Recently our agency hosted the third annual Wiffle Ball Challenge with our valued Bradford White client. While on the surface this may sound like just a fun event to blow off some steam (and believe me it was), it was really much more and provided some excellent business value – more on that in a bit. First, some background…

We originally developed the idea as an opportunity to spend some time with our client colleagues and business partners outside of a work environment. A wiffle ball game seemed like a good way to do that. It’s in our agency nature to try to do things as well as we can, so we went “Full Monty” by creating relevant and clever team names, custom uniforms, selecting walk-up songs, and building a wiffle ball Field of Dreams outside our building including a home run fence, a lined field, outfield banners, and a scoreboard.

This year we created trading card packs with images of team players from the previous year’s event. Of course, we can’t forget the traditional ballpark food with a hotdog cart, snacks and plenty of beverage options. We had a play-by-play announcer, started the game with the national anthem and did the traditional 7th inning stretch song, too. Attention to details is key. The teams – both made up of a mixture of agency and client personnel – play for the Wiffle Ball Challenge Trophy and an MVP is selected and awarded a special medallion.

So beyond just giving people an excuse to leave the office early on a Thursday afternoon, there is some real business value that comes out of the game.

Building Teamwork

That one is obvious. In this case, the teams are mixed — much like our actual business project teams — and gives us an opportunity to work together in a different way that can often expose people’s hidden talents. Plus, with today’s virtual workplaces, it is great to get people together to physically interact.

Deeper Personal Interaction

Our integrated teams and relaxed, fun environment gives people the opportunity to talk about things other than work. We learn more about what people do in their personal lives, their families, the things they like, and much more beyond just how we see them in our day-to-day work. These insights can help us work together better through improved mutual understanding about where everybody is coming from.

Inclusiveness

Wiffle ball is a pretty low-impact game that almost anyone can play. Plus, there are nonplaying roles like announcing, scorekeeping, umpiring, field construction, promotions, food coordination, cheerleading (and some heckling) and even singing — one of our interns sang the National Anthem at the first game we had. It is truly a model that translates well to the business world.

Serendipitous Innovation

Occasionally, ideas pop up in the most unlikely places when people get a chance to interact outside of their usual business environment. A casual comparison or offhand remark about a work challenge or project during the event sometimes uncovers otherwise hidden ideas and solutions. When people’s subconscious “guards” are down, often that allows some very interesting thoughts to come out. And when it does, it’s magic.

For the record, the Commanders defeated the Defenders 4-2 and now lead the annual series 2-1. Bradford White’s Director of Marketing Neal Heyman received the coveted MVP award. Group G’s Senior Product Marketing Manager Brett Miller was the event organizer who, using his project management acumen, successfully pulled everything together which was no easy task.

Everyone looks forward to the 2024 event – the bar has been set high, and we are already receiving ideas and requests for making it even better. Add “Process Improvement” to the growing list of business benefits. So get out there and Play Ball!

The ULTIMATE Wiffle Ball Pitching Tutorial | MLW

Geff Rapp is a Senior Managing Partner at Group G Marketing Partners – a full-service marketing agency in Ivyland, Bucks County. For over 25 years Group G has served regional and national clients in the financial services, consumer goods, manufacturing, healthcare and insurance industries. Contact him at [email protected]