• What it Means to REALLY Take Care of Your Fans

    Posted on November 20th, 2008 by and currently 10 commenting.

    Man, oh man. There is a huge chasm between the lip service so many companies spout about taking care of their fans and actually DOING it.

    Joe Dannelly, here at Brains on Fire, sent me this story that is a shining example of the latter.

    The New Jersey Nets are finding jobs for their unemployed fans. No kidding.

    The Nets announced Wednesday they are providing 1,500 free tickets over the next two months to unemployed fans who submit resumes to the team.

    The NBA team plans to send the resumes to its 120 corporate sponsors and a couple hundred firms that own season tickets.

    “Our belief right now is let’s invest in people who might invest in us later,” Nets chief executive Brett Yormark said in a telephone interview. “In doing so, we can help people who need it most.”

    Nets spokesman Barry Baum said Wednesday night that the team had received about 1,000 resumes.

    Can they guarantee that everyone will get a job? Of course not. But it’s a start. It’s a morale booster. And it’s the right thing to do. What is this costing the Nets? Not much. But what is the value of what they’re providing? A lot. In turn, it gives these people a story. It allows them to believe in something bigger than themselves. And it creates a strong bond that goes beyond loyalty.

    Kudos to the New Jersey Nets for showing the other professional teams out there what it really means to look out for those who look out for you.

  • http://www.800ceoread.com Jon

    Great story, Spike! A nice example of how we can all think differently about how to help our fans and partners.

  • http://www.momcentral.com Kara

    Awesome story Spike. Great example of what companies can truly do to help their “fans” feel better about their investments. Even if only 1% the resumes submitted get a employment opportunity, they have made a fan for life.

  • Stephen

    At least the Nets may win a few more hearts than games! However, I disagree with Kara, ‘Even if only 1% the resumes submitted get a employment opportunity, they have made a fan for life.’ – anyone finding employment through this will make sure that she, her fmaily, her friends and anyone asking how she got her job -are life long fans!

  • Lady Fizzlebottom

    I’d like to see more of this kind of creativity and generosity. Being unemployed hasn’t been fun for me and stories like this give me hope.

  • http://www.themurr.com DaveMurr

    Fantastic idea! What a great idea. I’m from Detroit and this is something that our teams should consider.

    The morale factor is big.

    And I’m sure they have made new fans doing this.

  • http://www.sonnygill.com Sonny Gill

    How fantastic of the Nets. That truly shows their commitment to their fans and helping bring the community together, not just for the team but for the city/state.

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  • http://blog.catchyourlimit.com jeff

    That is pure genius!

  • http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com olivier blanchard

    Wow. I just became a fan.

  • MC

    Could you imagine the impact this story and idea would have on the world if every Bigger company/sport teams/ etc did this…change the world as we know it!