Hooks Win MiLB's June 'Promo of the Month' Award

CORPUS CHRISTI - The Hooks have been awarded Minor League Baseball's June Promotion of the Month for their Coastal Bend Conservation/Phone Free games, MiLB's Special Events Department announced Friday.
The honor makes the Hooks an automatic finalist for the Golden Bobblehead Awards, recognizing MiLB's most creative promotions during the Innovators Summit on Sept. 26 at Southwest University Park in El Paso.

"We're incredibly proud to be recognized by Minor League Baseball as June Promo of the Month against some tough competition," said Hooks General Manager Wes Weigle. "Our Coastal Bend Conservation Weekend, anchored by the Phones-Free Game, was truly an all-hands effort that required long hours and extra training for our front office and gameday staff. This award not only honors that commitment, but it continues to shine light on the importance of conservation in Corpus Christi and beyond. We set out to make an impact with this promotion, and the overwhelmingly positive feedback and conservation efforts we accomplished made it a huge success."
The inaugural Coastal Bend Conservation Weekend took place June 20-22 but kicked off June 8, World Oceans Day, with a Hooks Beach Sweep. That morning, more than 200 volunteers, including Hooks players, collected 1.41 tons of trash from four beaches along the coast.
June 20 marked the marquee event of Coastal Bend Conservation Weekend as the Hooks made history as the first professional team to host a Phones-Free Game. All 6,199 fans entering Whataburger Field received a Yondr phone case, a fabric pouch that securely locks at the top and can only be opened using Yondr's unlocking base. Houston Astros all-star outfielder George Springer was also assigned to begin his rehab with Corpus Christi that night.

Hey again, everyone! So, uh, we hit 6 homers tonight during our Phones-Free Game and won 10-2.

George Springer hit two dingers.
The first: 412ft, 111mph.
The second: 386ft, 104mph. pic.twitter.com/lva6VWbBqG

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) June 21, 2019

The Phones-Free promotion garnered national and regional media attention from MLB Network, USA Today, MiLB.com, Ballpark Digest, Front Office Sports, AT&T SportsNet and several Astros beat reporters. Engagement on the Hooks' social media channels increased nearly 400 percent during Coastal Bend Conservation Weekend while impression went up more than 160 percent.
During the game, Hooks social media channels went dark as full-time staff took part in the promotion. For fans who wanted pictures to remember the evening, the Hooks provided a photo booth on the concourse level where fans could send pictures to their emails, both Hooks mascots carried Polaroid cameras for the night, and disposable cameras were available for purchase in the team stores.
The Hooks wore special Coastal Bend jerseys throughout the weekend, which were auctioned off with all proceeds benefitting the Coastal Conservation Association of Texas.