CARMAX PARK
Live client winner! 🥳
The Ask— Leverage the preseason timeline to create excitement around the opening of CarMax Park and the 2026 season.
Research Methods— 350 survey responses, 1 hour-long focus group, 38 man-on-the-street interviews, social listening, & attendance of the team’s big rebrand event.
As a Richmond local, and the only native Richmonder on the team, I had to take a step back and really think— although my childhood baseball team has stayed true to itself, how has the city changed around it?
For starters, we’re getting a lot more attention than we’re used to.
As Richmond continues to grow, more and more non-locals join our population, and although they didn’t grow up with the Squirrels as I did, they deserve to enjoy Nutzy and Nutasha as much as I do.
So… what makes transplants so special?
-
Since 2020, over 52,000 people have moved to Richmond. Job opportunities from national brands like SimpliSafe, CoStar, and Lego attract young professionals to Richmond, indicating that the Richmond population isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
-
With these rapidly growing businesses creating hundreds of new positions, many people have moved to Richmond just to pick up these jobs, knowing very little about the city beforehand. Knowing only their place of residence and their job when they move, these newcomers are often without an immediate ‘third place’.
-
According to our survey, Richmond transplants earn $10,000 more than longterm Richmond residents, with the average transplant income being around $118,000.
But— like all people, transplants aren’t a monolith.
That’s why we split our target into two segments:
Social Butterflies — Newcomers actively exploring their new home.
Homebodies — Introverts who utilize private downtime to recover from busy work weeks.
After narrowing our target demographic, we identified 4 key findings on how best to get their attention.
1 — Transplants look to local favorites to feel like they belong.
Among responders who selected 'Strangers' as the people they'd prefer to spend time with, 'community organizations' was their third most common source of information about events (much higher than any other segment).
“In a new city, doing activities that are meaningful to the locals there is super exciting and helps you to create connections. When I got here, it was something I was actively looking for— it makes it easier to feel connected to the city.”
— focus group attendee
RECOMMENDATION — Link CarMax Park to Richmond’s favorite institutions through bold partnerships and shout-outs.
For Social Butterflies — Make Nutzy and Nutasha easy to spot during iconic Richmond events leading up to the first game.
For Homebodies — Playfully interact with accounts for well-loved RVA institutions and traditions on platforms like Instagram and TikTok to attract the attention of phone-scrolling homebodies.
2 — They know who you are, not what You Do
People don't see the Squirrels enough in their everyday lives, so they aren't top of mind.
Only 58% of survey participants actually know where the stadium actually is, with even fewer knowing where the new stadium is going.
RECOMMENDATION — Make it impossible not to know what's going on with the Squirrels.
More than 60% of fans say that having a great “year-round experience” would make them more likely to be more engaged with the team in the coming season.
For Social Butterflies — Go everywhere they go (local bars, community spaces, restaurants).
For Homebodies — Do everything they do (social media challenges, errands, cultural touchstones).
3 — Affordability fuels ambition.
Transplants are motivated by affordability because they're sampling the city and want low-risk buy-ins.
The number one motivating factor for transplants to attend/get excited for an event is FREE OR LOW COST OF ENTRY.
86% of people who moved to Richmond within the last 2 years said that they have a community or want to be part of one.
RECOMMENDATION — Emphasize the “Low risk, High rewards” model through the team’s frequency and affordability.
For Social Butterflies — Plain and simple — people love cheap beer. Have certain days of the season offer discounted drinks to incite social habits and promote comfort about discounted offers.
For Homebodies — Introduce coupons ‘squirreled away’ around weekly chores, such as laundromats and grocery stores.
4 — Recognition builds comfort.
In a city where everything and everyone is unfamiliar, transplants want recognizable faces to cheer for.
“I want to learn about the players’ lives and who they are outside of baseball. Like dancing with the stars— I watch it because I love the stars, not because I care about dancing.”
— focus group attendee
RECOMMENDATION — Include more faces of real-life players and staff members in promotional material.
For Social Butterflies — Send players and staff to weekly haunts (bars, shows); Personalize confirmation emails with player names: “Jack thanks you for your purchase.”
For Homebodies — Showcase the playful personalities of the team and staff on platforms like Instagram and Facebook (the top two most-used social media for this demographic).
In a nutshell…
Amidst unfamiliarity, Richmond transplants want to fit in— but more importantly, they want their community to actively welcome them into the city. The Squirrels have the perfect opportunity to be that first helping hand for newcomers this upcoming season, utilizing the five aforementioned recommendations.
The team that went nuts with me:
Sami Davis, ST
Jake McKay, CBM
Tomás Williamson, CBM