Marketing Crashes Fenway Park's 100th Birthday Party

http://www.fastcompany.com/1829675/fenway-park-turns-100-has-marketing-trumped-its-charm

For generations of baseball fans, Fenway has been baseball Mecca. You don’t just watch a baseball game there, you experience it, with sights, sounds and smells unlike any other sporting venue. Fenway Park turns 100 on April 20, and if you haven’t heard about it yet, you will. Sports Illustrated and USA Today have published special editions. PBS is airing a National Geographic-produced documentary. A Green Monster-green coffee table book just hit the shelves. An official website chronicles Fenway’s history. And that’s just the start.

The Red Sox marketing machine is cranking out a season’s worth of promos, events, and extravaganzas as part of the “Fenway Park 100” campaign. The Boston Pops have even recorded “Fanfare to Fenway,” a musical tribute as well.

 “Our goal is to differentiate the ballpark from all others in sports. We believe Fenway...is an iconic facility that transcends sports,” Red Sox senior vice president of Marketing and Brand Development Adam Grossman said during a talk to the Ad Club of Boston on March 27.

Do you think Fenway has gone too far?  Are they balancing the amount of money they want to make with advertising correctly?