We are all frustrated with Ft. Pierce performance, but the statement
that Ft. Pierce did 'NOTHING' to promote the season
is just not true. There were two articles in the sports section
of the local paper (Treasure Coast Newspapers). One was a week
before they opened and the second was on the day they opened.
These were sports 'news' articles with pics.
I was there this weekend and spoke with Stu Neiman about advertising.
He asked me if I had Sirius/XM radio which I do. He smiled and
said that I probably would not hear any of their radio ads on
XM. He asked if I had cable or satellite and I have Direct TV.
He said (kinda sarcastically) how can you see one of our tv ads
if you are watching satellite tv. I challenged him to tell me
what kind of advertising was going on and he laid it out for me
and showed me copies of the ads. I have to look at today's
paper because there is supposed to be some photo story about the
sport in Ft. Pierce, but I haven't seen it.
He was obviously frustrated, but he was willing to tell me
about the advertising and even how much they spent (which kinda
surprised me). He admitted that there had not been enough 'promotions',
but he did make a point that when they run a promotion that they
have to back it with advertising. What was pretty clear is that
an unusually high percentage of the handle is being spent almost
every day on advertising. He seems as frustrated as anyone else
and I know he loves the sport, but one thing I can say is that
he is approachable and if anyone has questions about what Ft.
Pierce is doing & why you can talk to him directly. He gave me
his cell and direct email (don't want to post it without
asking him) and told me to contact him anytime.
When I asked he confirmed that Goiko and Irastorza are going to play for Totorica in July and Aritz and Lopez are leaving to play for JaiAlive in July as well. Everyone else is staying through the end of the season.
