From Sea Dogs To Fireflies: Merch Mastery In Minor League Baseball

We trace Kevin’s path from music merch to minor league retail leadership and unpack how smart layouts, vertical storage, and on-field brand stories turn small shops into fast, profitable experiences. Paul joins to reveal why Columbia chose Fireflies, how glow details work, and what makes lightning-bug country unique.

• career arc from Sea Dogs to Fireflies
• lessons from tour merch and COVID pivots
• mavericks league planning under restrictions
• 500 sq ft store redesigned for flow
• hat walls, size ranges, and custom drops
• storage systems that mirror the sales floor
• opening a second shop to cut lines
• visual merchandising using grocery logic
• fireflies vs lightning bugs brand history
• glow-in-the-dark elements and Copa nights

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Transcript

Meet Kevin: From Sea Dogs To Fireflies

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Okay, let's go.

SPEAKER_03 0:10

All right, all right, all right. Well, welcome everybody to yet another episode of the Data Chronicles. My name is Ed, also known as the Danahead. With me, I got my good friend Kevin Tibbett. He he works for the Columbia Fireflies, a great organization. Uh, my good friend, um that you know, Mr. Donnie Wise, uh, he is uh a season ticket holder for that team. And of course, he's purchased many, many, many, many uh things from your merchandise. You are the uh, and I want to get this right, you're the director of uh merchandise. And what was the the full title for you again?

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Tell Operations, Director of Merchandise and Operations.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

That's what it was. That's what I was missing. Okay. So Kevin, um, if you don't mind, uh I would love for you to give me a little bit of a background on you so that way everybody gets to know a little bit about you. Where you come from, what did you do before accepting uh the role of director of operations and merchandising uh with the um with the Fireflies?

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Yeah, well, so short story first, like I came from Portland, Maine prior, worked with the Portland Sea Dogs, um, uh prior to taking this position and moving down to South Carolina. Um, but the long story of things, uh it started in college um about 12, 11, 12 years ago. Um, I was a marketing intern uh at the Division I school. Um and then I picked up a part-time job working in merchandise aside of that while going to school full-time um at Oregon State. And one thing just kind of led to another. I just came in for some part-time stuff, and then next thing you know, I was coming in during the off season or in between transitional periods of semesters and and whatnot. And it just built and built and built into being a little bit more while doing that, mixing it up against different sports. Um, the company that owned us also owned a bunch of different NHL teams, MBA teams, MLS, and they took ownership of the merchandise for um the Portland Timbers back in 2013. And so I kind of got an opportunity to go up there and help work with those guys, help make sure their footings are on on board or if they needed extra hands to go up there on on special events or nights when they needed needed assistance. Um, so that's kind of where it started. And then after that, I kind of was out of sports after 2015. Um, but I did freelance graphic work. I've been a graphic designer since that time period of college until pretty much I still kind of do it now, but we can just say for about 10 years. Uh became a small business owner, did some stuff, did merchandise myself at that point, did custom graphic tees and tour merchandise for musicians. Um, some mostly Bay Area and LA artists. Uh, you might know a couple of them. Uh, I don't know how adverse your uh hip-hop uh listening is, but like the high picks, pretty well known. They have a lot of good stuff in like the earlier Tony Hawk games and some other things. Um and then uh the Living Legends, and I've done some stuff for Afroman and just a plethora of names. I mean probably a bunch of them.

SPEAKER_03 3:33

The one that just popped to me was when you said it was Afro Man. I had the CD. Um, it was it was one of the CDs that and I was in I wasn't well, I want to say that I was in high school or like when that came out, and man, was that a great CD, dude.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

I've seen him live too. Like it's a it's a he's a good performer, even as old as he's getting. He's he's good.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Still to this day?

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Oh yeah. I saw him, I think it was like I want to say like five years ago. I mean, it's not it's it's it's not too recent, but it's recent. But yeah, he was he was good. He he's a fun guy.

SPEAKER_03 4:10

I mean, if he does have the song, you know, because I got high. I mean, I don't think he cares one bit in at all.

Music Merch, Freelance Design, And COVID Pivot

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Of course. Um, but that's just some people I did some tour stuff with. Um, some of it goes deeper, multiple tours, multiple individual shows. Um, I've done some art too. I did uh I did uh an art piece for uh Too Short um back in the day when I was in college. Uh he came out and did a concert, and I got to meet him and uh did an exchange. That was a pretty good experience. Um and then uh something I did something similar with E40, but it was much earlier. Um, but yeah, I've I've dabbled in the music industry on the merchandise side and and graphic and you know, doing marketing materials and stuff for those guys as well. Um, but leading out of that, COVID happens and venues shut down, going out for concerts shut down. Uh, and then some of these places permanently shut down. Some of the artists kind of started looking at alternate alternatives as well for jobs, uh, as so did I. Uh, it kind of really beat me down, and I did so much work to get to that position that we didn't know how long this was gonna go on for or what how quickly it was gonna pick back up. And so I started looking at sports again and was like, you know, I did a lot and went into doing that. Um, did a four to eight month course uh through uh I think it was like NYU. They had a sports management global management course. And I was able, I busted out in like two weeks. Uh yeah, I mean I spent three hours every morning and three hours every night for for two weeks, and I just hashed through every project. There's a couple nights I probably spent more, and at that point I realized that like I have the experience and knowledge to do some of this stuff, and so I got back into it. Worked at the Mavericks League Independent Baseball, uh, formerly known as the San Francisco Giants uh Loway affiliate um at with the volcanoes. Um and so that was a fun time, good experience, got to meet a lot of good good people and and to build and grow. And then after a couple years of that, was just looking for the next big opportunity. And there's a lot of good opportunities out west, but there's not as many. Uh there's I'd definitely say there's more organizations in the sports world east of the Rockies, east of the Mississippi's. And so we just, you know, took opportunities and found our way in Maine with the Portland Sea Dogs. And so then, like I said, short story prior, started there and then came down here.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

Uh, you know, and it's funny you say that because obviously we all know and I and and I'm going back to 2020 when everything happened. Uh, you know, I we were all affected. You know, we thought it was gonna be two weeks that we go back into the office. I never went back into an office setting after 2020, um, because then I started working 100% remote from home. And I remember really looking at all of the uh baseball leagues and the believe the Maverick League was the one of the ones that was work, you know, going through uh the pandemic. They were still playing and all of that. Um, but it was all enclosed, right? It was like no fans or anything like that, but it was like it they were all there, and it was an interesting time. And I remember the volcanoes, the campesinos, uh, I remember all of that, right? Obviously, you know, the merrics itself, it but it was like it was a cool time, scary, but it was like, all right, we got some some some teams that we can follow. And obviously, as you already know, they were one of the ones that were let go when minor league baseball came in and chopped everything and said, Oh, you guys are out. And this grew.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

I call it the mass exodus. I mean, it's teams, I think it was 43 exactly, and some of them I don't think needed to be cut, but you know, decisions were made and and the and that that all happened. So it was tough. And yeah, we did they did run and uh they tried to function, I think, in 2020 for a little while. Um, but then 2021 and Oregon was a very strict, strict place, and you you didn't know if it was going to open how far it was going to open up. And so we actually had very strict things put into place to be prepared to, you know, I I forgot uh pods, they call them pods in Oregon. And you had to create pods, and only so many people could be in pods and so on and so forth, and then they had to come in through individual gates and leave out those gates, and like stuff had to be brought. We had it all planned out, and then literally days before like the first game, the state was like, nah, you don't have to do that, and we're like we just wasted. I mean, it wasn't a waste because we were ready to go, but like we just spent like weeks of time preparing for that, and it was just like we ended up not having to do it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

I mean, it it's amazing, but it was you prepare for all of that, right? You prepare for it, you're like, All right, can at least we use part of it of it because we already you have everything here ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Yeah, so it it was it was a blessing. Uh, you know, sometimes it is good to put in that work though, because now you know, or you know, you you do learn things that you could apply or change for the future, even if it's on a wider scale. So um, it wasn't for nothing. Um it just sometimes feel feels like that. It does, it really does.

SPEAKER_03 9:41

Um, okay, so uh I I I'm very intrigued by this because you said like I'm I'm running my own business and all of that. Obviously, you know, you your business was affected by 2020, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:53

Yeah, actually, I I had a couple businesses, but my graphic stuff with my music was impacted probably the most. But I also had a I owned an art gallery and a frame shop, and it was affected, but for some reason in Oregon it was considered uh I was an essential worker. So it we still could have people come in, but through pre-scheduling. But yeah, my the the graphic and the merchandising and that stuff that I was doing on the side as a freelancer, yeah, the most interesting.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

Uh no offense, like I've I would have never thought that you would be like, you know, uh you know, frame and all of that business would be considered a an essential worker. Listen, power to you. You may we were able to make a living.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Oregon is an interesting place, um, to say the least.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

Yeah, let's go with that. I've always wanted to visit. It's one of my states that I've always wanted to go to, so it's on my list to go visit.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

100% beautiful, 100% worth it. If you do go, let me know. I'll I'll I'll try to direct you in whatever way you're going to hit some hot spots or some some very beautiful scenic views.

SPEAKER_03 11:06

I will I will let you know for sure. All right, so let's move to um your time with the Portland Sea Dogs, right? It's one of the most iconic um logos out there. Like everybody knows when you see it, it's the the Portland Sea Dogs, right? You see that logo and you know what it is. How was your time there? Like, I mean, I know that's like you're moving from the West Coast to the East Coast, right, with your family, and you're gonna go and work for a minor league team all the way out on the opposite side of the United States.

Mavericks League And The Pandemic Playbook

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Uh, it was a trip. It was uh, I mean, we got there in 10 and a half days. We took our time, uh, three kids and a Jeep Wrangler. Um, and it was it was a good, it was a good good time down. I mean, we we didn't just drive the straight whole way there. Uh so we got to enjoy some scenic routes and kind of hit the Oregon Trail backwards. Um, so that was an enjoyable part of it, actually, is the the transition was pretty pretty seamless when it came to just getting out there and not feeling too dragged out. But I mean, once we got there, I got there probably what is it like I think two weeks before the season started. So I had I had a lot to do in a very little time. Um, but we made it happen. I rearranged the store layout, got things working out, maximizing product on the floor, um, maximizing a routine to to bring uh customers in and off. Um, because during games, I was told to expect that you know we have a very supportive community and very large crowds throughout the year and whatnot. And that first year we had probably I think it was 2022 sellouts if you count the banana games. Um, so yeah, it was it was it was it was busy, but I find the games to be a little bit more enjoyable. All the hard work happens prior, but since I didn't have an offseason um building up into it, uh I did spend a lot more time during the day making sure things were uh regulatory and prepared for each game. Um, but once the gates open, you know, I think that's when all the hard work rolls forward and kind of runs itself. Um as long as you have a a well um well trained and very very consistent team in you know in in Portland, I had that. I mean, I had probably 12 to 16 staff in about any night, give it take any night, probably eight to eleven of them were working um in a 500 square foot shop. Um, so it's uh it it was fun. We we moved quick and we moved fast, and we did everything we could to keep the the customers happy and to see as much of the game as possible.

SPEAKER_03 15:56

Something you said that intrigues me, and I and I'm sure you did the same with uh when you moved down to uh Columbia is store layout, right? In uh I I can just envision just you standing in like either a corner or the big in the front of the store and just looking at everything, the flow with customers, without customers, all that. Like I'm I'm very intrigued than how you manage, you know, with the with the C Dogs, how like how did you approach that arrangement of the whole store again?

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Yeah, well, when I originally got there, or just before I got there, they had already started maybe talking about rearranging the store. So it was a little bit in pieces, so I could kind of do my thing. But I mean, originally it was a a grab and go kind of shop behind the counter and and all that kind of stuff. So there was very limited space for the product. Um, and what I did is I just opened it up into a normal store. People could walk around, touch and pick up and grab and feel, uh, try things on. And then if something maybe maybe couldn't be found on the floor, you know, see if we could find somebody that can find it in the back to to restock it and make keep keep the wheels turning. Um, but there, like I said, it was a 500 square foot shop. So I had very limited X access across all angles of that space to work with. And so we had to find ways to go vertical. Um, and so we got like some cubby systems, uh, which aren't always ideal in shopping because you, you know, the less folding you have to do, the better. But in this case scenario, it worked really well for us. Um, because we were able to probably double the product that we had on the floor because of these cubby systems. Um, youth it fit perfect. We could fit, they had four four cubbies on each one. So like we had youth small to youth XL, and then just below that you had four more cubbies, so you didn't have to have the same shirt. So we were able to put you know 10, 20 different youth items out in uh to create variety for adults. We were able to just go from like adult small to 4x, which also opened up a lot of opportunity of what we offered our our customers, um, where there's always those people that are wanting big and tall or larger sizes, and like you just usually don't or can't find time or space for it. And so that really opened up those avenues. Um, and then we had a hat wall, which I love the hat walls, um, as as as you probably do as well. Um, you know, we had a very extensive fitted hat wall, and then we had our adjustable hats in uh two different corners of the store. Um, but we had I went from having six, like nine fitted hat options to having probably by the time I left, we had probably almost 28. Well, because we like they have a theme night every night, and then we brought in I brought in custom hats like GCP and like custom color schemes and stuff like that, and so that opened up like a whole nother dozen hats on top of what we already had. Gotcha. So that was exciting. Um, I did bring some hats down, but I don't think I brought any of those actual hats down.

Portland Move, Store Overhaul, And Sellouts

SPEAKER_03 19:18

You brought in custom ones, but let me ask you this and then we'll move into what you're doing here in a little bit. But I'm very into because this the Portland Sea Dogs have, you know, by far one of my favorite when they came out, Copa identities.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Hey, wait a second, wait a second.

SPEAKER_03 19:35

Yes, that one, the Alces right there. That is actually one of my favorite. I actually have that in a dad hat in that same color scheme right there. Look at the the the gloves, the the even the the way that it is set up. It's such a cool design. I absolutely love it. Like the way that he has like kind of like a tattooed face, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:57

The arrows, and it's it's subtle though, because it's it's it's like two-tone magenta. So you got a pink with like the shiny pink, and so like you see it with the shadowing of reflection, but like you don't like from afar, it's just solid, right? It plays better.

SPEAKER_03 20:15

And I love that detail about it. Like, I mean, it's such a cool little subtle detail. Obviously, you got you know, with the with the rack rig, you have the it's it'll set up as a as a glove. And I'm like, man, when I saw that, I was like, I need this hat like yesterday.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Story. I bought this hat my first season working at the Mavericks League because of because of this hat, and I got so intrigued and so inspired by Copa hats that I I went out and I ordered some. One being the Mazzana Luchadors from Fort Wayne, one being the Al says hat, and there was a couple others. I can't remember which ones I ordered at that time, but I ordered like four of them. Um yeah, no, that it it really sets the tone. It's a shame that they they don't have it anymore, and maybe one day they'll bring it back. Um, even if it's not a Copa, which I hope it would be, even if it's not a Copa, if they recolored it and revisited it as it maybe a different theme night, it's it's very main. It's very main.

SPEAKER_03 21:22

So I'm a little disappointed because I'm on their website right now, it's there, but they only have it in one size, which is seven and seven eights. And I am not a seven and seven eighths, I am a seven and three eighths, and it's disappointed because it's such a cool the color, right? Like the baby blue, uh, with that with that uh magenta color, right? And then the yellow on the eyelids, it's such a cool little detail that I that I love about uh this hat. And also the one thing I like a lot of people like to take it off the new era logo, but I like the fact that the on this logo on this cap, the the new era is. the same color as the as the brim the same magenta color well and the eyelets the eyelets are yellow the buttons and then they got the navy with the magenta on the back or the black it's black sorry it looked navy for a second um well and another good hat they have is just their try and true their retro hat you know the staple the teal and black like i i could tell you what like we they never could have switched colors and nobody would have cared being a red sox affiliate that they will they love this if you're a real sea dogs fan or you want to be in the know and you're in New England these are the colors you want to be wearing like you can't go to from Boston to Connecticut to um New Hampshire like you will find more Sea Dogs stuff than any other minor league team that they have in that area except for maybe in mass you'll you'll see some Woof Sox stuff but you know that's still the Red Sox so that's interesting because one I love it I think it's a great color like those are the Marlins colors right and and you want to see that like I get it like yours you're a Red Sox affiliate I get it uh I at the very least at the very least they're not named after the parent club which it's a big no no in my book like don't don't be named after a a minor league your minor you're a major league parent just don't do that that's not cool well and luckily for the Woo Sox like they go by the Wu Sox their nickname they are known as the Worcester Red Sox but they go by Wu Sox and I mean that I think will become their permanent name in the near future but um I get that like Bricktown Dodgers very very respectable organization but now you know they've stepped away from that um and now they're just the OKC comets.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

I get it um but yeah back real quick back to some of that stuff like like you just kind of like every I think every place has its own unique energy and in in and issues or uh things that need solutions problem solving like not one shallpark's the same right so a lot of them one thing I will say a lot of ballparks have issues with is storage space and I would say even though I had a 500 square foot store in Portland I had probably about 800 square feet of storage space just beyond that that like would have been nice to become part of the store but like I didn't I don't have to go off site to get to my stuff. I didn't have to like we had a nice little section of storage in the back. So and there's a lot of ball clubs that don't get that so I I was very thankful and blessed with that um and by my time leaving I opened up a second shop that was about probably about the same square footage. So we had two 500 square foot stores keeping that storage space and then in the new uh PDL um clubhouse that they built we got a probably I think it was another 800 square feet or a thousand square feet of uh storage space with high ceilings so the vertical capacity was much bigger than um what we had in our other storage space so we we did build and we did expand on on that stuff there which made big differences um when it comes to ordering and what you can have have and hold on on on hand and um all different stuff.

SPEAKER_03 25:40

So let me ask you because you said something that I want to touch on and then I promise we'll move into um what we what you do right now. That's fine. You opened up a second store. Now was this an offsite store was it nearby uh tell me more about this because I'm seeing more and more of this where the team has their team store in the ballpark but then they also have a secondary store I believe also the the trash pandas have a big store that's not in uh on the ballpark uh you know premises it's actually I think it's like a uh some like mall strip or something like that but like you guys do the same thing or how did you guys do the same thing or how was that no it's actually not the same thing.

Hat Walls, Sizes, And Custom Drops

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Um I another example of what you're talking about it's not as far away but Greenville Drive has their team store their main team store just outside the gate it's still on but I think they're building a new one across the street actually um which will be very fun and interesting to see how how that goes um but no it was on site so we had uh we had a satellite shop just down the hallway or down the concourse from where our main shop was and it was like a little pop-up like cabinet and you know we had a little countertop and we we sold some a smaller selection out there um and we traded that into concessions to take over what was called the Portland room um uh just to open it up as a second a second shop in the in the store because I mean in the stadium because we would get like 500 plus paying customers which paying customers doesn't tell you exactly the physical people that were with them that could be a dad buying hats and shirts for their wife and daughter or son like they could have five people with them but it registers only as one person for a sale no matter how much items they buy right so we had 500 plus paying customers coming in at night and so we were looking at opportunities of how could we make our line shorter even though our lines moved very fluid like I said we moved quick we moved fast we our customer service was key and we always wanted people to not miss the game but make sure they had a great shopping experience and could get the things they wanted.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

So I mean to get to that many people in that small of a shop I mean the line is always moving but how can we minimize that line but maybe increase those numbers and so we opened a shop on the other side of the concourse which is not very far it's just on first base before you get outside of the physical indoors and goes out goes outside um before the expo center and that we we opened it up uh before I left it was one of the first uh last things I did that we opened up in uh opening week for that that season and it it did a lot of good things for them i i i got to hear about some of their um how well they did this season um and it it did help it did make a difference once people started realizing it was there it was so people I mean the ballpark's over 30 years old and the shop's always been in one spot and so to find out there's a second location that's like that um it take it does take a moment to to get people comfortable and to realize it's there um but yeah it it made a big impact I like that I like that a lot because one I as a merchandise guy right as a guy who is collectible of a lot of that hats um it's it's cool to see the availability and in your right by the way I forgot to say this to you but like you were 100% right I am a massive fan of hat walls uh seeing uh hat wall is one of the coolest things in any ballpark whether NFL NBA it doesn't matter as long as there's a hat wall you get to see it and you're like man that's awesome uh if you go on my LinkedIn I've posted a couple of my hat walls at in Portland you have to go back obviously to 2023 uh or no 2024 um to see some of them but and I think I posted the hat wall in uh Columbia as well but if not I can always send you a couple if if if it's something that you really do enjoy.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

Visual merchandising is a big key and I think it's underplayed a lot. Being able to to lay out a store properly and and to high uh create hierarchy amongst product or highlight certain things that are become focus points um but kind of make it dance and move around the shop in a in an appropriate manner or like the first thing you see when you come through the door you know where is it and why why is it so important. I think those kind of things are very valuable. And I mean we live by those things daily um when we go shopping just day to day.

SPEAKER_03 30:35

So and that's why you know and this is gonna take me back because you know the this is why I love going into Lids or any other sports store because of their hat wall right and I could spend hours you can ask my wife and you know she would get annoyed that I would just and that's small space too I could spend a long time looking at hats and I would not get bored. Floor to ceiling window to window yep yep yep and then they have the the now which is cool right because now with the the with technology and everything there's no longer this big register it's just a small little thing they got little uh handheld all you have to do is just they'll tap off you go there's no cash nothing like that before you said that I was gonna say and it's amazing in that small store how they oh they found to put an embroidery machine in every one but you just let the key the the cat out of the bag right like the kiosk the sales the point of sell system is just so much smaller that they don't need all that counter space to do it anymore. So innovation innovation is what it is is innovation and you gotta like you said and something that just keeps ringing in my head is you have to maximize your space right what can we do to maximize the space as floor to ceiling let's put all thing but hats there's no windows because it is all in malls you know and it's like you gotta maximize your oh we want embroidery okay well we gotta get take out the big register that we no longer need from the 1990s and get more with the times I I tell people all this all the time I take so as an artist not just a designer but an artist I take inspiration from a lot of different things and try to apply them to other things.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

I learned that in sports discipline and all that you know just because you're playing a sport doesn't mean there's not things that you learn from it to apply to others. But like prime example tiny homes like these people take these tiny spaces and they find every inch of empty space and try to create a storage space out of it or a cabinet or something that they can put something there or uh equipment that runs something that doesn't take on extra space. And I think sometimes we underutilize that mindset when it comes to like even a normal size home or a bigger space that like there is a lot of wasted space. And just because you have the space what can you do to maximize it in those ways and so that's something that like I would never live in a tiny home although I mean I'm sure we all have maybe thought about it once or twice and gone you know maybe that would be fun or you know have a little like a little tiny home cabin off in the you know no man's land for a beautiful beautiful scenic area but like I do like watching them for that reason. The unique different ways that they they find to not waste space without it being overcluttered or whatnot. So um I I I take that to mind when I look at my store for visual merchandise.

Storage Constraints And Opening A Second Shop

SPEAKER_03 33:31

Interesting you say that because one I I watch a lot of like on on TV a lot of those little tiny homes uh shows and everything and you're right I don't think I will would ever be able to I'm six foot two like I'm I'm not a small guy right so like I I you know I would not be able to fit in something like that just because it would just I couldn't fit it's just simple as that but seeing how they use they utilize every inch of that little home right you got stairs okay but under the stairs we're gonna put shelving units we're gonna put drawers we're gonna put pull out drawers so that way we'll you know be able to get more things in there under the bed you know pull-out drawers as well you know more or you can lift the bed up right and then you know have that all as stores and things like that in you have to and I I'm glad that you said that you have to use things that are not sports related in order for you to you know bring that into your store and I do that with a lot of different things uh and it's not only just the visual merchandising side I do that in the storage like like I said in Portland 500 square foot shop you got to find ways to maximize or to be creative in in creating more opportunities to sell more items or more of the same items and um also to be able to replicate that in your storage space if you have one makes life so much easier not just for yourself but your staff knowing and finding where everything is and being able to access it quickly um I rearranged the whole storage space my after my first off season there just before the second season like it just got done weeks before and it made a big difference that second season like we were able I hung everything in the back that was hung in the store.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

We didn't have it folded in the back I took the extra time to just get that done and you know anybody could then go back there and they can find it because they can see the the item they can see the color they can quickly see what the design is and then it's all organized by size. So it's easy to search and find things if say I was sick on a normal day and somebody from the ticket office had to help a customer like they could go in the back and cakewalk.

SPEAKER_03 35:48

I like that a lot I I I yeah it's just I used to work in retail many moons ago I I worked in a lot of stores a lot of clothing stores I did my fair share of folding still to this day I actually have a board that I keep at home where I fold all my shirts the way I did folded my shirt the shirts when I was at the store I worked American Eagle J. Crew I worked all of them like I did I worked for every single one of them and I enjoyed it J. Crew All Navy and I appreciate when I when I see a store where like you compare the store itself with what the customers see to what only the employees see they can go in right back there grab their stuff and then go write it and it's it it makes such a massive difference.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

It does and um I I increased our storage back there by simply just reversing the setup um I increased it by probably like 60%. So we'll now hold more product in the back room as well because I've maximized the X and Y access uh by just simply flipping certain things around um and because of those orientation it's like those little puzzles where like you got that random triangle piece and it's like you can reorganize it to be the same size and fit that piece in but how do you do it right and so I I hate Tetris mostly because it's moving and it's all time based but I tell you what if there's no time limit I'm I'm pretty good at piecing different shapes and things together to make them fit. And so in a functional way that's a that's important. I mean anybody can just fill a room with stacked boxes and then what then you have to empty the whole room to get to one box like no everything has to be operational.

SPEAKER_03 37:40

Yeah I hated doing that it's like oh I got to go back there it's like which box is it I gotta dig out all this box and of course is the one that's all the way in the corner at the bottom that you have to dig out all of it oh it's just it was such a pain um or slap picture but it's like and sometimes you still have to do that.

SPEAKER_01 37:58

Like with our hats like our new era hats we don't take them out of those boxes we just redouble like write on them and make sure like the the tag that it came with says it and then a larger version of it says what it is but like if you can just quickly siphon through things and just visually see things like it it it makes everybody's life easier and the customers are happy too.

SPEAKER_03 38:20

Absolutely uh all right so you're in Portland you're you're you're loving it there your family loves it and all that and then you get the opportunity to um really interview and and and go and come down to Columbia. Tell me about that whole process of going from Portland now to South Carolina Yeah it's it it was tough.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

It was a tough situation um because as you can see I I love Portland I loved what I did I love the community had great relationships with with the fans and other uh co-workers and uh game day staff and it was amazing uh it was a place I never knew I wanted to live until I I lived there um but we always had plans to try to find a way to get down to the southern region whether it was Tennessee or the Carolinas and then a little further west maybe Texas um but getting out here was the biggest thing um like I said Portland blessed me with giving me the opportunity to to move out there uh in the time I did and to to get my foot in the door and to do the things I said I would do um and they they gave me that opportunity knowing that there was a chance that it wasn't going to be forever because of just wanting to get out to places. It's crazy how you can mark on an application that you're willing to relocate but then when people start like oh you have kids like is 3,000 miles really ideal? So no Portland gave me the opportunity to really advance myself and to to get my name out there. So I do thank them and uh we'll love we'll love it up there forever. And so an opportunity arose uh down here in Columbia. I had looked at a couple opportunities down in Jacksonville and some other surrounding city areas that may have been some good peak interest. And then like I said I applied I applied for this one and they we went through an interview process and everything and it was it it was so such an amazing experience. I couldn't say no. I've worked with a lot of relative brand names or organizations that have become well known over you know 20 plus years. Like even the volcanoes are not minor league anymore they they were for 20 years. They're pretty well known even to people today um they know them they talk about them very reputable um brand great hat very iconic uh same with the sea dogs though right they've been around for 30 plus years very reputable and and that's fun I like doing that but I've always wanted to work with a newer or a younger organization that's building and trying to to grow into that um and this was one of those opportunities I had looked at maybe trying to work there earlier a couple years back and uh it just it just didn't work out um it was for a graphic design position not merchandise at the time um and so you know all these steps led to that um but yeah I'm very thankful very blessed got here uh they very timely in in allowing me to relocate and to get down here much shorter drive only took us two and a half days moving at the same pace uh didn't didn't have as much much fun but we did stop we did rest we did eat and you know Uh but it was just a shorter trip. Uh we skipped going through the cities. We didn't go through Philly, we didn't go through DC. We went inland to Pennsylvania and then down the center. So we went through VT air territory and stuff when we went through Virginia. And yeah, it was it was a it was a good drive. Um but yeah, that's kind of like how how we got down there. Um and it's been fun since.

SPEAKER_03 42:26

So what was the very first thing you did? You walked into um the the fireflies, and you're like, all right, what is my first thing that I'm gonna do now, now that I'm in and fully employed, I'm working. You know, it's you know how that happened.

Visual Merchandising Principles That Drive Flow

SPEAKER_01 42:43

I showed up in C Dog gear and no, I'm just kidding. Um I thought about it, but no, I uh we went down there, we got settled. Um after that, you know, I went in a couple days before my first day, um, just walked through the place because I hadn't physically walked through it yet. Uh it's all been through video or phone conversation or pictures and and stuff. And so um I just wanted to see it with my wife and my kids, let them run around the concourse and see the ballpark. And it it was a good experience. Found out it was on a day that uh not everywhere would be like this, but it was um uh what was it? I forget what they what the what the holidays called. Um, but it was a it was a special uh holiday uh and most of the staff weren't in, so no one knew I came by. Um and I thought I was gonna meet a bunch of people. Um and so I started a week later after that, and I thought I was gonna start working not on a homestand, uh, but I misread the schedule and it was a back-to-back homestand. So I started the second homestand uh thinking I had a week to get things ready for the next homestand. And uh yikes head head deep, let's just say that.

SPEAKER_03 44:14

That's that's insane. Like we and we all make this mistake. It's like, oh yeah, like we're gonna go to the game and everything. It's like, oh no, they're not playing, or they're like, I thought I was gonna ease myself into is just nope, you know, you know, pull turn on the full hose, here we go.

SPEAKER_01 44:31

And I'd say, you know, it with my experience and and my awareness and knowledge and stuff, I think that actually worked out better for me, even if I didn't intend for it to happen. It was kind of like a sign, like, hey, you you can do this, but like you you're probably gonna be way better off doing it this way than you would if you didn't. Um, and I did, I learned a lot. Um, just seeing how the customers interact, met some of the season ticket holders that had been waiting a couple weeks for me to show up. So I got, you know, I was warm welcome by a handful of people. Uh actually, one of our season ticket holders at the beginning of the season actually was moving to Portland and they were looking at becoming season ticket holders up there. So they spent a weekend up there and met one of my staff members that actually moved from um Spartanburg area. So he's from down here, and he's like, Oh, you know, you know Kevin, and like so, yeah. When they came back, they talked to me and they were like, Yeah, we really loved it. There, we're definitely probably gonna become season ticket members. And I was like, Or you could stay here. No, I'm just kidding. I told them, No, I'll get you you'll be very well taken care of, uh, good accommodations, and so like a very warm welcome. Like people in the south, definitely conversation starters, definitely there to see like if you need anything, or like you know, just very kind and polite. Uh, so that was that it was an enjoyable welcoming. I did learn a lot though through interactions, watching how people flowed in and out of the store. Uh my uh boss told me that uh the week prior to me showing up, they did a whole like thorough sweep and vacuum and and and mopping of the store. So they took everything out and then and they put most of it back in, but felt like it was too much and took a bunch of stuff off. And I was like, okay, we'll we'll see how this goes. Um as I get to know the product. But I ended up putting like all those racks back out, but we spent the next week, me and my intern just we tore one wall down, and then once that started, we rotated everything in the store and relay it, the visual merchandising out, and it made a world of difference. So because of how we ended up like we were talking about earlier, xy axis, the way that we ended up moving things, it actually opened up opportunity to bring those racks out without them feeling cluttered. You had a a path of destination, so you weren't like looking down one way and you just see a sea of racks and didn't know what to do or go. Like there, there's a clear alleyway. Um, you know, you we had focal points, we put a jerseywall up down there, and then just to the side of it, you see the hat wall, which as you walk across the concourse through the windows, you see the hat wall. But when you first come through the doors, you don't, but you know it's down that way. So now now you have to walk down there, right? Um a good rule of thumb for that one is uh think of like grocery shopping, right? We all do it whether you like it or not. But what are some things that you need the most? Milk, bread, eggs, cheese. Maybe if you're lactose tolerant, maybe not some of those things, but even then the non-dairy or the lactose-free versions are all in the same places. They're in the back. They know you have to get them, they know you know where they are, and so you walk through the whole store to get to them. And so you gotta use those same proven uh situations like even in sports, merchandising. Right? It's it's retail, it's all retail, it doesn't matter what you're selling.

SPEAKER_03 48:10

You know, it's funny. I it's something that you never think about, right? But like you're such a student of your craft. So you have to study that, right? Not just and it a lot of people tell you is like, listen, when you're about to do something, don't just look at you know what you're doing or like in your specific sport, look at other sports or look at other stores or look at other uh non-sports items that that can definitely help you. For example, like you said, it's such a great comparison. The grocery store, we know where the milk and the eggs and the cheese and all of that is gonna be. We all know that all the way in the back, usually all the way in a corner in the back.

SPEAKER_01 48:49

Yeah, whether what store you're going to, right? If it's Walmart, obviously it's in the back of the grocery set section, just straight back. But if it's like a safe way or or a Kroger or something, it's in the you enter on the right side of the building, so it's in the far left corner, right? It's always the furthest away.

SPEAKER_03 49:08

Yeah, and and and you don't think about those things, right? Because it becomes second nature to you, but like you know, like you know, you have to go there. And then what do they do? They fill it up with all their like trinkets and all this other stuff. And for and to get to catch your eye, to be like, oh, I didn't think I like this. Um I need this. So like you're just like, yeah, I'm gonna get you to that to the destination, the final destination. But in the meantime, I'm also gonna get you to look at other things that are Fireflies, branded, that you definitely wanna wanna wanna get.

SPEAKER_01 49:38

Well, and the the problem that I we were seeing that first week is that people would come through the door and the hats were on this first wall just to the right, just right there, right in front of you. People would go there, and it's like great, you know. Uh here's another fun fact like number one selling item in baseball or sports alone, but baseball most, are hats. It's the number one selling item. So it's great. Obviously, people are gonna go to the hats and want to buy them. But nobody ever went down the far leg of the shop to the right unless there was too many people at the hat wall. So people weren't going down there because they really wanted to, people weren't going down there at all if they didn't have to, because they all were just migrating towards the hats. And we had to change that because it's like people need to see there's there's more going on, there's more to offer. So we turned that wall into the ladies section. So the first thing you see is boom women's, and there is a small hat section there, but the main hat wall, the majority of hats, adjustable, flexible, fitted, are all to the right just before the end. And the first thing you see when you look down that way is the jerseys. Two very big key items. Um, and so now you have to go down there. And everybody that does want hats, they go that way. Um another thing, we didn't move it, but we rearranged it. Just to the left, the first thing you see in the door is the kids actually. Boom. Kids just come in the door and they just flee to it. Just so now you have to go two different ways to get to everything.

Tiny Homes, Tetris, And Backroom Systems

SPEAKER_03 51:15

Interesting. Interesting. It's like you're just thinking about like what is up, everybody, and thank you for joining again with this interview. Now, here's the thing: I am going to now introduce a new segment on this podcast. It is with my good friend Paul Caputo. What he's gonna do is he is going to uh discuss now a little bit about the current team, right? The the Columbia Fireflies, uh, their logo and a little bit of history on how that uh logo came about. Uh hope you guys enjoy it. And without further ado, I'll give you the uh the little interview segment. All right, all right. Well, welcome everybody to the Data Chronicles Podcast. This is an extra segment, which I have my good friend and fellow co-founder of Curb Bread Media, Mr. Paul Caputo. Podcaster as well. I'm sorry, I apologize. What are you apologizing for? You're you're a podcaster, you you you are a reporter, you write articles, you're uh uh and then of course, if we had Patrick here, you know, um it would be a whole long list. Exactly. So we're not gonna do that, you know, because we're gonna leave that up to him. But yeah, uh how are you today, my friend?

SPEAKER_02 52:33

Ed Rivera, I'm doing very well. It's uh it's a three-day weekend, and uh we're in the middle of a three-day weekend as we're recording this, and uh that makes me happy, and I'm always happy to be talking to you, my friend, about minor league baseball logos. Of course, right?

SPEAKER_03 52:50

It's I'm drinking a lot of water. I've been so dehydrated, so that's good.

SPEAKER_02 52:54

Listen, I'm an old man and I just got my second uh shingles vaccine shot. And so uh I was uh I was knocked for a loop yesterday. Uh it was sort of uh You were loopy. I I was just uh sort of draggy and a little feverish, and uh today I'm better, but uh I should probably be drinking more water.

SPEAKER_03 53:14

I actually on Friday morning, I pulled my back again. Oh boy. So this weekend has been me sitting around a lot, you know, yeah, especially today, even though I did some laundry, folded a lot of laundry, but I was sitting down, taking breaks, heat pad, the whole nine yard. Anyways, listen, I digress here. Yeah, this the reason why we're here is we are gonna be talking about the Columbia Fireflies, right? You uh, as you know, you you write about um that on the sports logos not.net. And I want you to tell me a little bit about um the Columbia Fireflies, why the fireflies, what you know, how that came about, all of that fun stuff.

SPEAKER_02 53:53

Let me ask you a question uh about not this team and not this logo, but the particular insects that we're talking about. What do you call them? Do you call them fireflies?

SPEAKER_03 54:05

Um so there's uh there's fireflies and then there's lightning bugs.

SPEAKER_02 54:10

Yeah, they're the same thing. Yeah, they are. Yeah. I I call them lightning bugs. I call them lightning bugs too. Is that a northern thing? I think it might be a northern thing, but guess what? Columbia, South Carolina is also lightning bug country. So, by all rights, this team should have been the Columbia or the Carolina lightning bugs. You know, that's what uh that's what I think. But they went with Fireflies. I don't know if that was, you know, maybe the design firm that they were working with was influencing them. The uh the design firm was Atlanta-based sky design. So it's not one of the big firms, it's not your Brandios' or your Dan Simons or your Ryan Foos' or your Sky Dillons. It was Sky Design, different from Sky Dylan.

SPEAKER_03 54:53

I was just gonna ask that question. I was like, wait, hold on. So this is a totally different one than Sky Dillon.

SPEAKER_02 54:58

Yeah, yeah. Sky, Sky Dillon is S K Y E. Sky Design out of Atlanta, S K Y, no E on it.

SPEAKER_03 55:05

Interesting. See, I'm learning always something new here with you.

SPEAKER_02 55:08

It's yeah, but this is first of all, it was super, super well received. They I don't want to get too much into like the franchise history, but this team was the Savannah Sand Nats.

SPEAKER_03 55:19

I like that logo, by the way. It was a fun logo, yes.

SPEAKER_02 55:21

Yeah, but they you know they went from being named from one bug to another bug between 2015 and 2016, which in its own way kind of paved the way for the Savannah bananas, right? Like we would we have the Savannah Bananas if the Fireflies hadn't moved, if this franchise had hadn't moved, right? Like so it's pretty interesting, you know. The the this you know, in general, this logo was sort of based on you know the idea of sort of like summertime. There's like a jar where, you know, because kids are always catching lightning bugs. There's you know, actual like flames, there's an FF logo that are it's made of like flames. Uh, there is a lightning bug itself. And so they're really playing off of you know the sort of summertime notion of of lightning bugs, fireflies. Certainly brings me back to my childhood when I'm out there like playing wiffle ball. You know, I picture like nine o'clock at night, you know, in the summertime in August in the you know suburbs of Philly. The sun is it's getting dark, and you can picture the lightning bugs out there lighting up, and you know, you shift from from sports to uh you know tag or you know, catching lightning bugs or whatever. So so that's part of it. But then the the major thing is there are three places in the whole world where the phenomenon of synchronous fireflies happens. And I don't know, you know, I don't know what other episodes or what other segments you've had on this episode already, who's been talking about what, but synchronous fireflies are this phenomenon where lightning bugs uh essentially start blinking in unison, like uh like a hive mind, right? Like it's an episode of purpose. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're blinking in unison together, right? Like, and it's you know, and and scientists have not like fully explained it. It happens in three places in the whole world. It happens in uh Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Okay, I can see that in in the US. It happens in Malaysia. And guess what? I have seen this phenomenon in Malaysia. I've actually been like on a canoe in a river in Malaysia where this was happening. And it's all of them just there's like Christmas lights in the bushes, basically. And they're just blinking, blinking, blinking.

SPEAKER_03 57:38

And all of them at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 57:40

All of them together at the same time. It's like Christmas lights on a string, right? Like it's like something is connecting them. One of the the third place where this happens is in South Carolina, Congaree National Forest, uh, managed by our own National Park Service. It is uh a site where you can, like, uh, you know, like once a year, I forget what time of year it is. It's like springtime, it's like May or something like that. But these, you know, these lightning bugs. So two of the three places where this happens in the whole world are in the United States and uh in the Southeast in the United States. And the other one is way the heck over in Malaysia. And so it's this wild, wild phenomenon. And this is like, I don't know, like 45, 50 miles away. I could that number could be a little bit wrong, but it's close to Columbia, South Carolina. And uh, you know, I would never have known this about Columbia anyway. I would never have known this about South Carolina had it not been for minor league baseball and the stories that minor league baseball teams tell.

SPEAKER_03 58:35

I would have never thought that that ever in my life would have known that. Because obviously, I in Cleveland we have them, right? But it's just like they don't they're not all of them are in you know in unison. Yeah. Obviously, there's three places in the world, which is crazy to think. Yeah, you know, how big this world is.

Columbia Opportunity And Fast-Start Homestand

SPEAKER_02 58:56

Tennessee, South Carolina, and Malaysia. I'd love to know how like the evolution that took place uh there uh you know made that happen. But uh yeah, I mean it's it's super interesting. And they don't, yeah. I mean, you know, I think with their brand here, they sort of tie more into just like the summertime fun of uh you know of fireflies and like especially the one with like the jar where kids are are catching them and whatnot. But they're one of just a couple of teams that that we know of that has done glow-in-the-dark on-field branding. True. The first team to do that was the Casper Ghosts, just north of me up there in Wyoming. Uh, of course, the Asheville Tourists have done this, and uh, and then the Columbia Fireflies. So, you know, there's a there's a few teams out there that have done glow-in-the-dark uniforms. And uh and then, of course, you know, I mean, nothing like what you've seen with what what's that uh thing that you saw?

SPEAKER_03 59:50

Oh, that's right. With uh they they did it last year in uh in Durham. Um the the chili peppers, yeah, the glamojis.

SPEAKER_02 59:59

Right, right, right. Yeah, like so it's nothing like that. They're not like turning the lights playing in the dark, like um cosmic baseball, right? Right, right, right. That that that's it. So yeah, so this is you know one of those things like I you know, I always try to say like how you know you can tell the story of America one, you know, logo at a time. What a cool thing to know about our natural environment, right? Like, and uh it's uh you know, Tennessee, Great Smoky Mountains and National uh and uh sorry, Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee, and then Congaree National Forest, which I had also not really heard of. I was not super familiar with Hongere National Forest.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:36

Cool name.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um so uh, you know, just a really distinctive logo, a cool distinctive brand. The glow in the dark yellow combined with uh, you know, the uh the the dark blue and the sort of lighter gray, like that glow in the dark really stands out. Um, you know, so controversial to call them the fireflies instead of the lightning bugs. I think lightning bugs would have been a cool name as well. And then they could have done stuff with like lightning bolts, um, you know, kind of like the Windy City Thunderbolts do. Yeah. But uh, you know, it's it's very, you know, the when they were the sand gnats, right? Like they were this really uh, you know, sort of cartoonish, a little bit like the old uh Skeeters, right? Like the Sugarland Skeeters, you know, it's just like we're gonna name ourselves off like the most annoying bug that we can think of.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:25

Well, though I still miss I I miss the Skeeters to this day.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:29

The Skeeters were a fun brand. And yeah, like they, I don't know. They the switch in my mind to the Space Cowboys was a little bit like like the major league team sort of stepping in and taking itself a little too soon. So that was you know, that's a little bit of a bummer. I miss the Skeeters as well. I mean, I don't think that the Space Cowboys is a bad brand. I just it just is sort of uh generic to me, like it doesn't feel terribly interesting to me. Yeah, I agree. But this is one where they went from like they like like the sand gnats, like they're the worst possible insect you can think of, right? Like in my mind, like worse than like wasps or hornets, because they're tiny, you can't see them, and they have like little like razor blade, shards of glass, biters, and they they just swarm and they get you. So they went from like the most annoying bug you could possibly think of to like maybe the second most endearing bug that you could think of, maybe third after like ladybugs and butterflies. Uh, you know, it's uh that the the lightning bug, the firefly. I don't know. I'll be curious to know what your what your listeners think of that. Who's the who's the most enduring, uh endearing bug out there? Uh the most enduring bug is probably the cockroach, right? But the most endearing bug, is it a ladybug? Is it a firefly? Is it a butterfly?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:51

Yeah, that's a bumblebee. That's a lot, man. I'm looking online, it's like they have it's like that logo. Was so cool though, because you had the sand that with the you know, swinging the bat, you know what I mean? It was yeah, such a cool, iconic logo. Obviously, you know, there has to be evolution to baseball, and we get that. I understand that. Yeah, um, and there's nothing wrong with the with the fireflies. Don't get me wrong, guys. I like the fireflies logo, I think it's great, I think it's beautiful. Yeah, I do like um because uh we uh you know we were having the discussion, is that there is uh a special kind of stitching that is used on the hats in order for it to glow in the dark, which is pretty damn cool. Yeah, so they're they're mimicking the Firefly, right? You know, you got the Firefly, you also have the one hat with the with the mason jar uh as well that they do that. So that's a cool one. Yeah, if you have not seen that dad hat, you should definitely take a look at it, Mr. Uh, Mr. Caputo.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:50

Uh, you know, I don't have a dad hat from them. I thought about that when you asked me to come on the podcast. I was like, let me, you know, get myself uh my fireflies cap. And then I was horrified to realize that I don't have one, nor do I have a t-shirt. I don't have any Fireflies gear. Really? And it should not be surprising to you to after you hear that that I've never been to a game there.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:10

So it's a it's a beautiful ballpark. And then now that when people hear this, they're gonna say, Hey, Mr. Caputo, gotta get you down here. Um you need to come down here.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:19

Donnie Wise is gonna be horrified.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:21

Oh, of course, and he has great seeds, of course, as he does. Yeah, uh, he knows everyone there. Um, there there are some uh great dad hats in here, so just so you know, uh, and just wanted to put that out there for you, my friend.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:33

Yeah, do you know? So, Sky Design in Atlanta has done a lot of work with um uh NBA teams, in particular uh the Atlanta Hawks. Um I can see that, yeah. But I if I'm not mistaken, there was one other team that they've worked with in minor league baseball, and I don't think you would ever guess it because it's a very different, distinctive uh kind of brand. It's the Fort Wayne tin caps.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:56

Really?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:57

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:58

I actually like the tin caps logo. That's a that I mean they've done a really good job on both of them, yeah. Yeah, but they don't do they don't work on uh on that, huh? They don't just who doesn't work on what they don't really work on baseball, they do mostly uh basketball.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:14

Yeah, a lot of basketball stuff, a lot of stuff with the Hawks. Yeah. Now now I have been to a tin caps game, and I really like that logo, the little apple with the metal hat in in honor of Johnny Appleseed, Mr. John Chapman himself. But uh yeah, that that's a fun brand. Those are the to my knowledge, those are the only uh minor league baseball brands that they have worked on. So okay um but you know they both they both have been successful, I would say. I mean, this uh this Fireflies brand is is a good one. The uh, you know, the there's a lot of uh stuff sort of like swirling around them. Like you see it, they do a good job of creating that effect of like you're out in the summertime and you just see these fireflies. Um, but uh I don't know how you would, in a static logo, represent the idea of blinking synchronous fireflies uh all at once. True.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:05

That's true.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:06

Yeah. But uh, you know, you're not that far from that. I mean, it would be interesting to uh see.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:14

I have been down to this ballpark. Yeah, it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:19

Um I have to now go back and try to find exactly where this is so I can see the fireflies in synchronicity.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:31

Yeah, yeah. I when I wrote about this team on sportslogos.net, I called it a uh Christmas in spring, Christmas in springtime wonderland of lightning bugs blinking in unison.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:42

Look at you and your use of words.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:44

I know words, and this was before AI was doing everyone's writing for them. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:50

That I would never use AI to do it. You would never, you would never.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:54

I will say this I don't use AI when I write for sportslogos.net, that's for sure. I write all my own words.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:00

Well, I mean, isn't that your degree?

SPEAKER_02 1:07:02

It is. I'm a journalist. I did study journalism at the University of Richmond, so uh, you know, I'm Richmond Spiders. I uh go spiders. Uh I'm obligated to fight the Skynet robots for as long as I can here, but uh you know, uh no, and I get it.

Rebuilding The Fireflies Store Layout

SPEAKER_03 1:07:18

Listen, there is there's you know, we're we're getting out of out of you know, and the old this is a whole different podcast, you know, for AI. Yeah, you know. So uh is there anything else that uh we should know about this the this logo, the the fireflies? Obviously, they got a number of fire of uh different logos. Um, they got a couple of theme nights, um, they got the grits, the chicharrones. Um, we don't talk about Marvel uh on this uh podcast. We're not gonna do that.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:47

Yeah. I appreciated when they did the grits food-based alternate. Not every team puts their alternate brands on uh Helmet Sunday. And you know I love a helmet sundae.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:00

I know you do.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:01

Both the grits and the chicharones. Uh apologies for my pronunciation. No, you did good. All right, all right. That didn't really roll my R though.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:09

I felt uh well you didn't, but it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:12

There it is. That um, you know, they they put those brands on their uh, you know, on their on their ice cream helmets. I appreciate that. I think that that's fun. The chicharones and the grits are very, very different brands from you know, the the what if you talk about brand equity, like trying to sort of integrate those alternate brands with the Fireflies, it's just like you know, as with many alternate brands, and I think this is more common than not, there's no like real relationship to between you know one brand and the other brand. Um so you know, the the the grits is a really fun sort of cartoon food-based one. Um whereas the chicharones, I think, is pretty interesting because it's it's one of the Copa brands, uh, but it just it basically features like a butcher's diagram of a pig.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:02

That is true.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:03

Yeah, and so for that one, I think that it is you know, it's different from a lot of the other Copa ones. And I know that these teams cycle their Copa brands in and out, kind of like uh Major League Baseball does with the City Connect uniforms.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:17

I mean, so there's a there's a life ex, you know, uh there's an expiration date. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:23

On this on these logos. I you know, I bought a Philly's City Connect hat, and as as weird as this might sound, I kind of wish I hadn't. Like I wish I hadn't fallen for it because first of all, I don't even like it that much. It's got the Liberty Bell on it, which you know annoys me because I think it's overused. And they're gonna cycle it out after three years. So, like, are we just our stands at Major League Baseball Games just gonna be filled with people wearing different different caps? Yeah, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:51

So uh I mean it well, people in Cleveland still wear Cleveland Indian stuff.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:56

Well, sure, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:57

And I think that that's gonna be forever, right? Like oh it they will they'll never they'll never stop, obviously. Yeah, I hell I still got Cleveland Indian stuff.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:05

Sure, yeah. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:06

I'm not getting rid of it.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:07

No, because it's part of the team's history, right? Like history, that makes sense. But uh, you know, I just to me, you know, I think about these teams that have had like all these different colored brands over the years, and then like people will wear their old stuff to games, and then you look at the stands. Like, I love going to a Phillies game, and it's just like a C Red in the stands, right? Correct, you know, and but then you think about these teams that have had all these different colors in their brands over the years, and people wearing them all to the game, and they're all different colors.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:33

So well, I think uh major league baseball finally, in my opinion, they finally got smart with the uh with merchandising, yeah. And they they know that we will buy things. Um so they minor league baseball led the way, right? Like, so it's yep, they're the pioneers of it.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:50

You know, the ice cream helmet hall of fame in the uh out there behind me is uh is a testament to that, right? Like, I mean, there's there's nothing the ever-growing Hall of Fame, the ever-growing Hall of Fame. It's a little quieter during the offseason. Stuff doesn't show up in the mail the same way that it usually does, but I've got like a handful of things from the Fireflies, right? Like I've got you know the the chichirones and I've got the grits, and then I've got a couple different Fireflies ones. So they know they know we're gonna keep buying stuff. There it is. If I had minor league baseball in Colorado, I would buy stuff for those teams.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:24

Well, that's it's how it goes, my friend. That's how it goes. Yeah, um, Mr. Caputo, thank you so much, my friend. Where can people find you on all of the socials?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:34

Just uh look for baseball by design, um, Instagram, threads, blue sky, baseball by design podcast on Facebook.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:42

Wait, you do a podcast?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:44

It's called the Baseball by Design Podcast. And uh that's what it's called on Facebook because somebody else like snatched up baseball by design on Facebook. So you have to put the the So you gotta put you gotta put podcast at the end of a baseball podcast.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:59

Oh Lord, I mean the humanity.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:02

I've got 33 followers on my Facebook page uh because I started it just like a couple weeks ago.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:07

So oh congratulations.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:08

If anyone listening to this wants to go find the baseball by design podcast and give it a follow uh percentage-wise, that would that would help a lot.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:15

But uh make sure you uh you know subscribe, like it, and all that fun stuff, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:12:21

Like, subscribe, rate review, subscribe. That's what we're subscribed, there it is. So uh yeah, but hey, you inspired me. I say this every time we talk, you inspired me to start a podcast, and it's one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. I have a great time with it.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:34

So it's a lot of fun, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 1:12:36

It is, and I'm thrilled to be a guest again on the Dad Hat Chronicles, and I'm thrilled to see all of the cool different things that you're doing out there in the world with your live shows and your uh you know, every every third email I get is is uh YouTube telling me that a channel I've subscribed to has gone live, and I only subscribe to one channel, so it's mine, and I got like a thousand shows, guys.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:59

I'm sorry, I apologize, but I do that's fine. Um guys, thank you so much. Uh, you know what? We're here's what I'm gonna do. We're gonna end it here because this is literally the end of the episode, right? We are gonna this segment going forward. I'm gonna have you come back um and we talk about the team that we're that I have interviewed and all that. And I want to give you give them a little bit of history, a little background on the logo and all that stuff. So, guys, make sure you subscribe to the Data Chronicles podcast, to the baseball by design. I just pushed it completely that, but thank you so much for not saying anything. Um, and also go to corporatemedia.com so that way you guys are always in and know when there's new episodes coming up with every single one of us. Okay. How's that? That sounded pretty good, didn't it?

SPEAKER_02 1:13:45

You did, and you know what? You do a great job keeping up on the curvebrim media social media. Uh, you uh you you know, you you didn't ask for that job, but someone has to do it. I had to. You're doing a good job with it.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:57

So it's it's fun, it's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:59

Yeah, it is fun. CurbRim Media.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:01

That's right. But for those that are watching on YouTube, make sure you uh hit the subscribe button, uh, share this video, share the episode if you're listening to it with someone that you know that would definitely enjoy this. Make sure you follow uh Mr. Paul Caputo right here. He does great stuff um bringing out new logo designs and also interviewing uh the people that are um you know i in the business of minor league baseball. So much fun. It is so much fun. That's right. And then we will see you guys in the next one. Okay, bye.