I was born and raised in St. Louis. Therefore, I am a Cardinal fan.
This is not a choice. In this town, if it is discovered that you bleed any color besides Cardinal red:
- You are escorted to the edge of town, banished forever and
- your children are placed in an orphanage run by FredBird, the lovable, but persuasive Cardinal mascot.
Cardinal lovers come to the ballpark in droves, easily drawing 3 million + fans in a single season.
And it isn’t just the good citizens of St. Louis that attend. The organization has positioned its fans as members of “Cardinal Nation”, drawing loyal fans from areas like Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky. And battling with the Cubs and White Sox for fans in Southern Illinois.
It’s just brilliant marketing.
A Bird In The Bush Is Worth Two In The Hand
Albert Pujols is a god to Cardinal fans. And, for the first time, Pujols and the Cardinals are being pushed into the national limelight. Despite being the undisputed best player in baseball, his popularity has been stifled by being in the small media market of St. Louis.
But now it’s Pujols turn. Take a look at these Google numbers over the last 90 days verses the first son of the New York Yankees, Derek Jeter:
The Albert Pujols negotiations are just another example of smart marketing.
Albert will get his money.
But not before the Cardinals ownership [and marketing department] squeeze every ounce of “buzz” out of it. Anecdotally as a sports fan, I can tell you that the number of mentions that the St. Louis Cardinals are getting in the national media has skyrocketed. This is the storyline in baseball right now.
Take a look at the “interest numbers” on Google over the last 30 days, you can see that we are beginning to rival the attention-hogging New York Yankees.
While these numbers will surely cool down as we move past the initial deadline set by Pujols and his agent, the interest in the Cardinals will remain higher than usual for as long as Pujols is unsigned.
Pujols [and the Cardinals] will get a few more minutes on SportsCenter each time Pujols has a good night.
Killing The Golden Cardinal
When you sign Pujols, the story dies. There is nothing more to say. Everything goes back to normal.
No drama = no buzz.
Take a look at those Google numbers (above) for Derek Jeter. Can you guess when he signed his contract with the Yankees? December 7th.
Albert Pujols will get his money. It will likely come from the Cardinals. But signing Pujols before both him and the Cardinals take full advantage of the media frenzy, is just not smart marketing.
I would love to hear your thoughts (unless you are a Cubs fan) in the comments below. Am I way off base? Do you think the Cardinal front office is leveraging the Pujols negotiations to create marketing buzz?
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Great analysis Russ!!
@Matt Rogers — Thank you sir! I know it is a bit of a reach but it was a fun one to write.
I respectfully disagree, Russ. I don’t think its a purposeful marketing ploy by Pujols or the Cardinals ownership. I agree the buzz around this event is out of control, but I would not say it was planned. The Cardinals made their one and only offer just after the first of the year. Don’t you think ownership would have been happy as a pig in slop if Pujols agree to those terms? On Pujols’s side, he will be the highest paid player in baseball even without all this hype. My opinion is that year will be the last we see of Pujols with the birds on the bat. Good stuff, Russ!
@Kent Houston — I hope you are wrong Mr. Houston — Pujols should retire as a Cardinal. How weird will it be to see him in a different uniform?
As for it being a marketing ploy, I don’t necessarily think it was their intent but it is certainly something that would be weighed in as a benefit of not signing him — until they have milked this cow for all it is worth.
Russ I like your thought process. You are right about one thing. This is driving and will continue to drive national attention. They said camp was a circus this week with national coverage. If they were to sign Pujols for a price that made sense I agree with Kent they would have taken it. With that said they didnt so if they will be forced to go higher in price it makes sense to leverage the exposure for another half year or so. Great work.
@Kraig Ecker — Thanks Kraig. It’s a bit of a conspiracy theory to think that this was a marketing ploy from the start but I think it will actually pay huge dividends in the end when they take advantage of this media storm for the year and then make another big splash when they ultimately sign him.
Sorry, we disagree. Although it’s “the storyline in baseball right now,” it’s not a marketing trick. The Cards’ marketing dept has nothing to do with the negotiations. The owners are not milking it to create marketing buzz.
@Peggy Nehmen — Oh, come on Peggy! Everyone likes a conspiracy theory!
My point is simply that Bill DeWitt is a shrewd business man. I think he could have got a deal done, he would have — at the right price. But a nice side effect of not getting this deal done will be the media circus that will take place this year.
Reminds me of the time “New Coke” was introduced to compete with “Classic Coke”.
Great article and commentary, Russ!
Thanks!
@Fred E. Miller — Ha ha… no doubt Fred. The uprising for Classic Coke made that fiasco all worth it in the end.
There may be a need for a new compensation structure in order to get Pujols signed.
You might be right John, perhaps Pujols will find himself with an ownership position.
I think you are on to something when you mention a stake in the organization. Whatever the intent. I am glad to see him getting the national attention he deserves.
@Ellen Henneberry — Definitely — I think this is the sentiment that most people have — Pujols has handled this the right way.
This is definitely a unique way of thinking about the situation. I enjoyed the read, and loved a lot of the points you made, even though I don’t necessarily agree with them. I think Albert will end up making more money somewhere else on a team that has a better chance to compete (Wain-o’s hurt, Carp could be done with the Cards after this year, depleted farm system, etc.).
And if it comes down to a business decision, that might not be the worst thing in the world for the Cardinals. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE Cards fan, and I’d absolutely love to see Albert be a Cardinal for life, but think of what you could do with $30 million per year. You can get three really good players, as opposed to one great one. The team could end up being more competitive without Albert, as much as it hurts me to say that. I really hope he ends up staying a Cardinal, but for less than $30 mil a year.
I think DeWitt is a guy who looks at the business side of things, and he realizes that one player is not worth 1/4 of your entire budget (the Cards budget is $120 mil this year). I’m sure he also realizes he can put a much more competitive team out there year after year with an extra $30 mil to work with. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
@J.D. Pohlman — Thanks for stopping by J.D.! No question that a sports team is a business and each player is their own little microbusiness — but it is unfortunate. The thought of Pujols in a Cubs uniform makes me sick though. And I think that is where he will end up. We will never hear the end of it!
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