Thanks to Santa, aka my wife, I'm now the owner of an NFL team. OK, part owner of the Green Bay Packers, courtesy of a recent stock sale the team unveiled to fund expansion of Lambeau Field. I've been a diehard Packers fanatic since 1971, and this gift may go down as one of the best ever.
For $250, plus shipping and handling, I now own one share in the team, for which I get a nice stock certificate, access to the company's annual shareholder meeting, and discounts at the Packers Hall of Fame. Unlike a publicly traded stock, this certificate cannot be sold or traded and has no direct monetary value.
Critics of the Packers' stock sale/purchase ask, "Why would you pay $250 for something that's not worth anything?" It's a valid question but assumes the stock must have a market value instead of the enormous sentimental value that has driven the sale. No matter how silly it sounds, being able to say I co-own a team that has given me so much pleasure over the years is priceless. The fact I'm helping fund expansion of the stadium and the team's long-term financial health is a bonus.
Diehard Packers fans can speak passionately about why being a shareholder is worth $250, but just in case any of them may have forgotten, the Packers have done a masterful job of reminding their fans why they and the organization are special.
With the stock certificate comes a "brand book," a small but polished CD-sized booklet that eloquently reminds the owner of the things -- big and small -- that make the Green Bay Packers different than any other pro team in the world. The fact Green Bay is the only publicly owned professional sports team in America is just the start.
In 28 easily read pages filled with big pictures and short sentences, stockholders are quickly reminded why their $250 investment is far more than a piece of paper.
A few examples:
and
This messaging taps into the philosophical rather than the physical, and reminds me of another company that understands how to market itself: Apple.
And the more I think about it, the more I find myself thinking about eerie similarities between the Packers and Apple:
In short, these two pages from the "brand book" say it all:
Who wouldn't want to be a part of that?