Fans Brave the New Stadium

While at SparkSouth this past Friday, I sat in on the keynote speech about the social media marketing that went into the opening of SunTrust Park, the new home of the Atlanta Braves. The marketing team did a great job of promoting the new stadium and addressing concerns that fans had about the new stadium. Being from Atlanta, I was very aware of all of the concerns and complaints that came along with the move from Turner Field to SunTrust Park, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well the Braves' marketing team handled all of these issues.

One of the examples shown in the keynote speech about how they addressed fan concerns was a video about the parking matter. Fans were rightfully worried about where to park when attending a Braves game, especially since Cobb County seems to have less parking than downtown Atlanta. The Braves released a video poking fun at how fans were focused on parking more than they were on baseball. The video featured Allen Iverson at a press conference fielding questions about parking at the new stadium to which he responded, "Parking? The best franchise in all of baseball and we're in here talking about parking?", showing that the Braves had of course considered that issue and had already solved it before it became a problem. This video was posted on the Braves' Facebook page and was shared by fans, making the promotion of this video completely free. People also loved the humor of the video, prompting it to get liked and shared even more, which both promoted the Braves and shared information about the new stadium.

SunTrust Park has over 14,000 parking spots in addition to an Uber lot that is just for dropping off and picking up fans. In order to park at SunTrust Park, fans must purchase a parking pass for a specific lot before arriving to the game, unlike at Turner Field where you could just show up and pay a parking attendant to park in a lot. This has made parking easier and more efficient, especially with the fact that parking has now been streamlined and is linked to your phone with a digital parking pass.

The Braves' marketing team anticipated the concerns of fans, listened to new concerns, and addressed these concerns before the doors of SunTrust Park even opened. This made the opening of SunTrust Park more enjoyable for fans, since they knew all of their worries had been considered. Fans were able to focus on the game instead of worrying about parking and other issues that usually come with a new stadium. Through the promotion of the parking video, the Braves were able to address concerns, share the answers to frequently asked questions, and also promote the Braves and the new stadium. All of this cost the Braves very little, but the return was immense, prompting happy customers who will continue to return to SunTrust Park.