During the first week of training for the new season, the public is invited to watch and the coach and players hang around after practice for autograph signing and questions. Buckingham, whose two children also love the Indianapolis Colts, went with Dad to a practice during the first week of camp. Buckingham came prepared with two mid-size footballs.
The first one was created specially for Tony Dungy, the head coach, with his photo and the words “Thanks Coach for the Super Bowl Championship,” which the team had won in Super Bowl 2006. He also brought a blank football to collect some autographs on.
Another talent of Buckingham’s is he is a serious amateur photographer. He recently purchased a Sony 10.2 megapixel professional-quality camera for his Ballstars’ business, which he had ready once he got his turn to talk to Coach Dungy. “He was very surprised and he thanked me for it,” says Buckingham. The licensee also got his photo taken with the coach and the ball as well as photos of several of the other players.The next day, after Buckingham had a chance to go home and get some photos printed, he returned and was able to get several of the photos signed as well. At this time, he was invited to a private special autograph signing event in October.
While waiting and watching the team practice, Buckingham had an opportunity to show around his custom-designed ball to other waiting fans and he handed out as many business cards as possible. And in the meantime, he is submitting a press release about his experience to local newspapers.
Many Ballstars’ licensees have found that once they begin getting out to events such as this one, showing the balls, and distributing literature and business cards that word of mouth can really get sales rolling. A great way to find out about events is local newspapers, community Web sites, and regional online calendars. Check out what you might visit and capitalize on this great marketing technique.
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