When
Barry Bonds hit a home run at Coors Field in Denver Sept.
5, 2007, nobody gave it much extra thought. It was just
another home run - No. 762, to be precise - in a long line
of Barry Bonds home runs.
But Bonds struggled the rest of season, never hit another home run, and failed to catch on with another team during spring training. By end April, it became clear to ProConnect Public Relations that somebody in Denver had a historic baseball in the back of his closet. But who? The lucky person had never been identified. ProConnect smelled a PR opportunity.
After several calls to its most adventurous clients, ProConnect PR distributed a press release announcing that one client, Alpine Waste & Recycling, would pay $7,170 for the ball, even though training camp was still in full swing and it was possible that Bonds could hook up with another team, hit another home run, and render home run baseball No. 762 valueless.
Shortly thereafter, a ProConnect PR client put out a press release on behalf of another client, bidding $10,000 for the ball. The ball's owner remained in seclusion. Then came another press release by yet another ProConnect PR client, this time announcing a $13,000 bid. Reporters were beginning to catch on. This was lively copy - something to make readers and listeners take notice. ProConnect PR clients ended up on live radio and in several newspaper columns.
One columnist in particular wrote a tongue-in-cheek article wondering about the "collusion" among ProConnect PR clients and wondering whether everybody involved in this story - himself included - had anything better to do. The answer: no. Not when they could be having this much fun and getting this much publicity for their companies.
Throughout the campaign, ProConnect PR clients maintained a focus on ways that they might help charitable organizations such as the Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, HealthBridge Alliance and The Gathering Place.
Finally, the owner of the ball stepped forward and announced
he would put the ball up for sale in a formal, online auction.
By now, the story had reached national
attention, and ProConnect PR's clients
were part of the fun.
BARRY BONDS HOME RUN BALL
Press Releases
Alpine Waste
& Recycling Bids for Bonds Home Run Ball (March 6, 2008)
Lake Arbor Auto
Raises Bid For Home Run Ball (March 6, 2008)
GRAnderson Wealth
Management Joins Bidding For Home Run Ball (March 7, 2008)
GRAnderson Wealth Management
Increases Offer for Home Run Ball (March 11, 2008)
Lake Arbor
Auto Submits New Bid for Ball (March 12, 2008)
Articles
Bidding for Bonds' last Mile High homer, by Mike Taylor, Colorado Biz Magazine, March 12, 2008
Sales pitch for Bonds' 762nd HR, by Associated Press, March 13, 2008
No. 762 home run ball to be auctioned, by MLB.com, March 13, 2008