Hats Off to the Yankees’ PR Team
Love them or hate them, the New York Yankees have a pretty quick PR team. While they are known for cooking up some of the classiest campaigns for pinstripe pride, this one is particularly great because it goes out to my favorite current Yankee, Brett Gardner.
Gardner was one of five contenders on the All-Star Final Vote ballot for the 2015 AL team. Earlier in the week, fan voting had Gardner sitting in fourth place.
While the rest of the clubhouse was adamant about gaining votes to move the outfielder up in the ranks, Gardner himself wasn’t interested in self-promotion. Modest as they come, he was just thankful for the opportunity to be in the running and recognized in general.
His humility and desire for a low-key candidacy didn’t stop the rest of the team from going all out though. The Bronx Bombers had their PR team whip up the #VoteGardy movement.
Of course, a great hashtag is an excellent way to spread the word. But it’s neither new nor exciting. All AL players in the running had their own hash tags: Xander Bogaert (#XforASG), Yoenis Cespedes (#VoteYo), Brian Dozier (#VoteDozier), and Mike Moustakas (#VoteMoose).
So what else? Signs are so passé, painting the hashtag behind home plate was a nice touch, but what they needed was a bald move.
Bald? Yes, bald. Like Gardner himself.
On Wednesday, teammates of the noticeably bareheaded outfielder sported bald caps with #VoteGardy written above the forehead. It was a playful way to get the conversation going about how passionately the Yanks believe Gardner truly is an All-Star.
Just as the media was picking up the scoop, Royals all-star left fielder Alex Gordon sustained an injury during a game. As a last-minute replacement, Gardner was selected to the All Star team and bypassed the voting.
So was the campaign successful? In a way, it was. Although short-lived, the #VoteGardy bald caps may have put Brett Gardner’s name front and center for American League manager Ned Yost’s consideration. Gardner’s stats speak for themselves, but this may have been the perfect timing for an extra reminder.
In addition, although the Yankees are often criticized for buying their championships and being a bit braggadocious, this campaign is as unpretentious as they get. The team showed they could put aside their egos and get a little silly (and admittedly slightly creepy looking) to highlight one of their most humble stars. It was definitely a good play by the franchise.
We can’t be sure whether or not the bald caps would have pushed Gardner up in the final vote standings. All we know is that Brett Gardner will be playing in his first ever MLB all-star game next week, with his team behind him 100 percent. Hair’s to you, Brett.
~ Kristin Drabik, Account Coordinator, The S3 Agency
Yankees fan? This is great for your team. Marketing major? Take notes. Anyone else? You can still appreciate this stellar idea. Like or reblog if you agree.
