The Twins continue to alienate their audience at a critical juncture by making perplexing judgments and communicating in a toneless manner. Despite their best efforts, the organization’s leadership cannot avoid responsibility for this fan-infuriating catastrophe. You have to question where things went so wrong.
When Joe Pohlad took over as ownership’s new figurehead during the 2022-23 winter, he talked big, with the company portraying him as a bold leader who would usher in a bright new era of prominence for the Minnesota Twins brand. He looked prepared to back it up.
As the third-generation Pohlad settled into his new title and role, Minnesota’s payroll skyrocketed, thanks in large part to the game-changing Carlos Correa deal. Meanwhile, the Twins announced an ambitious and complete redesign, as well as major enhancements to Target Field, including a $30 million scoreboard expansion.
The message at the time was that the Twins were just getting started. “While he didn’t mention a specific number, Pohlad didn’t hesitate to suggest the Twins could significantly increase payroll if everything was properly aligned,” wrote Dan Hayes of The Athletic at the time. In the piece, Pohlad did not rule out the idea of Minnesota’s payroll potentially reaching $180-200 million, placing the state in a different category of resource availability and market credibility.
A sluggish start to the 2023 season dampened enthusiasm around the team, but things improved dramatically after the All-Star break, as the Twins recovered to win the division and break a two-decade postseason curse in front of a sold-out Target Field.
As luck would have it, their TV contract with the much-maligned Diamond Sports Group was about to an end, leaving the Twins as free agents in the broadcast arena, free to shop their rights around or put them under their own umbrella. Team officials boasted about the ability to enhance reach and access across Twins Territory, while also publicly promising to halt blackouts.
Here’s a quick rundown of everything that has transpired since the Twins were eliminated from the playoffs by Houston last season:
Derek Falvey announced the team’s decision to significantly curtail spending just days after one of the most exhilarating breakthroughs in the franchise’s modern history, which was fueled by a record salary.
The Twins took this pledge to the extreme, reducing payroll by $35 million and dropping to the bottom third of the league.
At the same time, they signed up for another year with Diamond Sports, a choice that was clearly and purely motivated by money, casting doubt on their claims that fan access was a priority.
You may throw in some other problematic courses of action, such as abruptly parting ways with Dick Bremer in a manner that many perceived as frigid, but those are the key ones, in my opinion. Especially when used in combination. Slashing payroll and pocketing TV money (while maintaining a broadcast scenario that the team had already acknowledged as a poor offer for their supporters) felt to many people like a middle finger extended in their way, rather than an open hand of welcome. Who would blame them?
The situation has deteriorated worse. Last week, without warning, Bally Sports North and other Diamond Sports RSNs went offline for Comcast and Xfinity users, indicating that the two sides had failed to reach an agreement before the May 1 deadline. Two massive, selfish, loathed corporations at war. As a result, a large portion of the Twins’ already limited fanbase lost their ability to see them.
Given all of their lofty claims about the critical need of making their product available to a bigger audience, the creation of new barriers for eager, paying customers to watch this baseball club almost feels like a sick joke. Those declarations were clever and correct! However, the Twins have disregarded these professed values with every action, and they are now embroiled in a disaster of their own design, causing significant damage to their brand.
Yes, a person like me can discover an alternative. I did. I cancelled my Xfinity subscription over the weekend and am now on board with Fubo TV, which appears to be good. But the Twins were never in danger of losing me. They risk losing people who lack the resources to locate a new answer or who are so tired of all this junk that they refuse to try.
I’m thinking of restaurants and sports bars, which, in my experience, were already prone to showing whatever out-of-market NBA or NHL game happened to be on TV instead of the Twins, even when the broadcasts were more easily accessible. I think of my parents, who are big Twins fans but also long-time cable users and are unlikely to change their minds about this. Guess they’ll just reduce their investment.
I think of stories like the one below, from a Twitter buddy whose 87-year-old grandfather is suddenly forced to figure out how to watch the team at his assisted living facility. It’s sad.
These are all lost chances at best, and outright brand-building mistakes at worst. Although I am one, it does not take a marketing professional to understand the dire long-term consequences of this type of audience gatekeeping, especially in a local market where competition for sports fans is fierce: the Timberwolves are on a tear in the playoffs, and the Vikings have just drafted their future quarterback.
Look, I’m not making some hidden, ground-breaking discoveries here. And that’s where I get completely confused. Joe Pohlad is most well-known for his ability to establish brands. Despite commercial setbacks, his earlier efforts in taking over Go Media was heavily influenced by this strength, according to his own statements. “In my opinion, Go has a lot of success on the brand side. However, the problems stemmed from business decisions, specifically pivoting,” Pohlad stated in the aforementioned Hayes article.
Well, from a business sense, the Twins must pivot. Clearly. They’re mishandling it right now. At the very least, they will be able to accurately communicate their predicament in terms of message and branding. Your fans and prospective new fans are everything. Stop antagonizing them! Is this billable business advice? Should I charge?
Whatever guidance this organization’s leadership is now receiving does not appear to be particularly good. I’m not sure who felt that an out-of-touch shrug of the shoulders ¯ would be well accepted as the team’s take on the Bally Sports travesty. “No role or voice in this matter” ? Get real. Treating your audience as disposable is one thing, but treating them as stupid is another.
I’m writing this not to demand accountability, nor to single out anyone in particular for the franchise’s complete failure. Joe Pohlad and Dave St. Peter. I do not care. Someone needs to step forward and alleviate the brand harm.
Notably, whoever is going to help turn this ship around will not be Meka Morris. Morris, who was hired in 2021 as the organization’s first Chief Revenue Officer and described by Forbes in a glowing feature last summer as “the woman in charge of selling [the Twins’] appeal,” quietly exited recently, taking a job in March as EVP/Revenue & Chief Business Officer (essentially the same title) for the Chicago Bears.
I’m not going to speculate on the reasons behind this executive’s resignation, despite the fact that he appeared to be on the rise. As far as I can tell, neither side has made any public comments about the separation. But, at the very least, it’s another clear illustration of the bright and confident vision that was laid forth for this institution just a few years ago falling by the wayside. Revenues are down, payroll is down, fans are upset, and everyone appears to be absolutely stupid and reactionary in their responses and communication about it.
It’s a shame, since the Twins should be able to capitalize on all of the tremendous work done by the front office, coaching staff, and players to build energy and enthusiasm. They deserve better.
We all deserve better. It is time for the Minnesota Twins – their ownership and business side – to perform better. Or find someone who can.
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