Field office posters for our professional baseball promotions, left to right: (1) Free Boise Hawks Tickets (2) Colorado Rockies Fly Away (3) Free Idaho Falls Chukars Tickets (4) Kansas City Royals Fly Away

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By Mike Myers

2018 marked the 14th consecutive season that Minor League Baseball’s (MiLB) teams drew in more than 40 million fans. The Boise Hawks reached their highest season attendance figure in 18 years last season and have increased season attendance by 44 percent the last four seasons. In Idaho Falls, the Chukars surpassed the 100,00 fan mark last year for the first time since the inaugural year of Melaleuca Field in 2007.

 

As the number of Hawks and Chukars fans grows, so does the popularity of our sponsorships with the teams. Last year, Farm Bureau members took advantage of over 1,100 free member benefit Hawks and Chukars tickets. Our Fly Away contests with the Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals – the Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate teams of the Hawks and Chukars, respectively – debuted in 2018 and generated several hundred warm leads for agents.

 

For all these reasons and more, we’re excited to announce the return of our Hawks and Chukars sponsorships in 2019. The game plan for what we hope to accomplish with these MiLB sponsorships in 2019 is outlined below.

 

BRANDING

Our MiLB sponsorships help us break through a cluttered marketplace and put us in front of a market that’s a good fit for Farm Bureau. Our association with these teams raises our brand’s profile and helps people see us in a new light.

 

BUILDING EXCITEMENT AND RELATIONSHIPS

Sports create excitement, and our MiLB sponsorships put Farm Bureau at the heart of the excitement by offering our customers free tickets to the games. These sponsorships can also serve as a point of allegiance between you and your customers and prospects.

 

BENEFITS OF BELONGING

By creating a sense of belonging to something that goes beyond insurance, our member benefits can turn current customers into loyal clients. Member benefits like the free tickets can also be leveraged as a tool for turning prospects into customers. One Farm Bureau agent in North Idaho said, “Besides rates, number two on my prospects’ list for purchasing from me are the free sports ticket promotions.”

 

HOW FARM BUREAU MEMBERS GET THEIR TICKETS

To receive two free tickets to Hawks and Chukars home games, Farm Bureau members simply show their proof of membership (a current Farm Bureau membership card or current auto liability slip) at the teams’ ticket office. The free Hawks tickets are available throughout the season. Free Chukars tickets are available during the entire month of August.

 

FLY AWAY CONTESTS FOR LEAD GENERATION

Customers and non-customers can enter to win Fly Away trips to see the Colorado Rockies and 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals play. These contests give Hawks and Chukars fans the rare opportunity to see the MLB counterparts of their favorite MiLB teams in action. The contests’ MLB tie-in and the high profiles of the Rockies and Royals should also generate major-league excitement about the contests.

 

For the Rockies Fly Away, one person and a guest will win a trip to see two Colorado Rockies home games at Coors Field in Denver against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 28 and 29. This prize package also includes airfare, hotel accommodations, transportation to and from the games, and a Boise Hawks and Farm Bureau Insurance co-branded gift basket.

 

The winners of the Royals Fly Away will see two Kansas City Royals home games at Kauffman Stadium against the Houston Astros on September 13 and 14.  This prize package also includes airfare, hotel accommodations, transportation to and from the games, and gift cards for food and Royals merchandise.

 

The two contests will allow us to collect data via online entry forms from Hawks and Chukars fans throughout the season while also generating agent leads.

 

HOW FLY AWAY LEADS ARE DISTRIBUTED

• Entries from non-customers will be routed by the Sales department to agents based on the prospect’s Zip Code.

• Entries from current Farm Bureau customers will be routed by the Sales department to the entrant’s current agent.

  • Entrants may already be Farm Bureau customers but could select an option on the entry form requesting information about a product they don’t currently have with us. For example, a customer with auto insurance may request on the form to be contacted about home insurance. The Sales department will verify the entrant does not have the product they’re requesting to be contacted about before forwarding any leads. If the entrant is a customer and already has the product, the lead will not be forwarded.

• For complete Fly Away contest details, visit the landing pages at:

  • www.hawkscontest.com

  • www.chukarscontest.com

• The contests’ details are subject to change.

 

AGENT MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES

• Boise Hawks Agent Nights

  • Our Boise Hawks contract includes three opportunities during the season for agents to set up a display on Memorial Stadium’s main concourse to interact with fans.

  • These opportunities / games / dates will be mutually agreed upon between Farm Bureau Insurance and the Hawks.

  • The display space is 10’ x 10’, big enough for one of our backdrops or outdoor tents.

  • Agents can interact with fans, pass out information, and register fans for the Fly Away with the Colorado Rockies contest throughout the game from their concourse display.

  • Fans will be directed to stop by the Farm Bureau Insurance display on the main concourse via at least two PA announcements during the games.

  • If you’re interested in taking advantage of one (or all three) of these agent nights, please contact Mike Myers in the Sales department at mmyers@idfbins.com or extension 4276.

• Live Fly Away Winner Drawings

  • The Fly Away contests’ winners will be drawn live at a Hawks and Chukars home game the last week of August.

  • If you would like to help draw the Fly Away winners, please contact Mike Myers in the Sales department at mmyers@idfbins.com or extension 4276.

• Facebook and Email Campaigns

  • The Fly Aways and free member benefit tickets will be promoted on Facebook, Google AdWords, the public website, through email campaigns, at the stadiums, on the teams’ social media sites, and with posters at the field offices (coming soon).

  • If you would like to send your own emails to clients about the Fly Away contests or free tickets, please contact Ashley Pope in the Sales department at apope@idfbins.com or extension 4396.

  • Don’t forget to share the corporate Facebook posts about the baseball promotions on your Facebook page.

 

For more information about our MiLB sponsorships, contact Mike Myers in Sales at mmyers@idfbins.com or extension 4276.

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MARKETING TOOLS