Reaching New Fans And The Community

The NBA’s world champion Chicago Bulls looked to the future and saw the day when Michael Jordan, the world’s greatest basketball player, would retire. Would the Bulls still be Chicago’s most popular sports team or would fans lose interest in attending home games and end the streak of season-after-season sell-outs?

Team management with PCI designed a broad marketing plan to strengthen the relationship with committed season-ticket holders and reach out to the casual or potential fans who could become ticket-hungry converts.

The Bulls worked with PCI for 12 years - through the Jordan era and in the several years after he retired - on a program designed to reach potential fans directly and through media coverage. The program focused on the Bulls organization’s commitment to Chicago, the good works of its charitable arm, CharitaBulls, and its outreach through special events.

PCI positioned the Bulls as a caring and involved organization. A compelling expression of this commitment was communicated by Bob Love, a Bulls superstar who, after his basketball career ended, overcame a severe stuttering problem and worked his way from busing tables at a Seattle corporation dining room to the position of Bulls community services director. Love was reintroduced to Chicago, and became sought after as a fluent and inspiring speaker with a strong pro-education and anti-drug message aimed at children. His story and appearances were heavily covered by media.

CharitaBulls also was widely covered by local and national news organizations for its $1 million donation to renovate the city’s ark district basketball courts; its auctions, galas and food drives;  donations that benefited the team’s Near West Side neighborhood – especially a $4 million commitment to build the James Jordan Boys & Girls Club; and the Bulls Scholars program, developed with the Chicago Public Schools to help middle school students prepare for high school with extra instruction in English and math.

PCI built a traveling exhibit showcasing the varied services provided by CharitaBulls donations for display at games and fundraising events so fans and potential fans could see firsthand the contributions of the team.

PCI also became involved with the closing of the Bulls home court, the historic but decrepit Chicago Stadium, and the opening of its new, modern home, the United Center. By making it clear that the stadium was literally rat infested and beyond repair, Chicagoans were able to accept its demise and welcome the new arena. PCI generated support and excitement for the United Center through constant updates on construction progress, publicizing the venue’s state-of-the-art facilities and publicizing the care the Bulls were taking in assuring good and comparable seating for all former ticket holders in the new facility. The team’s commitment to providing jobs for people from the surrounding community, building quality replacement housing for those who were displaced by the new arena and joining local organizers in attracting new businesses to the area received local and national attention.

Before and after the Bulls moved to their new home, the team kept interest in basketball high during the off-season with the Shoot-the-Bull 3 on 3 Classic basketball tournament each summer in Grant Park. PCI helped grow the event into one of Chicago’s most popular summer festivals with much more to offer than just watching the 10,000 street basketball players. Fans could come and meet Bulls players and broadcasters, participate in clinics for children, win contests and enjoy good food and music. Attendance and participation grew annually.

Community relations, marketing communications and special event support annually resulted in  400 to 500 print and broadcast placements, primarily appearing in the non-sports sections and programs that reach 130 to 150 million people who might never have seen coverage of the Bulls if it appeared only on the sports pages.

Media relations for Bob Love and CharitaBulls resulted in an escalating number of requests for a Bulls presence at speaking engagements and charity events. Love’s appearances on ABC-TV’s “20/20,” NBC-TV’s “Today,” CNN and USA Today resulted in more than 10,000 phone calls to the Stuttering Foundation of America’s hotline where he referred people for more information.

The program also included damage control and issues management, when necessary. For example, PCI provided counsel and media relations coordination when the winner of the team’s Million Dollar Shot promotion was declared ineligible by the promotion’s underwriter and he was nearly denied his $1 million prize – a situation that was quickly reversed.

Smaller issues also were important and managed carefully. For example, PCI responded to a negative article by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, who questioned the value of the LuvaBulls dance team that performs at Bulls games by securing two separate interviews with LuvaBulls members on Roeper’s radio show, allowing them to explain the squad’s entertainment value at Bulls games and discuss their community service. In addition, a positive feature on a LuvaBulls team captain was secured in Roeper’s own paper.
The ultimate value and success of the program was judged by season ticket holder retention and new fans coming on board. Market research monitored community attitudes about the team and media coverage was evaluated for tone and content. Games regularly sell out regardless of team performance and the Bulls continue to be a favored Chicago team with a stellar history and a promising future.