Bank of America Thinks I’m a Cubs Fan (I’m Not)
I’m not a baseball enthusiast but I do root for the home team, the St. Louis Cardinals. After all, I live downtown about a mile from Busch Stadium. Â I can even hear the home run fireworks. So you can imagine my shock when I opened my mailbox Wednesday:
Now I realize Charlotte NC is a long way from both St. Louis and Chicago. Â They have the minor league Charlotte Knights, but no major league team.
I had to look up to be sure the St. Louis Cardinals have always been in St. Louis:
The Cardinals were founded in 1882 as a member of the American Association called the St. Louis Brown Stockings. The club quickly achieved success, winning four AA pennants in a row in 1885–1888. St. Louis played in an early version of the World Series, the first two times against the National League’s Chicago White Stockings, now named the Chicago Cubs. The 1885 series ended in dispute, but St. Louis won the 1886 series outright, beginning a St. Louis-Chicago rivalry that continues today.  The American Association went bankrupt in 1892, and the Browns moved to the National League, leaving much of their success behind for the next three decades. The club changed its name to the “Perfectos” in 1899, before adopting the “Cardinals” name in 1900. (Source)
So no living person working at Bank of America should be confused. Â St. Louis did have the Browns, but they moved to Baltimore in the 1950s to become the Orioles. What about the Cubs?
William Hulbert, president of Chicago’s club, the White Stockings, signed multiple star players, such as pitcher Albert Spalding and infielders Ross Barnes, Deacon White, and Adrian “Cap” Anson, to join the team prior to the N.L.’s inaugural season of 1876. (Source)
As I thought, the Cubs have always been in Chicago.
Wrigley Field is 300 miles from Busch Stadium and nobody would confuse one with the other. Wrigley Field is in zip code 60613 and Busch in 63102, pretty distinctive. Somehow Bank of America got very confused. A couple I know, who are big Cardinals fans, got the same mailer at their home in the 63104 zip code.
I want to set the record straight, I’m not a Cubs fan.
– Steve Patterson
Target marketing FAIL!
Target marketing FAIL!
There are lots of cubs fans outside of Chicago, some even here in the St. Louis area. Where you live does not dictate which teams you like.
And while the targeting may have been off, I’d say this was a marketing success, since it got you to post it on your blog for all to see.
There are lots of cubs fans outside of Chicago, some even here in the St. Louis area. Where you live does not dictate which teams you like.
And while the targeting may have been off, I’d say this was a marketing success, since it got you to post it on your blog for all to see.
I got an email from BOA correctly stating that I am a Phillies fan (I live in Richmond, VA), which they got from Phillies.com. I can guess that someone named Steve Patterson signed up on cubs.com and either did not provide an email address or gave one that doesn’t work, so they cross-referenced a street address database that has your name and address in it. Maybe.
I got an email from BOA correctly stating that I am a Phillies fan (I live in Richmond, VA), which they got from Phillies.com. I can guess that someone named Steve Patterson signed up on cubs.com and either did not provide an email address or gave one that doesn’t work, so they cross-referenced a street address database that has your name and address in it. Maybe.