Sports Marketing’s Ultimate Flattery: When a Team Uses Another Club’s Logo in a Promotion

 

By ALAN SNEL

LVSportsBiz.com

 

While taking a timeout from college basketball washing over Las Vegas this week…

 

When you’re a minor league team and you’re trying to create a catchy sports marketing idea, there’s always the option of just lifting a feature from the local market’s most popular team.

 

Remember the former 51s/new Aviators’ idea of giving away Vegas Golden Knights-themed 51s jerseys at the 51s’ last game at Cashman Field?

 

There were long lines and chaos as fans seeking the freebie created a crush of people at Cashman seeking the baseball jersey with the Golden Knights colors and mark before the Sept. 1, 2018 game — the final baseball game at Cashman.

 

The Golden Knights mark is the gold standard of sports logos in Las Vegas, with the logo literally appearing everywhere in metro Vegas.

 

Now it’s the Las Vegas Lights FC turn to lift the Golden Knights logo power for its jersey. The Lights, though, are not giving away Lights FC jerseys with the Golden Knights theme at the next home game March 30. You can pay $99 for a jersey and a midfield upper seat ticket for the Lights’ March 30 game.

 

 

Here’s the kicker: “Available while supplies last.”

 

At the 51s’ last home game when the VGK-themed jerseys were given away for free, there were fans who did not get the freebie and were upset and disappointed.

 

But the Lights are charging for the VGK-themed soccer jersey, so that might stem the stampede we saw at the Sept. 1 baseball game when the 51s had the giveaway.

 

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Four college basketball conference tourneys are going on in Las Vegas as hoops madness engulfs Sin City. College basketball teams mean mascots also come to town. Here’s a sampling.

 

The St. Mary’s Gaels celebrated a West Coast Conference championship over rival Gonzaga at Orleans Arena Tuesday night.

 

 

The USC Trojans defeated Arizona in the first round of the Pac-12 tourney at T-Mobile Arena.

 

And Colorado’s buffalo — a real one — can’t come into T-Mobile Arena so the Buffs have to settle for this character named, “Chip,” as Colorado takes on Cal in the Pac-12.

 

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It looks like Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has some extra room during his stay in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 basketball tournament. My pal Darren Rovell with Scott’s accommodations courtesy of the Aria.

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