33 working origins of the community and ‘pigs’ added a goofy, unique vibe to the brand. This, Landes thought, worked perfectly for the brand with its goal of creating goofy, fun memories for the fans. In addition, the designed logo of a fierce looking pig made up of iron, added a boldness to the brand, which expressed that the IronPigs, despite being a minor league team, intended to stand out and be unique. “We are a triple A team, which means we’re one step away from the major leagues,” Landes explained, “but we wanted to have a single A mentality, which meant that we were willing to try anything.” Providing memories for the fans is what Landes loves most about the IronPigs, which could be the reason for the franchise’s successful, award-winning, promotions. “It became more than just the game,” he expressed. “It was about creating memories, special moments, connections, and relationships.” Landes is of the mindset that “promotionally we could do anything and partner with anybody. If you can think it, you can do it.” This came to fruition with an unusual promotion called “funeral give-away night,” partnering with a funeral home in the community where fans nominated a “lucky” individual to receive a free funeral. Fans loved engaging with the idea through nominating their friends in jest and the media from New York and Philadelphia covered it because it was a goofy and unique concept. Landes further explained that “we ended up choosing an individual who was expecting to pass away in the next year and didn’t want to burden his family with debt from the funeral costs.” What was initiated as a goofy, unique promotion turned into a poignant moment with not a dry eye in the stadium as the family of the gentleman read his essay, which nominated himself for the free funeral. Landes got choked up as he recalled the experience, stating that “not only did the IronPigs make an impact in this family, but the whole community.” The funeral home received a “huge increase in inquiries about funeral preplanning and within the next three years people came to them for services because they remembered what they had done to help a family out.” The IronPigs does much more to help the community by partnering with other organizations to host various events throughout the year. One such event called “Suites N Treats” supports children that cannot safely trick-or-treat in their hometowns. This promotion provides a safe, accessible, and inclusive environment for hundreds of children, many of whom are at risk or have disabilities, to participate in a fun Halloween tradition. “We try to analyze every part of the ballpark in order to make every aspect more interactive with the fans, which is part of our success,” Landes explained. One such aspect is the men’s bathroom. As the managerial team brainstormed ideas to engage fans in the bathroom, they came up with a video game urinal, allowing individuals to play while using the urinal. They partnered with a company out of London, England that had developed the technology and arranged for the IronPigs stadium to be the first place to offer video game urinals in the U.S. Landes described the game saying, “You step up to the urinal and the game recognizes the person’s presence, and you start to play the game as it senses the stream aiming left, center, and right.” The game player wields a snowmobile riding down a mountain and, on the way down, the player is prompted to collect penguins to earn points. The high scores are then posted on the main video board causing a long line for the Videogame Urinal and not the basic ones in the men’s bathroom. This same promotion partnered with the Lehigh Valley Health Network to promote prostate screenings for men. The fun and goofy promotion made a typically serious venture a bit more fun, leading to a 250 percent increase in prostate screenings for the hospital and 12-15 individuals discovered early prostate cancer. Landes explained, “there is a community service in what we do even if the promotions are goofy and unique, and this in turn does good for the community.” It takes a lot of work to create a fun service for the community, Landes expounded, and on game day it’s typically a 12-hour shift for employees. The IronPigs employ roughly 450 people during the 75-game season to help provide a fun atmosphere for fans, clients, and even employees themselves. Landes explained a reward system where employees are given gold coins to reward actions where fellow employees went above and beyond to help a guest. This is one of the brand’s important values that Landes also attributes to their success. Teamwork, hard work, and self-respect are some others that create a healthy atmosphere for both employees and guests of the IronPigs franchise. There are many career opportunities in minor league baseball, although managing and marketing are some of the opportunities typically associated with this business, Landes described many more. “There are careers in catering, ticket sales, grounds keeping, merchandise director, executive chef, administration roles, and special event director,” Landes concluded. Landes stayed in the virtual meeting until the last question from each student was answered. Long after many had left to go to their classes, he took the time to offer individual advice for each one, sharing lessons he learned along his 30-year journey through minor league baseball.
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