For just this month, the number one is the new 44 for Syracuse.

The Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a promotion involving more than 20 local businesses doling out discounts in response to the men’s basketball team’s No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

This ‘1 for 1 All the Way’ deal gives businesses the chance to use Orange basketball for profit. It is a re-establishment of the same promotion from 2010, the first year Syracuse was named a No. 1 seed since 1980.

‘The PR firm we work with helped up with the idea, which we ran with in 2010, and secured some awesome national media coverage,’ said Danica Kaltaler, the communications manager of the bureau.

The goal of the campaign is to put the national spotlight on Syracuse as a destination, which involves a lot of national attention on the city, she said. Yahoo! News, for instance, featured the promotion in a story published March 14

‘That’s over 50 million viewers. Opportunities like that we’ve secured, we would never be able to afford. So this public relations outreach is priceless,’ Kaltaler said.

Every business participating came up with its own sale, which includes the number one in some way. Organizers for the Syracuse Festival of Races are giving away prizes to the first person to register for the event from a ZIP code that has the number one in it. The race brings visitors from 25 to 30 states and will be in September.

Dave Oja, the founder and director of the race and a die-hard SU basketball fan, said he jumped at the opportunity when the convention and visitors bureau proposed it.

‘We in our family have this very, very long fondness for the men’s basketball program at SU. There are few fans out there these days who have been along for the ride that long,’ Oja said.

Oja said the festival has not seen a rise in registration numbers yet.

Hotels, which already see a huge rise in occupancy for every home basketball game, are also participating. Hotel Skyler is offering a night’s stay for a dollar with the purchase of two nights.

‘SU Athletics as a whole is a driving force to the Syracuse market,’ said Tom Fernandez, director of marketing for the Woodbine Group, which owns the hotel.

But even when it comes to something that puts the community in good spirits, competition remains. Benjamin’s on Franklin and Anthony’s Elbow Room Tavern are taking $1 off beers during tournament games. Empire Brewing Co. is selling them for $1.

Some of the sales are less traditional. The Land of Oz and Ends, which offers Wizard of Oz products and other antiques, is taking 11 percent off everything in the store.

Most dollar deals will end if and when Syracuse’s success in the tournament runs out, but some extend until the championship game, or even beyond March Madness, regardless of who is playing.

But if Syracuse makes it to the Final Four, residents should not expect a number four-centric promotion.

‘We’ll stick with the fact that we’re the No. 1 seed. I would say $1 deals are better than $4 deals,’ Kaltaler said.

sfanelli@syr.edu 

Published on March 21, 2012 at 12:00 pm