I just got off the phone with my mom and dad in which I called to specifically wish my dad a happy opening day of MLB baseball. My Dad was quick to correct me that our team, The Boston Red Sox, already played two games over in Japan, so it's not really opening day. Plus the Yankees game was rained-out for today. So, there wasn't much excitement on this first day of a new season of Major League Baseball.
It's gonna be hard to beat last season's excitement. One of Boston's local retailers, Jordan's Furniture, ran a "Monster Deal" promotion last Spring in which they offered paybacks for furniture purchased if the Red Sox won the World Series. Approximately 30,000 New Englanders responded and bought sofas, dining tables, beds and mattresses between March 7 and April 16. The Red Sox went on to win the World Series so these customers ended up getting their furniture for free.
Jordan’s, the official furniture store of the Red Sox, just had a fun promotion in mind when it conceived the original idea. They took out insurance on the promotion and ran a huge ad campaign that consisted of TV, radio and print. Jordan’s was originally just focused on the traffic it would draw to the store during the promotional time frame, but they also received additional exposure with the Red Sox success.
So Jordan's is at it again this year with their "Monster Sweep" promotion which they've upped the anty a bit. They basically are offering the same rebate to consumers who purchase furniture through April 27th, but this year only if the Red Sox Sweep the World Series, which means they have to win it in the first four games. You can check out the official rules here.
Also this year we have SuitePlay, a Chicago-area retailer of home entertainment furniture, who is stealing Jordan's idea from last year and running the SuitePlay! "Cubs Win, You Win" promotion. SuitePlay is offering a full rebate on all purchases made at its four stores through April 15 if the Chicago Cubs end their century-long curse and finally win the World Series this year.
"This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Cubs World Championship win against the Detroit Tigers and all of Chicagoland is hoping that the Cubs will repeat history," said Kelly Claffey, Vice President of Marketing for SuitePlay!. "We are inviting our shoppers to step up to the plate and buy furniture, games and other accessories to make their home more fun for baseball season during the promotional period. To show our team spirit, we'll pay them back for their store purchases should the Cubbies go all the way! It's a win-win for everyone!"
As a new Cubs sponsor, SuitePlay is hoping it will do for them what it did for Jordan's and pull in traffic during the promotion and create buzz throughout the season. They're running full-color ads in the Chicago Tribune, TV spots on Comcast SportsNet, radio spots on WGN, e-mail blasts as well as ads on SuitePlay’s website. A scroll on the Wrigley Field marquee is running 100 times daily and it will get on-air mentions during the first six Cubs games. Like Jordon's, SuitePlay is fully insured against potential losses.
Anyone who's read my blog over the past year knows that my dad and I are huge Red Sox fans. Yes, it would be great to see the Red Sox and the Cubs go against each other for the Championship this year. The buzz already is that the Red Sox are poised to take the number one spot in the East over the Yankees. Not sure about those Cubs though. They're opening game today against the Milwaukee Brewers just began after a rain delay the last I checked.
Anyhow it's a long season, so we all start out really hopeful. In the meantime, we have the excitement of the NCAA Final Four right in front of us and the NHL's season is winding up. Hey those Buffalo Sabres are still hanging in there and have a possibility of making the playoffs...a slight one at that, but that little bit of hope is still alive. You gotta love it.
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