Mike Miklos is the director of marketing for a Major League Baseball team. He leads

a group to determine the team's dynamic ticket pricing strategy. The members of the

sales team think Mike should raise pricing as the games near. They believe that taking

a long-term strategy will eventually train fans to purchase tickets early to get the best

deals. They argue that this will lead to more consistent sales in the future because fans

with tickets in hand are more likely to attend a game than are fans making last-minute

decisions. Members of the marketing team think that tickets should be discounted as

the games near. They worry about the fan experience and think that fans attending a

game in a half-full stadium won't feel the same excitement as do fans attending a sold out

game. They think that empty seats are simply wasted opportunities.

1. Which strategy should Mike use?

2. Do you agree with the sales team that there is a long-term benefit to training

fans to purchase early?

3. Do you believe that discounting tickets will train the fans to just wait to buy

tickets?

4. Is it more important to fill the seats or to take a long-term ticket strategy?