HARTFORD YARD GOATS BRANDING AND

REDEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Leigh Friedman, Jessica Maricich, Becca Riina, Morgan Sawitsky, Gabrielle Riggi and Allison Sicbaldi

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3MEET THE TEAM 4-5BACKGROUND AND STAKEHOLDERS 6BRAND AND PLATFORM 7SWOT ANALYSIS 8-9TARGET AUDIENCES 10GOALS, OBJECTIVES + TACTICS 11-12SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY 12-13DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGY 14-15PROMOTIONAL EXAMPLES 16-17SPECIAL EVENT SUCCESS METRICS 19TOTAL BUDGET 20 LIKE A GIRL PR SALARIES 21 ACCOMODATIONS BUDGET 22 TRAVEL BUDGET 23 ADVERTISEMENTS BUDGET 24 PROMOTIONAL ITEMS BUDGET 25 SPECIAL EVENT BUDGET 26 CONTINGENCY FUND 27EVENTS TIMELINE 28GAME SCHEDULE 29

MEET THE TEAM

Morgan SawitskyMorgan Sawitsky is the President of Like A Girl PR. She is responsible for the project management of the pitch. Morgan is a graduate of Quinnipiac University, where she received a BA in Public Relations. After graduation, Morgan launched her career in Connecticut here she began her specializa-tion in communications and public affairs. She has a niche for keeping proj-ects organized and maintaining a high integrity for all work done within the company. Her strengths within the company include managing timelines of projects as well as managing other agency members to make sure their work is completed to the best ability.

Gabrielle RiggiGabrielle Riggi is the Research Director for Like A Girl PR. She is responsible for overseeing and delegating the research as well as composing the final re-sults. The final assessment includes the history, environment and challenges an organization is facing. Gabrielle graduated from Quinnipiac with a degree in journalism, but directed the passion for writing to provide expert composi-tional analysis and development to sports related organizations and athletic communications groups.

Jessica MaricichJessica Maricich is the Chief Financial Officer for Like A Girl PR. She is responsible for planning the budget for the different activities and events the organization would like to each and recording the financial progress throughout the project. The budget created includes billable time and out-of-pocket expenses. The financial plan correlates with the timeline for the required project and gives the company and the client and realistic estimation of the project cost. Maricich checks in with all of the different department to ensure everyone stays in budget. She works directly with the Special Event Director Leigh Friedman, to price out and document all event-related expenses.

Allison Sicbaldi Allison is the Copywriter for Like a Girl PR. Her main responsibilities have been to complete a SWOT analysis of the Hartford Yard Goats organization as well as help come up with content for tactics and creating the branding platform. Allison received a Bachelor’s in Communications from Quinnipiac University. After Graduation, she launched her career in sports media and public relations. Her strengths within the company include being detail-ori-ented as well as being very organized.

Becca RiinaBecca Riina is the Art and Interactive Communications Director for Like a Girl PR. After graduating with a Bachelor’s in Communications she began her career in web design and content management. The responsibilities in-cluded in this position involved the graphic designing of the agency logo as well as the rest of the design examples. Her creativity and communication skills have helped this company generate original ideas regarding interactive media and the visual brand of the Hartford Yard Goats.

Leigh FriedmanLeigh Friedman is the Special Events Director for Like a Girl PR. As Special Events Director for our PR Team, her responsibilities include planning events during the both the duration of the season and off- season. Her main goal aims to keep Yard Goats Fans coming back year after year by planning highly looked forward to events. Leigh received a Bachelor’s in Public Relations from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. Her plans after gradu-ation include establishing a career in the fast-paced and exhilarating world of Fashion PR at a boutique communications firm in NYC. She remains an asset to the PR team who has displayed great strengths in event planning and marketing.

BACKGROUND AND STAKEHOLDERSThe Hartford Yard Goats are a Double-A minor league baseball

team in Hartford, Connecticut that plays out of the Eastern League. The team started as the New Britain Rock Cats franchise, and moved to Hartford in 2016. Hartford remains as the Double-A affiliate of MLB’s Colorado Rockies. The Yard Goats were expected to start the season after the move at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Downtown Hartford.

The 2016 season never came to fruition because the park’s com-pletion was continually delayed, forcing the team to play the entire 2016 summer season on the road. The price of the project started at $63 million, with one estimate ballooning to $100 million when Centerplan was unable to complete the project swiftly and correct-ly. This added to tensions with those in Hartford who did not want the city to use public funds to pay for what was ultimately $71 mil-lion dollar stadium.

The delay of the construction of the ballpark resulted in lawsuits, including one between Centerplan, the developer, and the city of Hartford. The case was settled in mediation. After getting an insur-ance bond from Arch Insurance to complete the project, the build-ing was continued in October 2016 by Whiting-Turner. The ballpark is expected to be ready for opening day on April 13, 2017.

The list of stakeholders includes a varying group in the central Connecticut area that share some mutual interest in the Yard Goats franchise:

• Current fans of the team• Former fans of the New Brit-ain Rock Cats• Fans who left after the 2016 season didn’t happen• First time fans of the Yard Goats or baseball• Season ticket holders• Fan club members• Hartford citizens• Hartford city government• Hartford business: both cor-porations based in Hartford and small businesses around the city• Investors in the Hartford DoNo project• Potential businesses as part of the DoNo project• Downtown North developers• Corporate sponsors• Colorado Rockies (MLB)• Minor League Baseball (MiLB)• Team owners• Employees• Vendors• Members of the media

BRAND AND PLATFORMWhen people hear our name

we want them to think of fami-ly friendly fun in the heart of the city

Dunkin’ Donuts Park is a key component of the DoNo revit-ilization project in Hartford, and we want to emphasize that our stadium is the heart of this new community

We want to make families be-lieve that our stadium is going to be the heart of the city once more attractions get built around it such as stores and restaurants

We will make it every family’s first choice for a night event by introducing kids to the team

through camp days including boy scouts, girl scouts, YMCA, PTA and school districts

We want to portray that the stadium and the team are going to be spark plug for other devel-opments

We want the fans to feel wel-come and that their happiness is the #1 goal of the team

We also want them to feel like the atmosphere at the stadium is always pumping and exciting, just like a heart is always pump-ing and upbeat

The team can become the heart of the city and the focal point of urban development by

proving not only to the fans, but also to the surrounding commu-nity that Dunkin’ Donuts Park is the start of a new Hartford en-tertainment district

We got to this brand by taking into account all of the aspects of a heart and relating it to the or-ganization

The heart pumps- we want our stadium to be an exciting atmo-sphere that pumps some fun

The heart keeps the body alive- we want to spark change in the surrounding area, making Hartford a safer and more family friendly place.

THE HEART OF HARTFORD

SWOT ANALYSISThe team at Like A Girl PR re-

searched the niche audiences of this Double-A baseball team. Through this research, it was un-derstood that the strengths, weak-nesses, opportunities and threats of The Hartford Yard Goats include:

Strengths:

The Hartford Yard Goats imme-diately have an advantage in the sports industry because baseball is known as America’s pastime, making the game a well-known and popular sport throughout the country. The sport itself is associat-ed with core American family val-ues, and therefore families become the primary fan base during base-ball games. Baseball fans start at an early age, when their parents take them to a game, but they stay loyal to their hometown team until old age. It is an opportunity for an en-tire community to come together and show the talents of the young men and women playing passion-ately on the field for their fans.

Another strength that The Hart-ford Yard Goats has is in the cor-relation between the number of Latino population on the team and the Latino community in the Hartford metropolitan area, which makes up about 18% of the city. This has given the team a sense of unity with the communication because they can relate to one another on a more personal level, and provides greater opportunities for community outreach and devel-opment. Another way The Hartford Yard Goats have gained unity with the community is in the way the team let the community name both the team itself and the mascots. By holding a friendly competition, the community got involved with the team in an early on stage making it hard for them to forget who the Yard Goats are.

To go off the community unity strength, opening day tickets for the 2017 baseball season are sell-ing quickly, so it is safe to say the team is already in high demand with its surrounding area. The rapid sales are a result of community sup-port, popularity in the various pro-motional events the team has held and the new stadium that will be in use this season. Future strengths include the strong stadium spon-sor, Dunkin’ Donuts, and the mul-tiple game day events happening throughout the season.

With an established name in the greater Hartford and central Con-necticut region, The Hartford Yard Goats have a strong base to build from in future years.

Weaknesses:

Currently, the Hartford Yard Goats have a few weaknesses that impact the Double-A team’s brand. To start off, their name has got-ten a lot of mockery since it was picked back in 2015. A “Name the Team” contest drew almost 6,000 submissions that were cut down to five options for the team’s naming committee to choose from. How-ever, the new name drew some questioning articles from The New York Times, NBC Connecticut, and others. And many have questioned what a yard goat is. According to The Hartford Courant, a yard goat is “technically an old railroad slang term for an engine that switches a train to get it ready for another locomotive,” but many are taking the animal angle for the team’s merchandise and logo. So now the question becomes, how does the meaning of the yard goat relate to this Double-A team?

To go along with their name, the mascot of The Hartford Yard Goats is not very appealing to their tar-get audience and customers. Fans

and spectators have used the term “frightening” to describe it, which definitely is a weakness for this baseball team considering families and children are a huge target au-dience for them.

Another weakness that comes along with the New England team is that many families throughout this area send their children to sleepaway camp or sports camps during baseball season. Therefore, much of the target audience is not available to attend season games.

With the Dunkin’ Donuts Park stadium being in the city of Hart-ford, parking for fans becomes a bit of a bad situation. With city parking it is usually hard to find available parking, let alone free parking, and this could cause some annoyance with fans. With only street parking and no garages or assigned lots, the parking situation is a weakness for The Hartford Yard Goats in that it is not very reliable or convenient for its fans.

A final weakness for The Hartford Yard Goats is that there are many other attractions throughout Con-necticut, which residences and fans could go to over a baseball game. These attractions include Lake Compounce, The Mystic Aquari-um, a day at a historical museum or a trip to one many of the beaches found along the shore. In addition, major metropolises like Boston and New York are a short drive for day trips out of the state.

Opportunities:

The team at Like A Girl PR has discovered a few opportunities The Hartford Yard Goats could imple-ment in order to raise awareness and gain better traction in this upcoming season. One opportu-nity the baseball team has is that there is a new coaching staff, which could bring a better season for the

SWOT ANALYSISteam. Being a new team with a new coaching staff is definitely one op-portunity the Yard Goats need to take advantage of. After spending all of last season on the road it is time for the team to finally mesh at home now that they have a sta-dium of their own to utilize. This is a big opportunity since in order to be a successful team, working to-gether as a unit will ultimately be easier with all of these fresh faces and minds.

Another opportunity the Yard Goats are presented with is that they are looking to hire a PR agen-cy to help market their brand. Af-ter spending all of last season on the road, the Yard Goats have yet to build a large fan-base and im-age within Connecticut. Hiring a PR agency will help push their image and brand in the right direction. This decision gives the Yard Goats the opportunity for growth since they are starting from the ground up when it comes to their brand.

As previously stated with a large Latino population and with day camps to keep children engaged and active outside of school, there is the opportunity for the Yard Goats to engage in activities from healthy eating and reading sem-inars to “Play 60” active lifestyle events in order further connect with those within the city of Hart-

ford. Along with this opportunity of engaging with the public, The Har-ford Yard Goats have the ability to put on promotional events for the surrounding community.

There are many college’s near-by including University of Hart-ford and University of Connecti-cut-Storrs, along with countless others schooling institutes and pre-paratory schools around the central Connecticut region home. Having events as simple as a family-based bingo night or college/student days at the stadium will provide the Yard Goats with an opportu-nity to gain more of an audience during the prime season. By offer-ing cross-promotional events there is an opportunity for the Yard Goats to add an element of family fun and participatory competition while at the game that can keep the inter-est of those who are less drawn to baseball.

Threats:

One of the major threats against The Yard Goats is that they have never played a home game since their founding in 2016, which leads to many other threats against them.

The tickets for the baseball game are taxed by the city, which is a ma-jor threat for The Yard Goats be-cause it negatively impacts its fans. The extra 10% ticket tax increases

prices by a few dollars for the pub-lic interested in attending games. The biggest problem with this tax is that the money is going to the state to pay for their $56 million stadium. Therefore, financially, the organiza-tion is completely dependent on state funds.

While we mentioned about that having a new coaching staff could lead to many opportunities for The Yard Goats, it also can cause a lot of threats to the team. These coaches have never worked together be-fore last season, thus they are likely to have different coaching styles. This can ultimately lead to differing opinions about the players and the team’s vision. If the coaching staff is having trouble agreeing on how to run the team their performance will most likely be negatively impacted, resulting in an unsuccessful season.

A final threat that is posed upon The Yard Goats is the presence of other sports teams in the sur-rounding area. There are two oth-er minor league baseball teams in Connecticut, the New Britain Bees and the Bridgeport Bluefish, as well as a number of hockey teams, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the Hartford Wolfpack. The presence of other teams will only draw away from the attendance at Yard Goat games, resulting in a lower fan-base.

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

Popularity of baseball - Latino community - Sponsors - Established name

Unpopular name - mascot -parking - other attractions

New manager and staff - day camps - new community outreach - large client pool

No affiliation from fans - Ticket tax -Saturated market - Unknown quantities

TARGET AUDIENCESThe major audience we be-

lieve the Yard Goats should tar-get are local families throughout the Connecticut Area. Baseball has been bringing people to-gether since 1839 and since the new stadium features a safe and family-friendly environment this target audience will be easy to reach. To help connect to this audience more, Yard Goats players should be out visiting local schools, hospitals and lit-tle league games. This will help not only get their name and fac-es out into the public, but it will also help the children establish a connection to the team. Hav-ing your team members go out into the public will also help to show that they too are human. Although they are adored for excelling at their sport, it is also good to remember that they once started playing as children thus going back to their roots will help boost their image in the community.

Along with families, the Yard Goats should focus on target-ing local kids. By targeting this younger population,the Yard Goats are allowing themselves to be looked at as “heroes” in the eyes of these fans. This can be achieved by having players little league games in the sur-rounding towns to show their support for kids playing baseball or by sending players to local schools or communities to talk about how they came to their success.

A more direct target audience that the Yard Goats should also reach is the Latin American com-

munity. With the Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut there is a large Latin American community in the surrounding area. We can reach this audi-ence by proving that our stadi-um is a fun and safe location for them to hangout. Also, we can have meet and greet days with our team. Since our roster con-sists of some Latin Americans, it would be smart to capitalize on this and help some community members even further feel con-nected to the team.

This spaces creates a fun and safe environment for this audi-ence to spend time with friends and family while enjoying the game of baseball.

Lastly, the Yard Goats should target the Hartford community as a whole. We want our stadi-um to be a safe place for people from all demographics to share the love for the game.

Families• A safe, family-friendly environ-ment• Players visit little league games, local hospitals, mailers

Local kids• Heroes• Send players to local schools and community games

The Latin American community • A fun, safe place to hangout • Mailers, posters, giveaways

Hartford community • Fun environment, community building place,• Send mailers, have players get involved in their community • Posters, billboards

GOALS, OBJECTIVES + TACTICSGoal: Increase the involvement of the Yard Goats with its fans

Objectives: Hold one meet-and-greet event for every three home games Tactics: • Send out invitations to ticket season holders first and then the community as a whole• Have players promote the event through their social media accounts• Send out reminders for these events through the weekly newsletter • Get commitment from players to be at these events

Measures of Success:• How many fans respond to invitations• How many fans attend the meet-and-greets and if it grows as the season goes on • How many different players attend meet-and-greets throughout the season

Objective: Have Yard Goats players go out into the community to increase awareness of the teamTactics:• Set up events with local schools, baseball leagues, hospitals, and other community partners to

allow the development of interpersonal connections with the team• Yard Goats players to get into the community• Promote these community events through the Yard Goats social media• Send out information via the weekly newsletter

Measures of Success• How many community partners are created• What community partners want to continue in the next season• How many fans are gained through this outreach

Goal: Expand youth fan-baseObjective: Keep children engaged throughout the game

Tactics:• At home games set up tables throughout the ballpark where young fans can come and make

posters for the game• Update children’s area with sports related arcade games with a viewing area of the actual game Measures of Success:• How many fans create posters• How much time children spend in the play area

Objective: Connect with Hartford’s youth outside of stadiumTactics:• Contact local little league teams to set up dates for training sessions with some of the Yard

Goats players

Measures of Success• How many little league teams are reached• How many little league teams ask to continue on with training after the season • How many Yard Goats players actually go out to these training sessions

Goal: Increase ticket sales and attendance Objective: Promote ticket sales through the Connecticut area

Tactics:• Create billboards • Develop Facebook advertisementsMeasures of Success:• How much general ticket sales rise throughout the season• How many new season ticket holders are gained for next season• How interactive are fans with Facebook advertisements

Objectives: Host more giveaway nightsTactics:• Hold special nights for college students, families, and various organizations like Boy Scouts or

YMCA• Giveaway items like bobbleheads, tshirts and towels at various home games for the first 1000

fans that attend Measures of Success:• If fans post about giveaways on their social media accounts• How many fans come to the special group nights

GOALS, OBJECTIVES + TACTICS

HASHTAGSFor community and non-game events:• #GoatsGiveBack: Thanksgiving/other holiday drives• #GoatsPromote: Social campaigns/community awareness• #HeartOfHartford: Our core branding ideals• #TheHerd: diehard fanbaseFor in-game use:• #GOAT: We know, Hartford is the Greatest of All Time• #StompingSeason: For long home stands or playoffs• #ChompingSeason: Rubber games in a series• #ChopOut: Strike outs and pitcher promotionsCOMMUNITY STRATEGY• Post-game meet the fans • Hospital visits • “Heart of Hartford” blood drive to reinforce brand• Goats Go Live • Facebook/Instagram Live Talkshow as pregames, weekly show with the manager, player of the week.• Yard Goat Stomp for every Yard Goats home run or win• Goat Call during the 7th inning stretch• Post-Season Viewing Party for road games• Fan busses to more local road games

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

SOCIAL MEDIAGoal: Create a fan base that is not reliant on winning or losing, but based on team brand. Measure success based on fan attendance and ticket sales in relation to team record throughout the season

Objective: Make fans feel more connected with the playersTactics: •Yard Goats Player of the Week post video of the player telling fans fun facts about himself•Pregame snapchat stories and instagram lives of the team warming up for games and in the

locker room• Live Q&A sessions with players via social media for fans to comment on video to ask questions

Goal: Use social media to promote the brand. Measure by asking fans what they think of the players Objective: Use players personal accounts as a reflection of the family friendly environment we are attempting to create.

Tactics:•Players should refrain from posting anything that they would not directly show to a child (NO alcohol, drugs, partying should be displayed on social media) •Keep social media up to date; continuously updating fans and making them feel included in the players lives sparks a deeper connection and passion for the team•Due to the role that we envision this team having in the community, it is important that each player is prepared to carry themselves as a role model for the children of Hartford

Objective: Use official Yard Goats social media to keep people up to date on what is happening at Dunkin Donuts Park

Tactics:• Promote Specialty nights - college night, family night, charity night with free giveaways (drawstring bags, balls, magnets, tshirts, minibats)• Use hashtags to promote community involvement including #goatsgiveback•Advertise ticket sales in days leading up to games• Live footage of meet and greets for fans to share their experiences with each other• Social media (snapchat) coverage in the dugout during games • Teach the yard goat stomp (homerun dance)

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

HartfordYardGoats HartfordYardGoats

HartfordYardGoats HartfordYardGoats

DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGYWEBSITEGoal: Increase website trafficObjective: Use social media to draw fans into the website

Tactics:• Tease news articles in social media posts with link to website to view full• In Player of the Week post have players tell the fans to check out their stats on the website to learn more about how they’ve been playing

Objective: Make website more visually appealingTactics (correlates to image on the top right):1. Spread out content, about an inch on either side of unused space2. Increase the size of the tabs on the home screen3. Layout social media icons on the top of the page for easy access4. Ensure that website is kid friendly - since our brand is largely targeted at families we want kids and parents alike to be able to go through the website and learn about the team5. Bring more attention to the Fan Zone (currently hidden in the corner)

Objective: Create a visual brandTactics:• Colors: green and blue (green for the grass on the field blue for the sky) incorporating a lighter blue into the current color scheme will add a pop of excitement on media platforms as two dark col-ors have a way of washing each other out • Keep everything simple and fun. Both the website and all social media pages should be straight-forward and classic. • “The HEART of Hartford” brand reflects the functions of the heart and how it keeps the body going, So, all of our interactive media should be functional and clean, bringing baseball back to the basics • Have continuity in products• Grass is a huge theme throughout the website billboards and magnets

There are a variety of different areas we will be monitoring in order to measure the success of our digital media campaign: • Overall Website traffic. We will be looking for not only an increase in page views but also an in-crease in the number of unique visitors the website gets both weekly and monthly. We will also moni-tor the average page views per visit. An increase in pageviews means we are successfully engaging with website visitors.• Mobile Traffic. An increase in mobile users provides the Yard Goats with more revenue sources. The more people visiting our• Click Through Rate. Advertising on social media and online is a great way to bring attention to the franchise. By monitoring how many people click on these ads we can effectively determine how much revenue they are bringing in.• Return Visits. Monitoring how many site visitors are new or recurring can measure how successful our campaign has been in generating new fans. We can also measure this with increase in social media followers. We expect to gain 250 followers on each social media platform within the first 4 months of our campaign.

PROMOTIONAL EXAMPLES

Top left: BillboardLeft: Promotional flyer for a special event nightAbove: Digital promotion

GET YOUR HERD TO A GAME!

860-246-GOAT

PROMOTIONAL EXAMPLES

Our team has planned a Silent Auction Fundraiser in order to raise both money and awareness for the Yard Goats Foundation. At our event, we will be auctioning off various apparel and memorabilia from both players and the Yard Goats Association in order to drive donations. Hosted at the On20 ven-ue in Hartford, over 500 individuals of the greater Hartford community are invited. During the auction, memorabilia valued at over $25,000 will be auctioned. The silent auction fundraiser is the largest event of the year for the Hartford Yard Goats Association. In planning this event, several factors weighed in throughout the planning process including budget, tactics and product promotion.

In order to plan a successful event, each step was thought out prior to the entire event coming to-gether. The first step in planning this event was piecing together a budget. Working closely with the finance department, the special events director received a budget of $150,000 to spend on the event. This budget was divided amongst venue, catering, entertainment, product promotion, security and a cash bar.

Once the budget was set in stone through the agreement of both the finance and special events director, the second step involved indicating objectives and tactics that lined out the ultimate success of the event. The tactics of the silent auction include how best to promote and advertise in the time leading up to the big event.

Through the utilization of Twitter and varying social media platforms, additionally e-newsletters, fli-ers, brochures and tweets were continually sent out on a daily basis to Yard Goats Fans and the greater Hartford Community(who access a social media profile). By creating a hashtag like #GoatsGiving, the event infiltrated Twitter drawing in fan engagement. Further, in raising awareness for the event, the special events director drove donation costs through its use of product promotion. Through the establishment of relationships with many individuals within the organization, the director was able to receive special memorabilia from players first hand.

Event: Silent Auction FundraiserGoal: Raise Money and Awareness for the Yard Goats Foundation to bring the community together

Objective: Raise $25,000 Tactics: • Product Promotion• Advertisements (E-newsletter, Fliers, Brochures)•#GoatsGiving (Twitter trending on social media)• Billboard• Commercial

Budget• Venue/ Catering: On20, $22,800 ($38 per person, 600 invitees)• Product Promotion: Memorabilia valued at over $75,000• Jerseys: $75.00• Baseball: $15.00• Baseball Cap: $25.00• Trophies and other Assorted Memorabilia: $15-$50• Security at Event: $5,000• Entertainment: $3,500• Cash Bar: $11,200

SILENT AUCTION EVENT OUTLINE

SPECIAL EVENT SUCCESS METRICSThe success of our event, the Silent Auction Fundraiser, will be measured through the identification of three key tactics including: ticket sales, social media engagement and fan engagement. In mea-suring the success of each of these three tactics below, our organization will easily be able to identify the overall success as well as turn out of the event.

Three primary objectives:1. Social Media engagement 2. People who are returners/regulars3. Tickets purchased for event

Social Media engagement is key because it is a tangible form of communication. Through the establishment of engaging on social media, one is forming a relationship with an individual and net-working for an event.

The Hartford Yard Goats utilize social media to establish a close connection with their fan base in order to drive their attention to keep coming back to the games and being apart of the “family.”

As fans engage with the Yard Goats brand, they are initiated into the culture that is Yard Goats baseball. Social Media engagement must be nurtured and carried upon throughout the duration of the season as well as off-season.

Having established a close relationship with its fan base, this is attested in the number of fans that keep coming back year after year. The number of fans who return every season become regular.

In all these fans who have become “regular,” the Yard Goats organization has done a successful job of maintaining fan engagement. As an organization that caters to its customers, its customers (the fans) continue to come back for something more and something greater season after season.

By seeing how many tickets were sold for the event, our team is able to grasp potential event turn-out on the actual day. Through social media; including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, fans remain in contact throughout both the duration of the season and the off season. They are able to remain up to speed on all things Yard Goats and are able to highly look forward to the event leading up.

How to Plan a Silent Auction:• Recruit Yard Goats fans and other individuals to volunteer from the community and greater area of Hartford• Drive donations• Value each item to be bidded during the auction# each item on the “master list” of items to be bid on• Make a list of supplies needed for the event • Print bidding sheets to be handed out and posted throughout the duration of the auction to avoid any delays or hesitance in payments or bidding• Set-up early

TOTAL BUDGET

LIKE A GIRL PR SALARIES

ACCOMODATIONS BUDGET

TRAVEL BUDGET

ADVERTISEMENTS BUDGET

PROMOTIONAL ITEMS BUDGET

SPECIAL EVENT BUDGET

CONTINGENCY FUND

EVENTS TIMELINE

Dunkin’ Donuts giftcardsBobbleheadsMinibatsBaseballsPlushie Chew Chew/Chompers

GIVEAWAYS

Boy Scouts Night and Girl Scouts NightCollege NightLittle League DayTeacher Appreciation DayFamily Nights (Sundays)

GROUP DAYS/EVENTS

March 2- Read Across America Day at Hartford SchoolsApril 20- Little League Season OpenerSeptember TBD- Silent AuctionNovember- #GoatsGiveBack Thanksgiving Food Drive

OUTSIDE THE BALLPARK

GAME SCHEDULEThurs. 4/13 7:05 PM New Hampshire Fisher CatsFri. 4/14 7:05 PM New Hampshire Fisher CatsSat. 4/15 6:05 PM New Hampshire Fisher CatsMon. 4/17 7:05 PM Harrisburg SenatorsTue. 4/18 7:05 PM Harrisburg SenatorsWed. 4/19 7:05 PM Harrisburg SenatorsThurs. 4/20 7:05 PM Harrisburg SenatorsFri. 4/28 7:05 PM Richmond Flying SquirrelsSat. 4/29 6:05 PM Richmond Flying SquirrelsSun. 4/30 1:35 PM Richmond Flying Squirrels

Mon. 5/1 7:05 PM Portland Sea DogsTue. 5/2 7:05 PM Portland Sea DogsWed. 5/3 10:35 AM Portland Sea DogsMon. 5/8 7:05 PM New Hampshire Fisher CatsTue. 5/9 7:05 PM New Hampshire Fisher CatsWed. 5/10 10:35 AM New Hampshire Fisher CatsThurs. 5/11 7:05 PM Erie Sea WolvesFri. 5/12 7:05 PM Erie Sea WolvesSat. 5/13 6:05 PM Erie Sea WolvesSun. 5/14 1:35 PM Erie Sea WolvesFri. 5/19 7:05 PM Akron RubberDucksSat. 5/20 6:05 PM Akron RubberDucksSun. 5/21 1:35 PM Akron RubberDucksTue. 5/30 7:05 PM Richmond Flying SquirrelsWed. 5/31 7:05 PM Richmond Flying Squirrels

Thurs. 6/1 10:35 AM Richmond Flying SquirrelsFri. 6/2 7:05 PM New Hampshire Fisher CatsSat. 6/3 6:35 PM New Hampshire Fisher CatsSun. 6/4 1:35 PM New Hampshire Fisher CatsTue. 6/13 7:05 PM Trenton ThunderWed. 6/14 7:05 PM Trenton ThunderThurs. 6/15 7:05 PM Trenton ThunderFri. 6/16 7:05 PM Altoona CurveSat. 6/17 6:35 PM Altoona CurveSun. 6/18 5:05 PM Altoona CurveMon. 6/26 7:05 PM Binghamton MetsTue. 6/27 7:05 PM Binghamton Mets

Wed. 6/28 7:05 PM Binghamton MetsThurs. 6/29 7:05 PM Binghamton MetsFri. 6/30 7:05 PM Portland Sea Dogs

Sat. 7/1 6:35 PM Portland Sea DogsSun. 7/2 6:35 PM Portland Sea DogsMon. 7/3 1:35 PM Portland Sea DogsThurs. 7/13 7:05 PM Trenton ThunderFri. 7/14 7:05 PM Trenton ThunderSat. 7/15 6:35 PM Trenton ThunderSun. 7/16 1:35 PM Trenton ThunderMon. 7/17 7:05 PM Bowie BaysoxTue. 7/18 7:05 PM Bowie BaysoxWed. 7/19 12:05 PM Bowie BaysoxThurs. 7/27 7:05 PM Reading Fightin PhilsFri. 7/28 7:05 PM Reading Fightin PhilsSat. 7/29 6:35 PM Reading Fightin PhilsSun. 7/30 1:35 PM Reading Fightin Phils

Tue. 8/8 7:05 PM Trenton ThunderWed. 8/9 12:05 PM Trenton ThunderThurs. 8/10 7:05 PM Trenton ThunderFri. 8/11 7:05 PM Harrisburg SenatorsSat. 8/12 6:35 PM Harrisburg SenatorsSun. 8/13 1:35 PM Harrisburg SenatorsFri. 8/18 7:05 PM Reading Fightin PhilsSat. 8/19 6:35 PM Reading Fightin PhilsSun. 8/20 1:35 PM Reading Fightin PhilsMon. 8/21 7:05 PM Altoona CurveTue. 8/22 7:05 PM Altoona CurveWed. 8/23 7:05 PM Altoona CurveMon. 8/28 7:05 PM Portland Sea DogsTue. 8/29 7:05 PM Portland Sea DogsWed. 8/30 7:05 PM Portland Sea DogsThurs. 8/31 7:05 PM Portland Sea Dogs

Listed below are all home games played at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford as sanctioned by MiLB. The series is listed by day, date, first pitch time and opponent.