Chuck-a-Puck Sequential Numbering
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Scott Sproat of the Fort Wayne Fury
I first met Scott Sproat in 1990 when he was a first year employee of the Fort Wayne Fury (CBA). Scott has been a great personal and business friend ever since.
Scott has a tremendous mind for sports marketing. His forward thinking and sharp execution has certainly been instrumental in the growth and success of the Fury and the Komets.
Scott is also a long time supporter of this web site and it is a pleasure to finally feature him in the Monthly Interview. Scott joins us to discuss how to freshen up and enhance a Chuck-It promotion.
Gameops.com: Let's start with you, give us a thumbnail of your background.
Scott Sproat: I spent 10 years in the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) with the Fort Wayne Fury in Indiana. After that I joined the Fort Wayne Komets of the UHL. I was head water boy in both places.
Scott Sproat: That depends on the deal. Many are cash sponsors as well, so you could say we generate more revenue from them since this is part of their sponsorship package that motivates them to spend the money. Chuck-a-Puck may encourage them to spend a little more with us and round out their package.
In the end, it's another great reason to come to our game, so the revenue is a bonus.
For us, we also want to find new ways and new prizes to keep the fans interested. We don't want them to get complacent and think "Oh wow, Chuck-a-Puck, we haven't see this since last Friday." We want it to remain interesting for the fans.
Gameops.com: We touched on this a bit earlier, but you think this concept can work in any sport?
Scott Sproat: I really do, in fact I think one place it may work best is in baseball. Mix in some indemnification to the mix and the chance at really big prizes and people will be lining up no matter what sport you are talking about.
I see Chuck-a-Puck as a great vehicle to add some excitement. The days of doing this promotion where you just put half the puck sales as the prize may be gone, although that may still work in some markets. It depends on your objectives. If you just want revenue, you can throw out some prizes with perceived value like autographed jerseys or sticks. If you really want to create an event and add to the event experience, then I think the bigger the better with prizes.
Gameops.com: We have the positives covered, like revenue, sponsorship inventory, and event experience. Let's talk about the potential downsides of this. What's the negative side to Chuck It promotions?
Scott Sproat: Downside, it's just one more thing that could get somebody hurt. There is that liability issue. Theoretically it's a foam puck, so you're not going to hurt somebody. But you've got people moving around, throwing things, and standing on their seats to get a better angle, so it's just one more thing that can lead to that one law suit that causes enough problems with the press that it's a pain.
It also can be a letdown. You may go all season without giving away your grand prize. That's why it's so important to have secondary prizes, so you have winners walking away every night.
The third drawback is the simple one that it just becomes too easy to do. It becomes a fall back promotion that you rely on, hockey's equivalent to basketball's shoot-out. So it can get a little stale for your fans.
Keeping it fresh is important. We are talking about building a protective suit that someone will wear out on the ice so people will throw pucks at them. We have also looked at adding a dunk tank to the Chuck-a-Puck...anything to keep it fresh and interesting.
Finally, it can be a lot of work. Numbering pucks, selling them in a timely fashion and clean up.
Chuck-A-Pucks
Quick Math: Prize Wheels
Best of 2008: The Gameops.com Review
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