blue jays home opener final - nayyarah...

Nayyarah Arshad

MKT2260

11/27/2012

Blue Jays Home Opener

Contents

Objective ...................................................................................................................................................... 1

Budget .......................................................................................................................................................... 2

Description & Theme ................................................................................................................................... 4

Work-‐Back Schedule .................................................................................................................................... 5

Promotional Plan ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Timing & Flow .............................................................................................................................................. 7

Numbers: Target/Demographic ................................................................................................................... 8

Location: Challenges/Uniqueness ................................................................................................................ 9

Contracts & Permits ................................................................................................................................... 10

Staging/AV/Lighting ................................................................................................................................... 11

Food & Beverage ....................................................................................................................................... 12

Invitations & Media ................................................................................................................................... 13

Staffing & Volunteers ................................................................................................................................. 14

Vendors & Suppliers .................................................................................................................................. 15

Evaluation: Methods of Debrief ................................................................................................................. 16

References ................................................................................................................................................. 17

1 Blue Jays Home Opener

Objective

Every year the Toronto Blue Jays host a Home Opener; this is the day in which baseball teams begin their regular season. The Home Opener usually falls at the end of March or beginning of April; this is similar for the majority of Major League Baseball teams. For many, this event represents a new beginning for their favorite teams and is a symbol of rebirth among players and fans. As a group we have taken optimal time in deciding which approach we intend to take in order to promote this year’s Home Opener. The approach that we have decided upon is to focus the theme of this year’s game as a family-‐oriented event. By using resources provided by the Blue Jays organization, we hope to encourage more families to attend Blue Jays games, therefore increasing active publics. To do this we must review target audiences, implement strategy, consider challenges and advantages, review resources, and ultimately put this plan into action. Not only do we want to increase the number of families who attend these games, but also create a sense of goodwill around the Blue Jays brand. To do this we intend on running a successful Jr. Jays’ sleepover the night before the Home Opener. This will allow members to sleep on the field and participate in interactive activities. We also want to engage the Rookie League foundation and raise funds for this children’s charity. By focusing part of our efforts on organizations that are partnered with the Blue Jays, we are allowing the organization to be recognized both locally and nationally. Ultimately, we want to promote the Blue Jays, encourage fans to support a cause that is close to this organization, and run a successful Home Opener.


Budget Event Tactic Description Vendors/

Suppliers Est. Cost

Blue Jays Commercials

1. "This is Why I Play Baseball.” 2. "My First Baseball Game.”

Rogers Comm. (Partner, Venue Sponsor)

$10,000.00

Blue Jays Print Advertisements

1. Brochures 2. Billboards 3. Print Ads for magazines and newspapers

Rogers Comm.

$20,000.00

Home Opener Giveaways

1. Blue Jays’ Signed Jersey 2. Signed Baseball 3. Signed Bat 4. Stuffed Ace's 5. Kid's Blue Jays’ T-‐Shirt's

Toronto Blue Jays: merchandising

$17,150.00

Media Coverage

Broadcasting and Photography

Rogers Comm.

Free

Janitorial Services

Rogers Centre*

Free

Employees of Food Vendors & Shops

Rogers Centre*

Free

Security Services

Rogers Centre*

Free

Food Vendors

Rogers Centre*

Free

AV/Electrical

Rogers Centre*

Free

School Buses

Transportation for the Rookie League Foundation children

Prompt Charters

$7,125.00

Gas for School Buses

To and From the Rogers Centre for

Prompt Charters

$300.00


the Rookie League Foundation Children

Rookie League Junior Jay's Club Pack

Approximately 900 children, $15.00/pack

Toronto Blue Jays: Merchandising

$18,000.00

Jay's Girls

Day of the Home Opener and the Early Bird Sign-‐up

Toronto Blue Jays

Free

Ace Mascot

Day of the Home Opener and the Early Bird Sign-‐Up

Toronto Blue Jays

Free

Junior Jay's Early Bird Sign-‐Up

Food Costs -‐ Breakfast Dinner Utensils Approximately 200 children + Parents = 400 People

Rogers Centre Restaurant Boston Pizza

Overall Total: $3,000.000

Decor

Balloons Helium Tanks Streamers

Party Hut (or any décor merchandise store)

$800.00

Entertainment

Inflatables Jays’ Girls Dance Interactive Games Face Painting (18 Volunteers for 4 Hours)

Toronto Blue Jays & Volunteers

Previously Purchased Equipment = Free

Volunteer Orientation

For Early Bird Sign-‐Up & Face Painting at the Home Opener

Toronto Blue Jays & Volunteers

Free

OVERALL ESTIMATED COST:

$76,375.00

* Rogers Centre pays and supplies game day staff; the Toronto Blue Jays do not pay these employees.


Description & Theme

The 2013 Toronto Blue Jays Home Opener is going to primarily focus on a family audience. Not only will families be the targets, but the Home Opener will also be a kid-‐friendly event. This year we want to bring back the memories of when you were taken to your first game; we want to continue to make the Toronto Blue Jays a family tradition.

In order to achieve our goal, we plan on donating a portion of the proceeds spent at the Rogers Centre on the day of the Home Opener to the local children’s charities that are associated with the Jays Care Foundation. Jays Care charities ensure that every child has an opportunity to play baseball, learn about the game, and grow in a team setting. The main charity that will be associated with the 2013 Blue Jays Home Opener will be Rookie League. Rookie League is a charity that provides an active and engaging program for children in community housing. The program teaches baseball skills, along with team skills, to over 900 underprivileged children in Toronto (Rookie League, 2012).

Another way to create appeal to children and families is to associate the first game of the season with the popular Jr. Jays club. Jr. Jays, in association with Boston Pizza, offers a lot of opportunities for child participation before Saturday home games at the Rogers Centre. The activities that are offered for the Jr. Jays are Blue Jays inflatables, face painting, entertainers, music, games and activities, along with special guests like ‘Ace’ and ‘Junior’. There are also activities offered inside the dome in what the Rogers Centre called the Jr. Jays zones. (Jr. Jays Saturdays presented by Boston Pizza, 2012)

To help promote joining the Jr. Jays Club, we will be holding a sleepover on the Rogers Centre field the night before the game for all Jr. Jays members and their parents. The sleepover is normally held at various times throughout the season on Saturday nights for Sunday afternoon games. This sleepover will be the first one to take place before a Home Opener game. During the sleepover there will be player appearances and autographs, live entertainment from the Jays dancers and the mascot ‘Ace’, opportunities to play catch on the Blue Jays field, and contests and prizes. Boston Pizza will be supplying the food for the event.

During game day, contests will also be held in order to bring people out to the game; these contests will be advertised along with the other promotions going on for the Home Opener. One contest (a seat number ticket draw) will be an opportunity to meet and play catch with your favorite Blue Jay. This will be the grand prize and an amazing opportunity for a child, the grand prize will be awarded to a Jr. Jay club member. The Jr. Jays club tickets will be kept separate for this reason. Other seat draw prizes will be autographed jerseys, baseballs, and bats, and will be available to all fans at the game. The first 20,000 people to the Rogers Centre


on game day will receive a collectable stuffed ‘Ace’. Bobble-‐heads, hats, and t-‐shirts are often given out during similar promotions, but we have chosen to focus on child-‐friendly collectables.

Work-‐Back Schedule

Deliverable Completed By: Commercials filmed December 1, 2012 Game opener invites sent out to Rookie League Foundation

December 30, 2012 Arrival: January 2

Commercials begin to be broadcasted January 2 Season pass sign-‐ups sent to previous season pass holders

January 4

Jr. Jay sign-‐up package sent out January 7 & February 4 Jr. Jay’s club packs ordered February 15 Jr. Jay’s early bird sign-‐up 1 February 22 Volunteers finalized March 1 Media Coverage for both days finalized (photographers, news channels, etc.)

March 4

Boston Pizza sleepover dinner finalized March 8 Sleepover breakfast finalized March 11 Jr. Jay's early bird sign-‐up 2 March 15 Busses for Rookie League kids finalized March 18 AV/Electrical & Food permits for sleepover finalized

March 22

Volunteer Orientation March 23 Ensure décor has been bought March 28 Giveaways arranged, signed March 29 Security & Janitorial personnel for sleepover finalized

March 29

Entertainment/decor set-‐up Morning of March 30th Jr. Jay Sleepover March 30 Clean-‐up March 31: 8:30 A.M.-‐ 10:00 A.M. Entertainment/décor set-‐up for game 10:00 A.M.-‐ 12:00 P.M. Season Opener March 31


Promotional Plan

In establishing a promotional plan we are able to draw from resources and partnerships already established by the Blues Jays organization. To promote this event we are able to work with Rogers Communications in creating commercials that will appeal to our target audience. Rogers Communications is the venue sponsor and will be in charge of all promotional materials. The Blue Jays will receive advertising at a discounted cost through Rogers Comm.

For this aspect of the promotional plan, we want to work with players in creating commercials where they reminisce about their first baseball game. Another advertisement that will be implemented is a commercial campaign showing the Blue Jays as a family tradition. These commercials will show a man bringing his son to his first ball game; it will flash ahead to the son grownup and bringing his own son to his first game. It is our hope that, by airing these commercials on sports networks, we are able to reach parents who already show interest in the game; as well, provoke nostalgia of their first baseball game and encourage them to want to experience similar memories with their own children.

Local television stations, as well as sports broadcasting networks, will air the commercials. CTV and CBC are examples of these stations. These stations often play children’s programming. Local sports broadcast networks would include Sportsnet and TSN.

In promoting this event, we also want to provide audiences with sufficient information so they are able to easily become a part of not only the Home Opener, but also the Jr. Jays sleepover if they have children. We also want them to become aware of the Blue Jays partnering charities. This promotion aspect should provide extensive information on the event and causes, donation information about the partnering charities, and evoke a call to action in viewers. In regards to the event itself, we would like to target both children and parents in this promotion. Therefore, one important distribution strategy will be to provide schools with flyers/brochures about this event. In doing this we are able to engage the children and they are able to return home with these resources to share with their parents. We will also use general advertising spots and promotion used every year in promoting this event. These are the necessary steps we will take as a team in order to conduct a successful promotional plan.

There will be posters and billboards surrounding the Roger Centre a month before the scheduled game. Billboards will be seen from the highway, which has high amounts of traffic into the Toronto City Center. Local magazines and newspapers will also post advertisements using similar key messaging as the commercials. Each aspect of our campaign will be integrated and all advertisements will have the Blue Jays website information, and well as Ticketmaster information to purchase tickets.


Timing & Flow

In order to pace the amount of people coming to the Rogers Centre all at once, there will be activities the night before the game, before the gates open, as well before and during batting practice throughout the halls of the dome. This will allow the expected 45,000-‐50,000 people to arrive at different times throughout the morning and not overcrowd the gates. The busiest time will be around batting practice where the first 20,000 people entering the dome will receive their collectable.

The timing is as follows for March 30th and March 31st (game day):

• Camp out registration 5:00-‐6:00pm • Doors open 6:00pm • Events and entertainment 7:00-‐10:00pm (food at 7:30) • Attendees off the field by 8:30am (breakfast in Rogers Centre restaurant) • 9:30-‐11:00am events outside the Dome, away from field (inflatables, face painting, etc.) • Gates open at 11:00am (first 20,000 people receive collectable) • Events in the Jr. Jays Club Zones from 11:00am-‐2:30pm (including during first half of the

game) • Batting practice 12:00pm-‐1:00pm • National anthem (sung by Rookie League children’s charity) 1:00pm • Game begins at 1:07pm • Game ends (time depending). Roger Centre workers have up to two hours to clean

stadium

There are varied food and beverage stands throughout the stadium. The multiple stations will allow there not be overcrowding around the Dome. There are also Rogers Centre workers who walk through the stands selling snacks, pop, water, and beer. This will allow people to get food in the comfort of their seats, again, controlling the flow around the stadium.

The Jr. Jays zones will be spread out throughout the stadium. Volunteers will operate these stations offering face painting and other activities. There will be a Jr. Jays Zone on each level to prevent overcrowding


Numbers: Target/Demographic

The target audience and demographics for the Blue Jays Home Opener event include a variety of audiences such as families, children from the Rookie League Foundation, and also the general public.

For this annual and popular event we are estimating approximately 48,000 people to attend, including the children from the Toronto Blue Jays Rookie League Foundation. This highly anticipated event for all Blue Jays fans is family-‐oriented and offers a great day filled with baseball, exciting entertainment, and even the potential to win an opportunity play catch with your favorite Blue Jays player.

The overall vision for this event is very family-‐oriented and we are specifically aiming to attract parents with children. As well, this year’s Blue Jays Home Opener event is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the Toronto Blue Jays Rookie League Foundation. This foundation is dedicated to providing safe, fun, and engaging summers for children living in Toronto community housing. The goal for all volunteers and donors working for this foundation is to provide these children with a chance to learn the importance of team work and co-‐operation through the interactive and fun aspects of baseball.

These underprivileged children from the Rookie League Foundation will be transported by bus to the home opener where they will be able to participate in a variety of fun and interactive games along with the other Jr. Jays club members and other Blue Jays fans. The Rookie League attendees will also get to watch the game from the Blue Jays clubhouse VIP box.

In order to successfully raise awareness about the Blue Jays Home Opener for all of our target audiences, we are implementing and creating two commercials that will be aired on television in the months leading up to the Blue Jays Home Opener. Furthermore, we will also have an early-‐bird Jr. Jays sign-‐up and sleepover the night before the big game, where families are able to enjoy a night sleeping on the Blue Jays field, along with entertainment and food supplied by Boston Pizza.

We anticipate this annual event to run smoothly and for our target number of attendees to be reached. Our goal is to create a memorable experience for all attendees and to make this exciting event family-‐oriented and educational in regards to learning about the Blue Jays Rookie League Foundation and how families and Blue Jays fans can donate to this Toronto-‐based community foundation.


Location: Challenges/Uniqueness

The leading advantage of hosting any event at the Rogers Centre is its ideal location. The stadium is located in the heart of Toronto, allowing the venue to be easily accessible. Whether one is driving or taking public transportation, it is easy to find your way to the Rogers Centre.

The stadium itself is quite spacious; the entire development takes up about 12 acres worth of land. The field level alone is about 143,000 square feet so there is plenty of space if one is looking into hosting any number of events at the Rogers Centre. The Rogers Centre hosts many concerts and other sporting events, besides the Blue Jays.

There are five levels within the stadium, allowing it to hold over 48,000 people. This makes the Rogers Centre an ideal venue for sports games, concerts, car shows, etc. In addition to the many concession stands and beer vendors, there are also four restaurants inside the Rogers Centre. Visitors have plenty to choose from if they get hungry.

The Rogers Centre is conveniently located right next to the CN Tower. When the roof at the Rogers Centre is open, visitors have a beautiful overview of the tower while enjoying the event; it adds to the experience.

The Rogers Centre is also one of the most accessible venues for guests with disabilities. All washrooms, seating levels, and restaurants are fully reachable. The building’s elevators are equipped with audio signals, raised control panels, and digital floor indicators. The stadium has recently increased the number of seating locations for guests with disabilities and has also designated one gate as a special needs entrance. Fans with special needs can get in and out of the building with ease.

The big drawback to this venue is the parking. While there are two parking areas available within the building, visitors do have to pay. They may not enjoy paying additional money just for parking after having paid for the event. Those who choose to park outside the venue also have to pay as all lots can be used only after visitors have made a payment.

Another drawback is the city’s busy atmosphere. At times it is tough to make your way through the city due to the sheer amount of people density. Visitors may not enjoy dealing with the crowds.


Contracts & Permits Due to the fact that the Rogers Centre is the location for this event and all the Blue Jays home games, many permits are already set in place with the venue prior to the game day. Liquor and vending permits are renewed on a yearly basis with the restaurants, food vendors, and booths set up within the dome of the Rogers Centre. Since our pre-‐event (Jr. Jays sleepover) will include outside food coming into the venue, we will need to make sure that any contracts with the outside vendors (in this case, Boston Pizza) are filled out and filed, and any regulations within the Rogers Centre are followed. The city, although already aware that stadium lights will be on past dark, needs to be made aware that the lights will stay on past normal times, potentially all night for the Jr. Jays sleepover. Due to the dome being quite large, we are not considering noise a factor for the pre-‐game event. Parking permits will need to be made available in designated lots for parents attending the sleepover with their children and leaving their cars parked overnight. Parents will need to be aware that parking fees for game day still apply. For all Rookie League members, waivers will need to be signed at least two weeks prior to the event to allow for transportation to and from the Rogers Centre. We will also need contracts filled out to allow us to use the Rogers Centre the night before the home game for the specific period of time for the sleepover. The Blue Jays, as well as the Rogers Centre, will supply security for the venue and players. Any volunteers we bring on, or extra security bodies, will need to sign waivers and emergency contact forms.


Staging/AV/Lighting As mentioned before, the venue we are holding most of our event in is the Rogers Centre, home to the Blue Jays for decades. Due to this fact, most AV, lighting, and staging will already be taken care of for the event. The lights will be operated from within. Making sure the Rogers Centre knows the lighting requirements for the pre-‐event is important. In the morning, the dome can be opened, as weather permits, and there will be no need for lights throughout the dome, only off field. Due to the fact that we do not know the weather at this point of time, we have requested Rogers Centre to keep the lights on all night before and all day during the game. As well, we have requested that heating be kept on for the comfort of our guests. Our plan is to have music playing throughout the stadium the night before at our event, and the day of the game. Rogers Centre already does this for Blue Jays games. We will need a few microphones that the Rogers Centre will supply, and we will need access to the big screen to play commercials, player spotlights, and entertainment shows for the kids. We will be working with the Rogers Centre to make sure all of this is available to us at our own disposal. During the day of the event, our entertainment will be scattered throughout the stadium. Therefore, we will not need any specific staging other than tables, booths, and any other requirements that each entertainer will let us know of one month before the event.


Food & Beverage The Rogers Centre already hosts a numerous amount of food and drink vendors in the facility. Such vendors include Pizza Pizza, Hogtown Grill, Shopsy’s, along with others. Outside food and beverage is not allowed in the stadium at any time. We will be working with the Rogers Centre to change this for our pre-‐event sleepover for the Jr. Jay’s kids. Boston Pizza is a primary sponsor for the Jr. Jays. Therefore, we will be working with them to cater the sleepovers dinner. We will be asking them to bring different kinds of pizza to the event, and will work with any child or parent that this does not satisfy. Prior to the event, we will email each Jr. Jays attendee and ask their three pizza preferences, allergies, and any other concerns or information beneficial to serving food. The night of the sleepover we will also have popcorn, snacks, and drinks (water, juice, pop) available to the attendees. Cups, utensils, tables, plates, and other serving essentials will be considered in our budget. Garbage bins will be set up around the stadium to keep the stadium mess-‐free, and janitorial staff will be notified to come in early to clean the field from any garbage before the game. The Jays girls will help serve food for the sleepover, as well as any volunteers that we have recruited. No alcoholic drinks will be allowed in the stadium for this pre-‐event. Security will be checking to make sure this is not an issue. The day of the event, breakfast will be served for those parents and children who spent the night. It will take place off field in the dome at one of the restaurants in the facility. At this time, no one in the dome will be allowed back on the field, as cleaners will prepare for the event. Breakfast will consist of muffins, bagels, fruit, cereal cups, oatmeal, granola bars, juice, coffee, milk, and water. Tim Horton’s will be supplying a majority of the breakfast food. Special food requests for this will be taken at the same time as for the sleepover. Lunch will not be served, as the dome will open around 11:30 and food can be purchased in the stadium at this time. Each food and drink vendor is located in different areas of the stadium to get people moving and maintain the flow of traffic within the stadium. The Rogers Centre will work with these vendors. Rogers Centre employees will also be circulating through the seats serving snacks and refreshments during the game.


Invitations & Media

To raise public awareness of the Jays home opener event, our organization can use media channels which target the publics needed to fulfill the objectives of our event. The objectives include raising the profile of the organization’s Rookie League and Jr. Jays club as a means of engaging families. Targeted media tactics would engage the existing members of the Jr. Jays club and their families, as well as potential registrants. Registration for the Jr. Jays club will be encouraged prior to the event. Our organization can build awareness of the club via social media messages. The organization can deploy its current social media platforms, included in the Social Media Clubhouse, to generate awareness surrounding the benefits of early registration into the Jr. Jays club. Message tactics should begin in the New Year to encourage families to register their children in time for spring and the opening season of the Blue Jays. Messages can be paired with visual aids, including photographs from last season’s Jr. Jays club, to create visual appeal.

As the opening game approaches, messages will communicate the advantages of our early-‐bird registration as well as game day registration. Early-‐bird registration messages will build awareness regarding the opportunity children will receive to camp on the Rogers Centre field the night before the Home Opener. Additionally, new registrants will enjoy the benefits of the Jr. Jays club pack, which includes free team merchandise, a membership card, and a free subscription to the ACE newsletter. Pre-‐existing registrants and their families, will also receive electronic invitations via e-‐mail, which they will provide upon registration. Invitations will communicate the events that will take place the night before the opening game, in addition to the game day for Jr. Jay’s members.

For families with no registered children, invitations can be sent via the electronic newsletter subscription service. Using this channel, all fans who maintain accounts on the organization’s website can be reached to help multiply registrant numbers.

In addition to targeting the families of fans through social media channels, the organization aims to create a television advertising campaign, which communicates the importance of baseball as a family-‐oriented sport. The advertising campaign will be aired in the New Year via television networks, which receive funding from Rogers Communications. Furthermore, subscribers of the online newsletter will receive links to the Social Media Clubhouse, as well as the Blue Jays YouTube channel, to keep message tactics aligned, integrated, and positioned to drive traffic.


Staffing & Volunteers

To minimize staffing costs for the event, our management team will recruit volunteers from within the Jays current charitable initiative programs, including Rookie League. These volunteers are already informed and aware of the Jays franchise and will have valuable knowledge for the event day, which external volunteers would require training for. Volunteers for the event day will be recruited through the partnering charitable organizations. Volunteers must be the age of 16 or older to participate and we would require approximately 50 of them to carry out various activities, including helping with the set-‐up and tear-‐down of the Jr. Jays’ pre-‐game camp-‐out on the field. In addition, volunteers would be responsible for face-‐painting and assisting with the Rookie League singing of the national anthem prior to the first pitch.

Volunteer training costs will be kept to a minimum as well because internal volunteers are already familiar with the franchise; however, a volunteer training session will occur approximately two weeks prior to the event day. During this session, event management staff will train volunteers about the various activities they will be participating in, including: face painting, pre-‐game entertainment and inflatables. For example, we require approximately 18 volunteers for four-‐hour face painting shifts.

Volunteers, along with Rogers Centre staff will be provided with a contract which outlines company details, contact information as well as emergency contact information. These people will also be trained in proper crisis protocol, in the event an emergency occurs. A sample table of possible crisis situations, or risk assessment plan, will be provided for volunteers to refer to. The risk assessment plan will be part of the volunteer training manual designed by event staff. Volunteer training sessions should take place in the evening for no more than four hours. Refreshments and pizza will be provided.

Training staff will keep record of all volunteers registered for the event day. Organizers must maintain a registration list as well as a function sheet which tracks trained volunteers (they must sign-‐in during their training session) as well as where volunteers will be stationed during the event and during which times. A function sheet serves its purpose very similarly with a timetable or volunteer schedule.

Volunteers must be provided with instructions during the event day. They will have a private entrance and private room where they can sit, prepare and enjoy refreshments. They will be required to wear provisional event-‐specific clothing to ensure they are recognizable.


Following the event, a message strategy, which thanks volunteers, will be sent through personal email, which was provided through registration. These internal messages must reach volunteers no later than two days after the event.

Though volunteers will comprise the greater portion of staffing during the opener game, there will be a need for paid, trained administrative staff, including event organizers and training staff, to be present during the event. In addition, security personnel will be required on every floor as well as main entrances to ensure proper administration of safety and crowd control. These employees will be organized through the Rogers Centre, as they supply the staffing for all game days.

Vendors & Suppliers

For the seasonal home opener event the Rogers Centre will utilize its current partnerships with food vendors. These are outlined in an interactive food map on the Blue Jays website.

Current vending contracts will need to be reviewed by event organizers to determine whether they meet provisional standards. External food vendors will not be sought for the game day event.

Merchandise and memorabilia vendors are also currently established within the Rogers Centre. Inexpensive licensed merchandise will be considered in the event planning budget to reward early-‐bird registrants of the Jr. Jays.

Additional licensed merchandise will be taken into account for prize give-‐aways during the event. Jerseys, baseballs, bats, stuffed ACE toys and kids’ T-‐shirts will be awarded and the expected costs are outlined in the budget table.

To minimize costs, event organizers will purchase prizes, such as stuffed ACE toys, at a wholesale price from a low-‐cost supplier. The franchise already has pre-‐existing contracts with suppliers and manufacturers including Rawlings, Wincraft and Forever Collectibles. Plush toys currently available through the official online shop are all manufactured by Forever Collectibles. A cheaper wholesale distributor, such as MS Teddy Bear, located in California, United States, can supply approximately 70,000 stuffed ACE’s to accommodate our prize budget of $7,000. Outstanding prizes, including baseballs, bats, jerseys and kids’ T-‐shirts, will be supplied by manufacturers who currently uphold contracts with the Jays’ retail franchise.

Purchase orders for low-‐cost supplies should be fulfilled approximately two months in advance of early-‐bird registration.


Activities and events will require external suppliers during the event, including balloon, inflatables, helium tanks and streamer suppliers. Costs will be minimal, as the Blue Jays already own these supplies through the Jr. Jays Club.

Inflatable and helium tank rentals can be secured approximately one week in advance of the event day.

Evaluation: Methods of Debrief

In order to determine the success of the 2013 Blue Jays Home Opener, the event will be evaluated in a few different ways.

The first way to determine whether the focus on children was successful is to determine whether the Jr. Jays club memberships have increased from previous years. This can be tallied from early-‐bird registration, pre-‐game registration, as well as day-‐of registration. This can also be evaluated by watching social media channels, creating media lists to view whether local media has covered this, and by sending surveys to previous Jr. Jays club members to see why or why not they will be rejoining.

The second method of evaluation is by tallying the amount of money that was raised for Rookie League. A portion of the Home Opener profits will be going to the foundation; as well there will be collection bins throughout the stadium at the Jr. Jays zones. The volunteers who are face-‐painting will donate tips, and other services that are offered through the Jr. Jays zones will be donated as well. The success can also be evaluated by determining whether or not the event created community awareness of the foundation. If Rookie League sees an increase in post-‐event donations, then the event was successful in this sense.

The third and final method of evaluation will be the attendance number of all the fans at the event. If the Rogers Centre sells more pre-‐event tickets than previous years and the attendance is greater this determines the promotions were successful. If there are visibly more children, the family focus was effective as well. The goal is to sell as many tickets as possible, if the stadium seats are completely sold out, the event promotions hit the appropriate audiences to act upon the event.


References

MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2012). Official Online Shop of the Toronto Blue Jays, The.

<http://www.jaysshop.ca>

MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2012). Rogers Centre Amenities Map.

<http://mlb.mlb.com/ballparks/stadium_maps.jsp?c_id=tor>

MS Teddy Bear, Inc. (2012). Wholesale Teddy Bears.

<http://www.msteddybear.us>

Prompt charters. (n.d.). Prompt Charters. Retrieved on November 20th, 2012 from http://www.promptcharters.com/rates.html

Rogers Centre. (2009). Fun Facts and Figures. Retrieved from http://www.rogerscentre.com/about/facts.jsp

Rogers centre. (2009). Rogers Centre. Retrieved on November 20th, 2012 from http://www.rogerscentre.com/about/facts.jsp

Toronto Blue Jays. (2012). Jr. jays club . Retrieved from http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/fan_forum/jr_jays_club.jsp

Toronto Blue Jays. (2012). Jr. jays Saturdays presented by Boston Pizza. Retrieved on November 20th, 2012 from http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120516&content_id=31445302&vkey=pr_tor&c_id=tor

Toronto Blue Jays. (2012). Rookie League. Retrieved on November 20th, 2012 from http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/community/rookie_league.jsp

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