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Darcy Raymond

New Position: Vice president, branding and fan experience, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, St. Petersburg. Previous Position: Brand manager, corporate marketing programs, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati

By Times Staff Writer
Published February 20, 2006

Getting more fans to this season's Tampa Bay Devil Rays games - and then making sure they have the ultimate positive experience - is high on Darcy Raymond's agenda.

Raymond, the Devil Rays' new vice president of branding and fan experience, is charged with planning the impression that all aspects of attending a baseball game will have on each fan, including pregame entertainment and each encounter at the stadium - "essentially, everything you see, hear, touch, smell and taste when you come to Tropicana Field," Raymond said.

The branding of a team, Raymond explained, "involves all the elements or touch points: the fan's interaction with concession employees, the logo of the team, colors of the team. Essentially, everything that a fan can come in touch with, there has to be a sense of consistency and a purpose."

As a run-up to the season, Raymond said he is busy looking for innovations, "for wowing our fans. In the past, the predecessors here were probably more concerned with maintaining a bottom line without understanding, at the end of the day, it's a privilege to give residents of west-central Florida, specifically St. Petersburg and Tampa, (a chance) to be connected to the players and the beautiful world of baseball.

"For 81 nights a year, we have a different philosophy," Raymond said. "We're trying to make this place much like the experience you would get at Disney World, except it's baseball."

To help determine what fans want from their baseball experience, Raymond said Rays officials are considering several "psychographic" fan composites such as Fred Fanatic (the hard-core baseball fan and a Devil Rays fan in particular), Mindy Good Mom (a soccer mom who brings the family and is more interested in a positive family experience), Ron the Retiree (who comes to see other people in the community and to relive his baseball memories) and Sammy Successful (who comes to the game to connect with clients).

"We're undoing a lot of bad behaviors and putting in good messages," Raymond said. "There's an "undo' and a "do.' "

A native of Montreal, Raymond earned a bachelor's degree in commerce in 1996 from the Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal.

He joined Procter & Gamble in 1997 as an assistant brand manager based in Toronto. He was involved in the worldwide branding and marketing of the Swiffer floor cleaner. "It wasn't another cleaning product," Raymond recalled. "It was not a line extension. We were creating a new-to-the-world category."

Raymond left Procter & Gamble in 2000 to become vice president of marketing for a new Internet search engine, Mama.com, relocating to New York City. "It was pre-Google," he said. "The market fell out. The well went dry. We laid off the whole staff."

Raymond then rejoined Procter & Gamble, this time in Cincinnati, as part of the company's new Internet marketing venture. He became part of corporate marketing in 2003. In 2005, Raymond left Procter & Gamble to earn an MBA at Harvard Business School. He was hired as a consultant to the Devil Rays in September, which led to his new position that began in January. "It is an opportunity to come work in a turnaround situation," Raymond said, "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"(This year) will be a test-and-learn season," Raymond said, "especially off the field. We're interested in hearing everybody's feedback."

Raymond, 31, is single and lives just a few blocks from Tropicana Field. In his spare time, Raymond said he tries to swim regularly at North Shore pool, as well as run and play ice hockey. In fact, he said he is about to join a hockey team.

Raymond said he also loves to travel and has visited more than 40 countries. "Every chance I get, I take two weeks and go somewhere," he said.

[Last modified February 17, 2006, 18:01:02]