How do you harness the passion and energy fans bring to sports so that it translates to sustained customer loyalty and profitable revenues? By connecting with fans in personally relevant and surprisingly authentic ways. We’ve helped set retention marketing strategy, branding, creative and employee engagement initiatives for leadership brands such as ESPN, Coca-Cola, The Minnesota Twins Baseball Club and Minnesota United FC that give our clients a distinctive competitive advantage wherever they compete.

Minnesota United FC hired Authentic to design, launch and execute an enterprise-wide guest service and employee engagement program to better prepare the organization for success in serving its fans in the opening of Allianz Field, North America’s newest soccer-specific stadium. Called Loonatics, the Minnesota United guest service program helped align the entire organization around a central guest service philosophy – Gratitude with Attitude. Improvisational actors were hired to train employees on the behavioral mindsets required to serve guests with a passion.

Employees signed a Loonatics guest service pledge card and practiced specific guest service principles to prepare for the season. Front office employees and front-line staff are recognized for going above and beyond in serving guests and each other with unique and imaginative rewards such as Loons merchandise, spa treatments and instant paid time off. Branding included a guest service playbook, recognition website, digital screens, recruitment ads, training materials and videos all designed to educate, inspire and reward employees and staff.

Since 1998, Authentic Sports Marketing has successfully helped the Minnesota Twins improve season ticket holder retention year over year. First by identifying season ticket holder wants and needs, segmenting them by value, driving and measuring their engagement so they can better understand their differences but also their buying behavior. As a result, our marketing and sales efforts to date have helped the Twins prove that more engaged season ticket holders renew their season tickets at a higher percentage than those who are less engaged. We’ve developed processes and systems to help them better allocate scarce benefits and resources.

We’ve increased the value proposition to season ticket holders through rewards, recognition and discounts that adds value to their Twins experience beyond the play on the field. And we’ve helped the Twins organization understand the lifetime value that season ticket holders bring to the company’s bottom line. Altogether, The Minnesota Twins now understand the attitudes, behaviors and habits of their best customers, and are better able to grow revenue among season ticket holders in a way that adds to margin, enhances the guest experience at Target Field and strengthens the relationship season ticket holders have with the Twins brand.

Virgin Group UK asked Authentic to help them re-design their employee engagement communications for the North American market. Branded as Virgin Tribe, the program offers Virgin employees red hot deals from Virgin companies around the world, special giveaways, thrilling competitions, volunteer opportunities, life-changing adventures and connection to their exclusive global community. Moments that money can’t buy and handy things money can buy!

Deliverables included an enrollment direct mailer with a personalized Virgin Tribe card, posters, email and website landing pages all designed to boost employee engagement and enrollment in the program. Re-designed digital and collateral communications helped increase employee enrollment in the program by 25% in the first six months. A steady diet of promotions, drawings, and offers are used to communicate with employees and sustain engagement in the program.

Authentic helped ESPN launch Total Access Rewards, the first loyalty program for members who carried the ESPN Total Access Visa Card. The goal was to drive retention and growth by recognizing their best customers across multiple ESPN properties including ESPN Online, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Zone Restaurants, and the ESPN Credit Card. The more ESPN products and services members used, the more they were rewarded.

Members earned points that could be redeemed for tangible sports items such as autographed balls, barbecue grills and apparel as well as experiential rewards such as behind the scene tours of ESPN Studios, fan tailgate parties and meet and greets with sports legends. Branding included credit card design, a member website, point of sale and welcome credentials complete with rewards that amplified members’ passion for sports.

Authentic teamed up with The Coca-Cola Company and the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) to raise awareness of community service in collegiate athletics by creating The Coca-Cola Community All-Americans program. The initiative works to recognize, celebrate and applaud student-athletes who demonstrate a commitment to community service through hands-on volunteerism and service by encouraging athletic directors, coaches, students, alumni and college sports fans to nominate student-athletes who are making a difference in their communities. Winners are selected annually.

The program provides a platform for all colleges and local Coca-Cola bottlers to actively embrace as they recognize student-athletes whose service embodies the American spirit of generosity and volunteerism. Authentic was responsible for program strategy and design, branding, advertising, website, video, collateral materials, and the annual awards presentation at the NACDA Annual Convention.  

The Coca-Cola Community All-Americans program was a part of a larger cause-brand marketing umbrella called Positive Youth Development that gives young people the motivation and tools they need to succeed in life.