ExactTarget Assists Indianapolis Indians Post Record Sales

Mar 30, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) — The Indianapolis Indians has announced it sold a record number of single-game tickets online during its first week of sales thanks to a revamped interactive marketing program powered by ExactTarget.

The new campaign has already increased online ticket sales 64 percent over the 2010 season and posted an email open rate of more than 30 percent, the Company reported.

“We had the highest first week of online ticket sales in our team’s history,” said Chris Herndon, director of marketing and communications with the Indianapolis Indians. “By partnering with a global leader like ExactTarget in our own hometown, we’re able to better communicate with our fans with relevant and timely messages, which can sell more tickets.” Herndon said the Indians also plan to use ExactTarget’s survey tools this season, allowing fans to complete surveys via its email program. He expects this enhancement to increase survey participation and provide the ball club with richer customer feedback, allowing the team to improve overall customer service.

“Effective marketing is about the unique needs of the consumer,” said Tim Kopp, ExactTarget chief marketing officer. “The Indianapolis Indians have a rich baseball tradition, and their email campaign is a model for others to follow as it truly serves fans with relevant and timely information.” According to a release, the Indianapolis Indians are considered a leader within the professional minor league sports industry. The Indians are consistently within the top 10 of Minor League Baseball attendance (out of more than 160 clubs) and have turned a profit for 38 consecutive years.

The Indians open the season at Victory Field April 7, facing the defending Triple-A champion Columbus Clippers at 7:05 p.m.

ExactTarget is a global provider of on-demand email marketing and interactive marketing solutions. The company’s Interactive Marketing Hub technology provides organizations a single solution to connect with customers via email, integrated text messaging, landing pages and social media.