Speaking of branding I had no idea just how lame the Galaxy’s STH package was compared to other teams. I'm all for keeping ticket prices low but come on throw an extra buck on each ticket and do something that doesn't feel like you sent Jim down to Kinko's http://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/1yd99g/season_ticket_packaging/
That was interesting - the Portland log cooler was awesome. The more I see the Quakes shield the more I think of Quaker Oats.
It would have been nice if they kept up the tradition of a unique STH scarf each year. Beyond that, over the years I have accumulated so much LAG-themed stuff that it doesn't really mean all that much to me. BTW, I still eat my breakfast cereal out of the Kellogs' LA Galaxy bowl that they gave away at the Rose Bowl one year. Old habits die hard.
I'm mildly disappointed. I doubt I'll lose sleep over it but it was nice to get scarves and stuff. Then again, the SGs do get at least one free ticket to the Chivas game every year. That's worth more to me than a log-shaped bag.
They handed out a STH scarf at a game about midseason last year. Are you saying they have already announced they won't do that again this year or are you just saying it won't be "unique?"
It’s not so much about “stuff” for me it’s more about the first official experience of a new season, it‘s like an amuse bouche. Getting a FedEx package with a spiral bound 2/1 color tickets and an invoice is pretty utilitarian. The Galaxy is or at least aspires to be a premium brand and when I think of other brands of similar ilk I’ve been fortunate enough to experience it’s almost always a premium experience from the first touch to most recent interaction. It certainly a long way down the list of importance, but it would cost less than $10 to put the tickets in a small faux-leather folder with a debossed Galaxy logo. It’s silly and a waste of material, but it’s one those little irrational things that fosters brand loyalty.
I've noticed people from LARS and ACB both post pictures of their ticket books having LARS/ABC logos on them, that's pretty neat.
I must have missed that game as I didn't get one last year. I don't know if there will be an STH scarf coming, but in years before last year the scarf came with the season ticket package. The scarf itself said on it "Galaxy Season Ticket Holder" if I recall right. Also, one year I remember getting a nice wooden box with a brass plate logo to hold the tickets. Not particularly practical, but a nice gesture.
Last year's scarf did say "Galaxy Season Ticket Holder" on it, so that was the same, but you had to pick it up at a game and it wasn't available until midway through the season.
I got an email the other day saying I was going to get a signed Omar Gonzalez mini locker at some point in the near future, whatever the heck that is...... But yeah, the package itself is a little underwhelming.
Hey, at least we pay a LOT more than everyone else, and you can get seats cheaper, with free goodies off Groupon.
STH scarf from last year (and 2012) is available via the rewards program (Locker Room) for a certain amount of points...this is a promising new feature for being a season ticket holder. The wooden box was from the inaugural year of the HDC.
Yeah, it's a decent idea. It's a bit worrying that most of the merch currently available is literally old stuff they probably have sitting in boxes somewhere. Being able to buy LA2 tickets is good...i'll probably just save up until the end of the year and see if something big comes along.
True but it is a program that is just a couple weeks old...hopefully a lot more items become available.
@wvhooligan: Sounds like #FCDallas season ticket holders are all getting MLS Live codes for free. Really cool move by the FO there.
Yup got my season ticket book today and an email blast from the FO with a code to get MLS Live for free, which is very nice (I get a refund because i'd already paid). It's a pretty nicely printed book with a mini calendar card to put in your wallet with the schedule, various coupons and then the tickets. No scarf or anything this year, though sometimes that stuff comes later.
Ha ha ha ha ha...look at this beauty I just noticed going through my account. They actually charge us for the thing that's worse than what everyone else doesn't get charged for. Amazing. But hey, at least I'm paying more for my seats and 2 beers than people who get the beer garden tickets.
I'm in GA anyways this year. That's how I figured out beer garden is cheaper. GA season ticket is $25 a game, plus two beers is probably 40 (I assume the free beer garden beers are the cheapest ones which I believe are 7.50?) Beer Garden package seat in GA is $35.
See that’s like $5 worth of “stuff”. They even did the same cost-cutting measure as LA with a 2 color ticket book, but it’s executed so much better than LA’s. At least half of my tickets have two sets of die cuts for the binding because the first ones are too far offset from the edge to accommodate the spiral. The trim job was so shitty you can see some of the printer’s marks and the file name they used to print the tickets (GAL.2014printfile_dec20las2.txt in case you were wondering). The whole thing comes across like a high-school raffle booklet, not a $400-$5000 product for what has to be one of the most important fan segments to the team. Those credit card style passes other clubs are using would cost less than ¢25 a piece, meanwhile the membership cards included in our ticket book cost ~¢40 each. The rest of the booklet is $1.50 easy. So we have a product that looks & feels cheap, but is actually costlier than a more elegant solution and at least in my case was incompetently executed. Again it’s a super-tiny issue, I’ll take tickets written by hand on the back of matchbook for an MLS Cup, but it’s the lowest of low hanging fruit.
Don't forget the "convenience fee" per ticket, which you don't have to pay as a STH. Overall, the ST is a better value, especially if you sneak in your booze, which I do anyway, and/or I get f___ed up in the parking lot before I come to the stadium and scream "f___ you" to the G's enemies when we score. I guess I get a little too excited.