Mn+Wild+Case+Final

  1 

Joseph Moses wrote this case under the supervision of Professors Ravi Bapna and Norman Chervany  originally for the 2012 CoMIS Case Competition. Content is a hybrid of historical fact and fiction  designed for instructional purposes only and is not intended to illustrate effective or ineffective  handling of managerial situations by anyone named in the case.   Copyright 2012, Carlson School of Management 

Social Media Strategy   for the Minnesota Wild 

“We see ourselves in a social media leadership position and we want to keep it that way. Now is the time to dig even deeper into the potential of social media to increase Wild ticket sales and engage fans and sponsors with our brand.” —John Maher, Vice President of Brand Marketing and Communications

The trend started in the 2009-10 season. John Maher, Vice President of Brand Marketing and Communications for Minnesota Wild hockey, was in his office in the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul analyzing recent sales data. That’s when he saw something he hadn’t seen in his ten years with the franchise: season-ticket sales were falling. In the world of professional sports franchises, slumps in season-ticket sales mean more than empty seats; advertisers look at ticket sales because high numbers mean wide reach for their marketing messages, and when ticket sales—especially season ticket sales—start falling, sponsors take their ad dollars elsewhere. In the Twin Cities sports market, sponsors had plenty to choose from. Four major professional franchises call Minnesota home: Minnesota Timberwolves (National Basketball Association— NBA), Minnesota Twins (Major League Baseball—MLB), Minnesota Vikings (National Football League—NFL), and Minnesota Wild (National Hockey League—NHL). The University of Minnesota’s Big Ten hockey, football, and basketball teams compete for fan and advertising dollars. John called in Director of Finance Mitch Helgerson and explained what he saw. “We can’t very well sit back and blame the...