(surely billboards featuring nothing but a gigantic Jeff Francoeur smile would be enough to fill Kauffman Stadium on a nightly basis)
The Royals are 9 years removed from their last winning season ; they’ve not sniffed the postseason since 1985. So despite the recent acquisitions of James Shields and Wade Davis, Kansas City is taking a tentative approach to marketing the 2013 Royals, unveiling the not-quite-mindblowing slogan, “Come To Play”. I’m not advertising expert, but it’s slightly catcher than, “We Guarantee No Forfeits”. From the Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton (link swiped from Baseball Think Factory) :
“The idea behind it is a dual thing,” said Toby Cook, the Royals’ vice president for community affairs and publicity. “We want to communicate that every one of our guys, every game, will come to play – ready to give it their all.
“The secondary idea behind it is that it’s an invitation for fans that when they come to the ballpark, they need to be prepared to play – to get involved in it. We’re all in this together.”
“Nothing beats going out to the K to be part of the Major League experience,” said Charlie Tetrick, president of Kansas City-based ad agency Walz Tetrick. “With the offseason additions, this year’s team is a great combination of youth, experience and leadership. Every pitch is an opportunity for something exciting and unexpected to happen.”
“And by the way,” Cook said, “we’ve got this fairly newly renovated stadium where you can also do all of the neat things in the Outfield Experience.”