ESPN recently featured a video short called “How the Savannah Bananas have become the greatest show in baseball” on SportsCenter.
The clip explores how the Savannah Bananas minor league baseball team made going to a baseball game an experience, becoming the “greatest show in baseball.”
Click here to watch the video on ESPN’s YouTube page.
Discussion Questions:
- According to this video, have the Savannah Bananas always been successful off the field?
- How did the team’s owners originally finance the team’s operation?
- How do you think the organization’s leadership has impacted the franchise’s overall success?
- What approach did the team’s front office take to help build a loyal following?
- What is branding?
- How would you describe the Bananas’ branding strategy?
- How do you think the team’s branding strategy helped it to find success?
- What is product differentiation?
- What is positioning?
- What is competition?
- What is the difference between direct and indirect competition?
- Who do you think might represent competition to the Bananas?
- How do you think the Bananas’ front office has differentiated its product from competitors?
- How has it positioned its product?
- What is fan experience?
- How do you think the attention to fan experience has propelled the Bananas’ success? Be prepare to discuss your answers in class.