Day one of the 2009 season

One of the things most people don't realize about professional baseball is that for the front office, there is no off-season. Today is the first day of the busiest stretch of the year. While David Dombrowski and the baseball operations side of the office are discussing on-the-field matters, we are working on the things off the field. The Marketing Department is a good place to focus on because they work with all departments on their off-season planning. Marketing produces the collateral materials (brochures, programs, flyers, ads, etc.) and helps organize many of the off-season events (Caravan, etc.) so we'll give you a peek at where we are on day one of the 2009 season:

Ticket Sales: The renewal folders for Season Ticketholders are being designed as we speak. The results of the Season Ticketholder survey were taken into account when deciding on benefits, and new benefits are being added and improved based on the responses to the surveys. The piece is scheduled to land in mailboxes around Thanksgiving, so we have an extremely short amount of time to get things finalized and printed. The folder cover art has to be decided (although it's a good bet that 2008 A.L. HR champ Miguel Cabrera will be on the cover) and the photos of players and fans that will be on the inside have to be approved as well. This is our biggest sales piece of the year and it goes to our most important fans, so by all means, let us know if you have any ideas and what you think of it.

Community Affairs: The first meeting to plan the Winter Caravan is this Thursday. It looks like the Winter Caravan will be January 22& 23, 2009. With TigerFest the following day, January 24th. (All dates tentative). At this meeting the location of the Caravan stops and the format of each appearance (Rally, School Visit, Hospital Visit, etc.) will be determined. We will once again have two buses--one that stays primarily in the Detroit area and one that goes to the north & west side of Michigan. The list of players and coaches appearing will be released after the new year, but the work with the communities and venues that will host us begins now.

Box Office: The Season Ticket design process has begun--there are many options to choose from--do we feature the park, players, fans, or moments from the 2008 season? Next year is the 10th season of Comerica Park and the 25th anniversary of the 1984 championship. We will create several drafts before a final design is approved.