Thursday, November 13, 2008

NBA Team Offers Free Tickets for Unemployed Fans

Imagine a job fair where you were you bring your resume, exchange it for tickets to a basketball game, and wait for a possible interview with a major corporation. That's essentially what the New Jersey Nets of the NBA are offering. Professional Sports teams are often criticized for catering to corporate ticket holders over the average fan, but the Nets have devised a great plan to link the two sides.

In response to the economic crisis, the Nets are giving away 300 tickets at five different home games (1,500 total tickets). Unemployed fans can exchange a copy of their resume for up to four tickets to one of the games, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Their information will be entered into the Nets Job Bank, which is connected to hundreds of team sponsors.

Gannett Co. posted an article from the Associated Press,which included Nets president Brett Yormark's remarks about the effort:

Our belief right now is let’s invest in people who might invest in us later. In doing so, we can help people who need it most.Our sponsors and season ticket holders are always looking for good talent.....Hopefully, if they see a talented person they will call them in for an interview.

 

Yormark and the Nets' front office pulled off one of the greatest sports promotions I've ever seen. It's a charitable cause with the potential to improve the economy of the surrounding community and the team's image at the same time. Even if some fans don't get any job leads out of it, the ticket giveaway is a perfect excuse for a family to enjoy a fun night away from the stress of everyday life.

By Matt O'Hern at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)

Post a Comment