Grizzlies’ catchy promotions getting recognized nationally

From “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”-themed jerseys to a complete uniform and name transformation into the Fresno Tacos, the Fresno Grizzlies keep hitting home runs with their promotions.

Picked up by media outlets throughout the country, the promotions have garnered so much response that the Fresno Triple-A club suddenly has become viewed as one of minor league baseball’s leaders in garnering national attention.

“In terms of teams likely to do things that go viral with attention and really get their name out there, the Grizzlies are certainly in the upper echelon for sure,” said Ben Hill, a writer for MiLB.com who has covered teams’ promotions and operations the past 10 years.

“They have a very good feel of how to use pop culture and they provide really great visual promotions to their ideas,” Hill said. “Not a lot of teams can or are willing to do that.”

Silly and wacky promotions are a fabric of minor league baseball. But only the ultra unique, if not risque, types generate nationwide attention and talk on ESPN or the MLB Network.

In the process, the Grizzlies have had their share of swings and misses to come up with promotions that would get fans into the downtown stadium.

There was “K-Fed” night at Chukchansi Park in 2006, a tribute to Valley native and Britney Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline. More recently, the Grizzlies tried this season to market 2017 World Series rings giveaways on “Back to the Future” night in anticipation that the parent club Houston Astros would win the World Series by then.

But within a couple of hours of making their presentation that caught national attention, the Grizzlies nixed the promotion after the Astros expressed some displeasure.

“We may have pushed it a little too far,” Grizzlies general manager Derek Franks said. “It’s kind of taboo, calling your shot like you’re Babe Ruth. You never want to be a jinx. So we agreed to pull it.

“But we’re always looking for ways to be better than what we were before, and push the envelope in a way that does not alienate others.”

The nixed “Back to the Future” promo, however, was followed by a food promo called “Frankenslice” (a hot dog in the crust of a pizza slice) that generated lots of publicity.

Franks’ philosophy is: Everything is on the table; nothing’s a bad idea, some ideas are just better; and everyone is encouraged to contribute.

Sam Hansen, the Grizzlies’ marketing director and a Visalia native who has created merchandise for hip-hop artist Kanye West, offers another take.

“We don’t sit there and think, ‘What’s going to go viral?’” Hansen said. “But what we found is that the local (audience) isn’t interested in something until it gets national. So we try to process whether a promotion would have a national appeal.

“What I would like is the Grizzlies become a brand that people all over the world come to Fresno for.”

With contacts throughout major league baseball, Grizzlies communications and marketing manager Ryan Young sends the promotions to some of the Who’s Who of baseball media coverage.

The Grizzlies’ latest promotion to change their name, logo and uniforms to the “Fresno Tacos” got writeups from the likes of ESPN, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, the Washington Post and Yahoo Sports.

ESPN SportsCenter’s photo tweet of Grizzlies pitcher Luis Cruz in a Fresno Tacos cap and jersey received more than 3,200 retweets by Wednesday evening.

Hill called it minor league baseball’s best promotion this season.

“Anyone can do a ‘Star Wars’ night and gain lots of attention, but that’s just capitalizing on pop culture,” Hill said. “This Fresno Tacos promo, it’s universal and appealing enough nationally because everyone likes tacos.

“But it’s also market specific because the tacos and taco trucks are tied to the Fresno community, culture and heritage.”

It’s debatable how much catchy promotions helps drive attendance.

The Grizzlies remain right in the middle of the Pacific Coast League in average attendance, ranking eighth out of 16 teams at 6,369 per game.

And as Hill pointed out, “Fireworks is still the bread and butter and the No. 1 promotion for any ballclub.”

But when it comes to catchy and creative, the Grizzlies appear to be at the forefront.

“We strive to set the standard for the people in the industry,” Franks said. “And I believe we’re starting to become one of those teams in the country who peers are turning to and waiting to see what we do next.

“It’s a good feeling.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Grizzlies’ catchy promotions getting recognized nationally."