The opening of the new state-of-the-art Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. involved an all-hands-on-deck approach from local tourism, political, business and community leaders.
Now, Dwight’s Howard’s “hand” has brought national recognition to the Orlando Magic.
The Orlando Magic were awarded the 2011 ADchievement Award for “Best Sales Collateral” at the National Sports Forum, held in Louisville, Ky. Jan. 29 through Feb. 2.
The winning piece, the ENTER LEGEND invitation, gift and brochure for membership to the Chairman’s Suite presented by the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club at the new Amway Center, featured Howard’s handprint that was produced from plaster cast and hand-painted (photo attached), leaving a personal touch for each person who was marketed for membership into the most exclusive area in the Amway Center. Only 200 handprints were made, and they were also autographed by Howard before being delivered to each recipient.
In addition to the award for “Best Sales Collateral,” the Magic were also ranked first in the NBA and in the top five (fourth overall) of all professional sports teams in the “Overall Award of Excellence,” while the Magic were also one of six finalists in the “Best in Stadium” category.
The National Sports Forum is one of the largest annual cross-gathering of the top team sports marketing, sales, promotions and event entertainment executives from throughout the broad spectrum of teams and leagues in North America. The ADchievement Awards recognize the best advertising campaigns in eight categories: Sales Collateral, Print, TV, Radio, Out-of-Home, In Stadium/In Arena, Internet, Alternative Media. More than 500 submissions from teams representing MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, NCAA and minor leagues, as well as NASCAR, television networks, retail products and stores, and private corporations were received for consideration for this year’s awards.
Earlier this year, the Orlando Magic also received three major awards at the 2010 NBA Sales and Marketing Meetings held in Brooklyn, New York on January 11. The
organization was awarded:
* A “10,000 Season Tickets Sold Award” – awarded for selling more than 10,000 full season tickets
* A “2,000 New Season Tickets Sold Award” – awarded for selling more than 2,000 new full season tickets this season
* A sponsorship Performance Award for having more than 40 sponsors in the Top 50 corporate partnership categories that exceed the league average. This is the first time in club history that the team has been recognized with this award.
The Magic currently have more than 14,000 season ticket holders, the most in franchise history. Orlando’s corporate partnership roster – anchored by its “Champions of the Community” platform – is also a franchise record. Throughout the meetings, the Magic was used in best practice examples in everything from digital media to orlandomagic.com original content to sponsor activation to customer service practices.
In moving in the new Amway Center this season the Magic continued its efforts in regard to affordable tickets. Entering the 2010-11 season, Orlando had 2,500 seats priced $15 or less, 7,000 seats priced $25 or less, and 10,000 seats priced $50 or under per game. Also, for the first time ever, the Magic introduced a $5 per game ticket with more than 600 available per game.
