Cardinals in the Community

The St. Louis Cardinals are more than just a professional baseball team; they're a business and a part of the St. Louis community. Many facets make up the Cardinals role in the local communities and many of the activities can be directly related to their marketing campaign. I will discuss a few of the programs the Cardinals offer for the St. Louis area.

Fredbird
For the die-hard Cardinal fans, our beloved Fredbird is more than just a mascot, he is a symbol of Cardinal pride. The Cardinals organization uses this symbolic reference to their advantage by having Fredbird at numerous events throughout the year. Whether it is schools, little league games, or any other event, Fredbird is available for rent. This a great marketing tool as Fredbird's relationship with children especially delivers two primary purposes: creates positive association with the Cardinals' name and builds Cardinal pride with the future Cardinal fan-base.

Cardinals in the Community
Beyond Fredbird, the most recognizable part of the Cardinals organization is the players themselves. The Cardinals have numerous partnerships with charities and companies in the St. Louis area and what makes these programs effective is the players willingness to participate in their minimal free time. According to the Cardinals website the players have appeared in numerous Public Service Announcements as well as Jeff Suppan visiting a local library and two relievers appearing at the Cardinals-Red Cross Blood Drive.



Cardinals Care
Cardinals Care is the primary charity associated with the team. This program works with various organizations across the St. Louis area. In the article "Cardinals Care Exceeds $10 Million", it is mentioned that Cardinals Care, founded in 1996, has reached the $10,000,000 mark for gifts given through the charity. A special event was held with mayor of St. Louis, team owners, coaches, and players in attendance. Cardinals Care is best known for renovating baseball parks in order to allow area youth to play the game they leave in a nice facility. The charity also donates to schools to help libraries, computer labs, and athletics facilities get a face lift. The Cardinals are sure to leave recognition of their good deeds by naming the projects names such as "Cardinals Care Computer lab," "Redbird Playground", or "Cardinals Care Library Corner." Cardinals Care is always accepting ideas for their next renovation project.

Each of these programs delivers one primary purpose: spread goodwill throughout the community and attach the St. Louis Cardinals name to it. The best part about this tactic is everyone wins.