Extraordinary Meetings

Take Me Out to the Ball Park

While it's not uncommon to plan a sports event during the course of a meeting or to choose a sports venue for an off-site event, it's another thing to make a sporting event central to your meeting's branding. j When Mike Woolf, vice president of sales for House-Hasson Hardware, found out the Cincinnati Reds were going to be playing at home while his company was in town for its 2007 dealer market convention this past June, he decided to not only take his group to the game but to theme the entire convention around it.

So this wholesale hardware distributor's meeting, which serves 1,400 independent dealers, became known as "The Great American Grand Slam." The theme tied in nicely to House-Hasson's own image. Founded in 1906, the Knoxville-based company promotes pride in being American-based.

Mr. Red, the Red's mascot, played an integral part of the marketing campaign leading up to the convention, prominently displayed on the invitations and all other collateral material and signage.

The night at the ballgame was a high point for 1,200 convention-goers. Great American Ball Park, home of the Reds (baseball's first professional franchise), is within walking distance of downtown, so getting there was a snap.

Woolf said advance planning with the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Great American Ball Park made the game memorable for the group. The company's name was displayed in lights on the stadium's state-of-the-art scoreboard during the game. The Reds proclaimed the evening, "House-Hasson Hardware Night." Don Hasson, president and CEO of the company, threw out the ceremonial first pitch and Allan Winn, vice president of merchandise, strapped on the gear and served as his catcher. This was the first time House-Hasson incorporated a baseball game into its convention, said Woolf, and it probably won't be the last. "The Reds played the St. Louis Cardinals and there was a lot of great relationship-building among our group that took place during the game," he said.

When it was time to get down to business, Cincinnati's newly renovated Duke Energy Center served as House-Hasson Hardware's home base, housing its meetings, general assemblies, and marketplace. This was the company's second largest show based on purchases, and the event was so successful that it booked Cincinnati again for 2009. Contributing to its success was Cincinnati's central location to all of House-Hasson's northern dealers.

Woolf tapped into the National Hardware Retail Association to find a speaker to address the group. Another new initiative introduced this year was a travel rewards program. Dealers could earn money toward their airline tickets or automobile expenses based on 5 percent of their stock purchases.