Redband Rally Earns National Recognition

SPOKANE, Wash. - Today the Spokane Indians and Spokane's signature fish earned some national attention. With the Redband Rally, the Spokane Indians launched a multifaceted endeavor that combined branding, merchandising, promotion and community outreach, along with a very unique and striking rally mascot. That successful effort earned the team an Editor's Choice Award for Outstanding Achievement in the 2017 season from Ballpark Digest.

All great endeavors, it seems, begins with a simple idea. The Redband Rally had its genesis when the team was searching for a rally mascot. But not just any rally mascot: a rally mascot with meaning and ties to the greater Spokane community. 

And so was born the Redband Rally, so named for the native redband trout that was once part of the primary food source for the Spokane Tribe of Indians. Redband trout are unique to the Spokane area, and while they're not endangered, much community care is devoted to them. That humble effort morphed into a much larger happening that ended up raising money for the restoration of the redband trout habitat, a partnership with the city of Spokane, a new team mascot, a new merchandise line and, perhaps most importantly, an important community-building endeavor.

"It's certainly a great achievement when a team can combine a notable promotion with community outreach and make an impact on so many levels," said Ballpark Digest publisher Kevin Reichard. "An in-game promotion grew into something much larger as the season progressed, and now the Spokane Indians have become an even bigger part of the Spokane community."

"Our goal wasn't just to create another new promotion," said Indians' Senior Vice President Otto Klein. "We wanted to create a promotion with real depth. The Redband Rally Campaign is truly historic and unique to Minor League baseball. We love working with our community partners and most importantly, rallying around Spokane's signature fish, the Redband Trout."

"Spokane is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in projects to improve the health of the Spokane River, but getting citizens excited about underground infrastructure is challenging," said Spokane Mayor David Condon. "Add a headband and a colorful fish mascot during hometown baseball games, and suddenly the information has reached new audiences in a memorable way."

The process began with a simple Redband Rally headband distributed for free by the team; the headband contains information about the redband trout and conservation effort, and fans were encouraged to wear it while cheering on the Indians during a game's final innings. The campaign was kicked up a notch with an alternate jersey, as well as new caps with a trout-centric logo. (The first cap order immediately sold out.) The beautiful Redband logo was developed by Brandiose, the team's official branding company. Add an adorable mascot in the form of Ribby the Redband and support from both the city and the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and one of the most successful initiatives in all of baseball in 2017 was born.

"We see lots of promotional and branding efforts come down the line, but it's the rare one that really resonates with a community like the Redband Rally did," Reichard added. "Every baseball team craves deeper ties to its home community, and the Spokane Indians managed to deepen those ties with an outstanding effort."

More on the Redband Rally and why it's Ballpark Digest's Editor's Choice for Outstanding Achievement can be found here at ballparkdigest.com. 
 
The Redband Rally led the Indians to an amazing eight walk-off victories during the 2017 season. To learn more about the Redband Rally, please visit SpokaneRedband.com

There are multiple new Redband merchandise items currently for sale at the Spokane Indians Team Store. $5 from each piece of Redband merchandise sold will be donated to the Redband Rally Campaign.
About the Indians
The Indians are the Short Season Class "A" affiliate for the Texas Rangers. Reserve your seats for the 2018 season today online at TicketsWest.com and spokaneindians.com, or by calling the Avista Stadium Ticket Office at (509) 343-6886 (OTTO). 

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