Here's another marketing idea that I had while I was in the shower.
Over the course of a season, people will say stuff like, "The Padres are 5-0 in games I've attended this season!" or "Whenever I go to games, they don't win, so I don't go to games." Well my idea is based on the fact that people really believe that they have an effect on the game in one way or another.
ASSUMING that the Padres bring back a fan loyalty program that's free to anyone who wants to join. Tie the games they go directly to the wins and losses. With the original Compadres Club, you'd scan your card and you'd get a tally of meaningless "points", like a single game was worth 10 point (instead of 1 point, because America likes to make a big deal out of everything).
What I want to know isn't just how many games I go to. I want to know my winning percentage.
How would it work?
First off, you scan your card and ticket at the same time. You obviously don't know the outcome of the game yet, so the actual tally doesn't appear until your next game. You also offer up an online component so that people can check in on their winning percentage and make a publicly available page (for people who want it) that can be shared among friends via Twitter/Facebook/Foursquare, that's a simple thing like, "I'm on a 5 game #Padres win streak!"
And THEN start to trigger various incentives/activities/promotions to certain events. Yes. Kinda like foursquare, but I'm thinking more along the lines of Vegas. The pit bosses in Vegas monitor you for certain things. Did you just lose a bunch of money? Here, have a free buffet before you shoot the place up. Oh you just won a ton of money? That's good for an extra night at the hotel.
With your Compadres Winning Percentage, if you've lost a bunch of games in a row, you could get a free hot dog and soda for the next game you come to. If you've won a bunch of games, you show up on a leaderboard. If you're in the top 100 for winning percentage (weighted by the number of games you go to), then at the end of the season, you get a pin, or like a patch for your letterman's jacket, or an autographed bat.
I'm thinking this could encourage competitions among groups of friends as well as incentive for people to try to talk their "winning" friends into going to games with them to change the Padres luck. I'd love to be able to wave it in jbox's face that the team wins more when I'm there. At the same time, in down seasons, I'd love to be able to pretend like I'm super bummed that I jinx the team every time I show up.
If the team hits a 3 or 4 game slide, send out an email to any Compadres Clubbers with a .750+ winning percentage encouraging to come out to the next game to turn things around. If the team's in a 3 or 4 game winning streak, send out an email to any Compadres Clubbers with a sub-.250 winning percentage to come out and fix their numbers while the team is hot.
The possibilities are endless. SOMEBODY CALL LEROY.