PART 3-CRITICAL THINKING CASE MAVERICKS—THE TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE

Mark Cuban, ranked as 327 on Forbes magazine's list of the world’s richest people, paid $280 million for a losing product when he bought the Dallas Mavericks in January 2000. At the time, he described the sports franchise as a beaten organization, but one that had a culture of survival. As the new owner, Cuban began immediately to revitalize the product by changing the face of the organization. His objective was to transform Mavericks games into a total entertainment experience that would offer much more than just a game. Internal changes paved the way for enhancing the customer’s experience. Cuban immediately tripled the size of the sales staff. Every sales representative was required to make 100 cold calls per day until games began to sell out. The new mantra was, “Every minute of every day, it’s selling time.” More important, however, was what these sales reps were selling. Cuban told them that they no longer sold basketball—they were selling fun, throats sore from yelling, and hands sore from clapping. Within three years, Mavericks fans had a sense of pride in their team, which had developed into a winning basketball franchise. Once a perpetual loser, the team was winning games, making the playoffs, and boasting franchise-best records. Though the team’s winning record was capturing fans, Cuban knew that he would have to offer a wide array of related products and enhancements if he was to continue to beat out his entertainment competitors in Northeast . The Dallas Mavericks reside in a city with all of the “big four” professional sports teams. In addition to the Mavericks, Dallas is home to the (football), the (hockey), and the (baseball). The Mavericks’ entertainment competitors also include the Texas Motor Speedway, Lone Park, Dallas Desperados Dancers, and Dallas Burn and Sidekicks soccer teams, as well as countless restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and music venues. Local collegiate sports teams (e.g., Southern Methodist University, the University of , and the University of Texas at Arlington) also compete for entertainment time and dollars. As a competitor in this vast entertainment marketplace, the Mavericks offered not just a winning team, but a great in-arena experience. The Mavs ManiAAC’s (men between the ages of 21 and 50) made their dancing debut at the first playoff game in 2001, and fans were entertained regularly by the Mavs Man mascot and the Mavs Dancers. The entertainment experience also included the merchandise sold, the music and videos played, the free entry of painted fans, and the team’s own version of Duke’s Cameron Crazies (allegedly some of the rowdiest, wittiest, and best-organized college basketball fans). The team’s attendance figures testify to Cuban's ability to create a successful product. Since December 2001, the team has sold out every home game at the American Airlines . With this goal accomplished, team management had a new objective: to increase the team’s fan base in the Fort Worth area. Although the Mavericks consider themselves a Metroplex (Dallas-Fort Worth) team, they had not made a concentrated effort to market the team outside the city of Dallas. Demographically, Dallas and Fort Worth are very comparable. Fort Worth is located approximately 30 miles west of Dallas, with two major highways connecting the two cities. Like the ( and St. Paul) and the (Oakland and San Francisco), the Mavericks have easy access to markets in two large cities. The combined population of Dallas and Fort Worth is slightly over 1.7 million (compared to a market of almost 660,000 for the Timberwolves and around 1.2 million for the Warriors). Though Fort Worth does not boast a hometown professional team, the Texas Rangers claim Fort Worth, Dallas, and Arlington as their hometowns. Additionally, Fort Worth has minor league teams such as the baseball team and the Fort Worth Brahmas hockey team. On the collegiate scene, the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University have become a national phenomenon and draw considerable support. Other entertainment offerings in Fort Worth include Six Flags over Texas, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, the Bass Performance Hall, and the Will Rogers Coliseum and Museum district. Despite this competition, Cuban's goal was to make the Mavericks a hometown brand in Fort Worth by 2005, while continuing to fill their arena to capacity. Sources: Much of this case was prepared by Matt Miller in his case study, “Marketing the Dallas Mavericks to the Fort Worth Community,” Texas Christian University, 2005. See also, “,” Billboard 2004 Digital Entertainment Conference & Awards, http://www.digitalentertainmentawards .com; Mark Cuban, “How to Win Fans and Influence People,” Special to SportsNation, January 21, 2003, http://espn.go.com/.