fun. “The decrease in lower-priced subscription sales has given us an opportunity to attract more fans,” she says. “We want to create the sense that these folks are special.
The Knicks also recognize the importance of diversity to a city like New York by advertising to communities that would respond to visiting players like Yao Ming and Dirk Nowitzki. “New York is an international city and we know that these players will attract new customers,” says Browne Sanders. The push to keep the Knicks brand strong is always foremost in the franchise’s mind. “We get a read in terms of brand image by doing research,” she says. “Many of our season subscribers manage their subscriptions online, and this gives us an opportunity to ask them how we’re doing. We also do focus groups, telephone surveys, and keep tabs on how our merchandise is selling in the marketplace by looking at the attendance numbers.
If you think of your company as a client, you can incorporate this type of strategy into your career goals. What are you doing to keep yourself relevant, up-to-date, a commodity that is in demand? As Browne Sanders says, we have to create something more than the ticket itself—there has to be some meat under it. As a corporate player in an evolving workplace, you have to do more than look good and talk smart; you have to implement corporate-wide initiatives, take on high-level assignments, and be known as the go-to person in a pinch.