Frozen Notes Contest Winner Announced

The first ever contest to be sponsored by this site has a winner. Congratulations to Mike (you may know him on Twitter as MrMgWilson) as his entry in regards to how the Blues can improve their efforts in how they handle fans from out of town was selected as the overall winner.

In case you didn’t have a chance to follow last week’s contest, the format was simple. I proposed this question:

“Outside of winning a Stanley Cup or a new owner, what would you like to see the St. Louis Blues do differently, whether on or off the ice?”

After weeding through some truly great suggestions and great ideas/concepts, Mike’s stood out to me. His response is below.

I would love to see the Blues find a way to do more outreach to their out-of-state fans. I grew up in the STL area but now live in Nebraska. While I enjoy the information the team often puts out on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites about contests and giveaways, a lot of them seem more geared to local fans. Contests like “just be one of the first 100 people at the St. Louis Zoo to redeem your prize” or “special discount for tonight’s game only!” are fine, but they really do nothing to help me when I’d have to make a nine-hour drive on short to no notice. I wish there was a way the Blues could provide more giveaways for vouchers good throughout the entire season (so I could plan a trip months in advance) or do separate contests for local and non-local fans (perhaps provide a ZIP code or something when entering). I also think a “Far and Away” night would be pretty neat. Fans who can provide a non STL Metro/Illinois address or out-of-state driver’s license may qualify for a discount to a pre-determined game in the future.

The Blues methods in regards to social media have consistently been under fire for quite some time for their lack of engagement, but most of us probably didn’t stop to realize that their efforts have completely ignored an entire segment of their fan base – those not in the St. Louis area.

The Blues have run their fair share of contests, but as Mike correctly points out, a large majority of them completely exclude those not in the local area. Specifically, Mike is looking for the team to do a bit more to show they appreciate the support of those around the country, whether that means hosting an “Out of Town” night at the Scottrade or if that means coming up with an entirely new voucher/coupon that can be used on any date for a fan that might have to travel a distance just to use it.

Personally, I’d like to see the Blues have a special night honoring their fans from far away. Provide plenty of notice and offer exclusive discounts to those willing to make the trip. Partner up with a nearby hotel and get some discounted rates for those flying or driving in. It really wouldn’t be very difficult to organize and would polarize a segment of the fan base that has been overlooked for quite some time.

The Blues should also look to how other, larger teams handle there fan base. For instance, the Spanish soccer team Real Madrid quite literally has fans all over the globe, including yours truly. Obviously, I can’t quite make regular trips to Spain to catch a game, but the team uses their social media well and offers special discounts on merchandise and club apparel to those living in the United States. Their engagements on Twitter and Facebook mixed with their promotions/contests have united the fan base despite being separated by great distances.

Perhaps the Blues should take note.

Thanks again to everyone that took the time to enter a submission for the contest. You guys came up with some amazing ideas that the Blues would be wise to not only look at but seriously consider.

While this contest has come and gone I still plan to hold another, larger one in the future whenever the site hits its next milestone.