Wrigley Field in Chicago, which even today is a nationally recog-
nized landmark of that facility.
But perhaps his most famous (or notorious, depending on your
perspective) stunt occurred during his ownership of the Cleveland
Indians. With much fanfare, he hired a midget to join the Indians.
Eddie Gaedel stood 3 feet, 7 inches and weighed all of 65 pounds.
When he was sent up to bat to draw a walk during a critical part
of the game, the crowd went wild. The perplexed pitcher couldn’t
find the tiny strike zone and walked Gaedel on four pitches. Veeck
claimed that this wasn’t a stunt, but a “practical idea,” which he
would not hesitate to use again.
The president of the American League was not amused and
barred Gaedel from playing again. But this unique marketing ploy
certainly fulfilled the criteria of being memorable. Fifty years later,
it is still an event that is memorialized by sports fans everywhere.JAY LURYE
If there ever was a master of integrative marketing and creative
thinking, it was Jay Lurye, the founder and president of Impact,
International. Based in Chicago, his company was among the first
event production and marketing firms, and many of his principles
innovated practices that are common in the industry today. Much
of his work centered on association conventions, but his greatest
contributions were in building attendance through marketing part-
nerships and the creation of ancillary activities.
For example, Lurye instituted the spouse and youth program
as a major part of the convention itself. He understood that if an
organization could attract spouses by marketing unique programs
to them and their children, chances were that the association’s
members would feel more compelled to register. He was right.
In marketing these programs, he was equally innovative. For
example, Lurye created the “meet a celebrity” event and promoted
the “mystery guest” luncheon or reception where spouses would
buy tickets based on the promise that they would see not only
each other, but mix with celebrities as well. Then, through his
contacts with theatrical agents, he would determine which celebri-
ties would be in town at the time of the event, hire them for a
moderate fee to spend an hour socializing with the group, and
watch as the spouses lined up for a chance to chat with the famous4 Chapter 1 Introduction to Event Marketing