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Super Bowl Marketing Bargain

Sharon Osgood, left, celebrates with boyfriend Dan Briggs, his daughter Amber Briggs and friend Andrea Gezelle, after Ticketmaster CEO Nathan C. Hubbard gifted Osgood four free Super Bowl XLVII tickets Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, at the NFL Ticket Exchange headquarters at the Sheraton New Oreleans Hotel in New Orleans, La. (Photo Credit: Jane Tyska/MercuryNews.com) Sharon Osgood, left, celebrates with boyfriend Dan Briggs, his daughter Amber Briggs and friend Andrea Gezelle, after Ticketmaster CEO Nathan C. Hubbard gifted Osgood four free Super Bowl XLVII tickets Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, at the NFL Ticket Exchange headquarters at the Sheraton New Oreleans Hotel in New Orleans, La. (Photo Credit: Jane Tyska/MercuryNews.com)

Lessons learned:

#1 Don’t wire money to people you don’t know.
#2 People will take advantage of you when they can.
#3 Take every opportunity to build your good reputation.

 You’ve probably heard about the 49ers fan that bought four Super Bowl tickets from a Ravens fan on Craigslist. She paid almost six grand (yes, $5,900) for a note (with the word “go” mispelled) that mocked her team. No tickets; just the note. Ouch!

It’s a news story. The Mercury News reported on Sharon Osgood’s misfortune and the wire services picked it up. It went national. Regardless of whom you cheered for in Sunday’s game, you have to feel some empathy for the fan that got taken.

Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard heard about the story and made a generous, and savvy move. He gave the woman tickets to the game and arranged breakfast with a former NFL player.

Related Article: Customer Service is Key

It was a smart move.

The story — that’s getting national attention — not only pulls at your heartstrings for the poor woman’s naïvete, but, and more importantly for Ticketmaster, it puts Ticketmaster in a good light. The reader automatically thinks, “Man, you gotta be careful. The next time I need tickets to something I’m going to go to Ticketmaster — definitely not Craigslist.”

Ticketmaster’s generosity created public perception that 1) they are good citizens and 2) they are a reputable business. For just under six grand, that’s an excellent marketing bargain.

Read 2483 times Last modified on Tuesday, 01 July 2014 23:13
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