If You Build a Cheaper Mousetrap, They Will Come
By by Matthew Miller

The Toronto Blue Jays are proud of their marketing prowess. Brought in two years ago to revive the team's dismal attendance rates, marketing director James Bloom launched an Internet ad campaign and started hawking package deals with Toronto theaters and hotels to attract U.S. tourists. When the SARS threat hit Toronto last spring, the team offered fans $1 tickets. The strategy has worked: The team's attendance is up 6% since 2002 after a decline of 60% in the decade before.

What the Blue Jays don't brag about is that the team has reduced its payroll from (we estimate) $74 million to $50 million over the past two years. You get what you pay for: The Jays are in fourth place in the American League East.

A business school professor could make a good case study out of this. Can a baseball team increase its profits by lowering prices, lowering costs and increasing volume? Another academic question: Can good marketing overcome a bad product?

Sources: Major League Baseball; Toronto Blue Jays; Forbes.