Date of Publication

Fall 12-4-2017

Document Type

Undergraduate Project

Professor's Name

Katharine Burakowski

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine which, if any, promotions offered by the Red Wings had a stronger impact on motivating fans to attend games. The research question for the study focused on determining what relationship exists between promotional activities and attendance at Rochester Red Wings games. In the past, various studies have been done on broader motivational factors for minor league baseball attendance and the impact of specific promotional categories on MiLB attendance. The most important conclusions drawn from these studies were that promotions held on weekday games were more significant in raising attendance numbers, post-game fireworks were generally the most popular promotion as well as the most significant in increasing attendance, and merchandise giveaways typically had a positive and slightly less significant relationship with attendance.

To understand what relationship existed between promotions and attendance at Red Wings games, a survey with questions on various demographics and perceptions of promotional activities was distributed amongst the email database the organization possesses, and to their Facebook and Twitter followers. The sample was comprised of 3,173 individuals, who indicated that concessions discounts, fireworks, and wearable giveaways were the most influential promotions in regards to their motivation to attend games. The study also showed that those who attended 4-10 or 11-20 games on average were more influenced by promotions, the influence of promotions generally decreased with age, and women were more influenced by promotions than men. The results of this study will be valuable to the Red Wings organization when they’re creating promotion schedules in the future, as they now have ample information on how multiple different types of groups of individuals who have attended their games are influenced by the variety of promotional activities they offer.

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