t Embarrass Yourself on Foursquare
12|12|11   |   04:26   |   (3) comments

Editor-in-chief Mitch Wagner trips over his own feet trying to use a Foursquare discount, in a tale with a lesson for brands.
CMO Video
Community Is 'Where It's At'
11|15|11   |   2:27   |   (11) comments

Is a massive, three-day industry event featuring A-list speakers like Bill Clinton and Malcolm Gladwell the right approach for a company seeking to generate awareness of its brand? Steve thinks that goes part of the way, but if brands want their names to stick they need to build communities.
Mitch Wagner
Twitter Upgrades Activity Streams
11|9|11   |   2:42   |   (1) comment

Twitter improved its home page to make it more useful for brands looking to find influencers to engage with.
Keith Dawson
Fonts Mean Brands
10|31|11   |   3:12   |   (5) comments

Once you associate a font with your brand, you mess with it at your peril.
Mitch Wagner
IBM Study: CMOs Need More One-on-One Customer Time
10|20|11   |   2:21   |   (0) comments

CMOs rely on aggregate data for customer preferences and are missing the opportunity to get one-on-one information through social media and other resources, according to a study of 1,734 CMOs conducted by IBM. Watch a Webinar presenting the findings, and get a copy of the report for yourself.
Keith Dawson
Behavioral Ads: Getting Back in the Conversation
10|18|11   |   2:54   |   (8) comments

Surveys show that marketers are losing the mindshare battle on the benefits of behavioral advertising – and they need to rejoin that conversation.
Mitch Wagner
'Moneyball' Marketing
10|14|11   |   3:00   |   (1) comment

"Moneyball," the new Brad Pitt baseball movie, is one every marketer should see. It's not just about relying on metrics and analytics over gut feelings, it's also about relying on the right metrics and analytics.