"Dodgers Brand Slammed" by Daniel Guss
The Azul sings the blues as it discovers capitalism isn't always a home run
@TheGussReport - Until a few weeks ago, few institutions in Southern California had a stronger brand than the Los Angeles Dodgers, except perhaps the late legend himself, Vin Scully.
But make no mistake, this emotional embrace of the boys in blue is pure one-sided capitalism.
The team’s live TV broadcasts are still not widely available despite Eric Garcetti’s failed promise (shocker!) to remedy a distributor fee impasse a decade ago. New styles of team gear, like those moronic monochromatic jerseys that hide player names and uniform numbers, are just eye-catching in-game marketing. And parking lot tailgating parties are banned not because of safety, space or cleanliness, but because after paying as much as $50 for the shortest walk to your seats, you’re a captive audience that they want to sell a 24-ounce Modelo Especial for $16.50 that you can get from the store for $4, or so I am told. ;-)
Even going to their website, they put “cookies” on your device to secretly gather your personal information, like where else you click, and sell it for big bucks unless you explicitly tell them to not do that. That’s why after visiting https://www.mlb.com/dodgers, you will soon get pop-ups for ticket brokers, gambling websites and anything they can discern from your online activity.
If the Dodgers could get you to buy oxygen, they would immediately work on its pricing model, with an additional fee for added fragrance.
The team’s business analysts, like those at all businesses, know precisely what is the maximum amount they can charge for everything they sell, before just one cent more in price turns off buyers, i.e. optimizing their profit by optimizing you.
But oh how that blind greed recently - and perhaps permanently - slammed the team’s brand like Juan Marichal did to John Roseboro in 1965.
In marketing its well-intentioned and inclusive LGBTQ pride celebration, the team’s aforementioned business analysts dropped the ball in failing to weigh whether every honoree, like each and every other item it markets, could stir controversy.
Specifically, the Dodgers business analysts whiffed on foreseeing how honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which is a bonafide non-profit, might offend Catholics, in particular, in a deeply Latino region, and others, like those behind other current and high-profile boycotts of AB InBev’s Bud Light and Target have quickly cost each company’s shareholders tens of billions of dollars in market cap.
It’s as though they never read the major business headlines.
Then, the team’s business pros balked at the backlash of disinviting the Sisters before the Angels invited them, resulting in the Dodgers re-inviting them; an around-the-horn double play pissing off everyone they squeeze for every dime, every day and every click.
The team should stick to hawking $6.99 bottles of Smartwater and something called a Herradura Dodgerita Souvenir Glove Shaker Double Shot Cocktail for $26.99 (sales tax not included).
Whatever that is.
Those who do subscribe to the live broadcasts may consider doing as the Dodgers do: re-brand their living rooms as a private club suite with reserved parking, exclusive catering, and much cleaner private restrooms.
There’s no restriction on tailgating, either.
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(Daniel Guss, MBA, is nominated for four ‘23 LA Press Club journalism awards. He is City Editor for the Mayor Sam network, and has been a featured contributor for CityWatchLA, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, KCRW 89.9 FM, KRLA 870 AM, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star-News, Los Angeles Downtown News and the Los Angeles Times in its sports, opinion, entertainment and Sunday Magazine sections among other publishers.)