“Be The Thunder”A Case Study

John R. Luecke, APR, High Point UniversityTyler Blackshaw, High Point University

Charles University, 3 April 2014

“Be The Thunder”

2013 Bronze Effie WinnerClient: Tampa Bay Lightning

Agency: 22squared

The Client

Tampa Bay LightningNHL teamFour-year decline in attendancePrior to campaign ranked 18th in

attendance out of 30 teams2010 - New Owner, GM, and Coach$40 million stadium renovationsTwo-year plan to turn franchise

around

Agency

22squaredFounded in 19226th Largest

Independent Ad Agency in US

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia

2nd Office in Tampa Bay

300-plus employees$600 million in billings

Case Study Structure

1. Client’s Situation – Problems or Opportunities

2. Research

3. Target Audiences

4. Objectives

5. Message

6. Tactics – Paid, Social, Owned, Earned Media

7. Evaluation of Results

Problems/Opportunities

Overcome fan skepticism and build support for the new direction

Popularize a cold-weather sport in a warm-weather town

Galvanize a transient community around a local team

Research

ESPN NHL Attendance Report 2011

Agency Superfan Interviews, June 2011- skepticism over new ownership

Agency Stakeholder Interviews, June 2011- other entertainment options

Research

US Census Bureau American Community Survey- Number of people moving in and out of Florida

Experian Simmons and Scarborough syndicated data- Number of visiting team’s fans

Social Bakers- Facebook engagement rank

Brand Keys loyalty study, 2011- Fan loyalty

Research Results

Community was interested and passionate for hockey but felt disconnected from the local team.

Must create a campaign to fuel a fan-base culture that showed fan support matters.

Target Audience

Tampa Bay hockey fans interested in the sport but not associated with Lightning

Typical hockey fan as defined by Experian Simmons and Scarborough syndicated data: “an active, ‘work hard, play hard’ male with no children”

Audience Segments

Superfans- know hockey and attend over 20 games a season

Swing fans- less knowledgeable/involved in hockey. Attends between 1-10 games per season

Key Objectives

Grow attendance and interest regardless of team record. Home attendance and TV viewership during

last year’s winning season were used as benchmarks. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPI: - Increase average home attendance over past year benchmark of 17,268

KPI - Increase TV viewership among target by 12% over past year

Tools: Lightning attendance data and Scarborough TV viewership data

Key Objectives

Increase sellouts. Season ticket sales and sellouts also contribute to long-term loyalty.

Key Performance Indicators

KPI: - Reach 10,000 season ticket sales prior to past year benchmark of Sept. 1

KPI - Increase sellouts by 30% over past year’s

benchmark of 11 games

Tools: Lightning sales data and NHL.com reporting

Key Objectives

Increase community engagement. Rely on social metrics as community engagement measure.

Benchmarked KPIs against another NHL team with robust social media programs: the Detroit Red Wings.

Key Performance Indicators:

Increase Facebook fan count by 20% from beginning to end of season Sustain engaged Facebook fans at least 0.1% average during the

season Increase Twitter followers from 30,000 to 60,000 by end of season

Tools: Social monitoring services Wildfire, Social Bakers, Facebook Insights, and Lithium (Twitter)

Measuring Engagement

Main Message

“Powerful fans are an essential element of a powerful team.”

“Be The Thunder” Plays off team nameGives audience a purpose: Make

noise!Made the fans part of the team not

just spectators

Tactics – Paid Media

TV and cable spots on fall premieres and 1st run episodes

New Tampa Bay Lightning SpotFirst Be the Thunder SpotBe the Thunder Spot

Used “trade-outs” with media

Tactics – Paid Media

Newspaper Ads: “Invest in throat lozenges” run on front page, bottom strip

Tactics – Paid Media

Digital Billboards: customized messages for upcoming games near stadium and high traffic area

Tactics – Social Media

FacebookFacebook “Thunderizer” App

YouTube Channel

TwitterTwitter Scavenger Hunts

Tactics – Owned Media

Web page

Promotional items for season ticket holders

Tactics – Owned Media

10,000 Lightning jerseys given to season ticketholders

Embedded RFID chips in sleeves

When worn to a game, ticketholder gets a discount

Lightning is Striking with a chip up its sleeve. (2011, December 8). ISO&AGENT, p. 19.

Tactics – Earned Media

News Release to local papers

Tampa Bay Times and the Business JournalNEWLY ENERGIZED LIGHTNING MARKETING CAMPAIGN CALLS ON FANS TO ‘BE THE THUNDER' THROUGHOUT 2011-12 SEASON

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled its ‘Be The Thunder' marketing campaign for the 2011-12 regular season today, calling on all hockey fans throughout the Bay Area to come together and be loud in support of the Bolts all season long as the highly-anticipated start of the regular campaign quickly approaches. 

Launched as the direct result of countless interviews with the same raucous crowds which packed the St. Pete Times Forum each night during an exciting and improbable playoff run, the ‘Be The Thunder' campaign features a refreshed focus on the team's identity and its brand, highlighting and paying tribute to the Lightning's passionate fan base. Both the exterior and interior of the St. Pete Times Forum are being transformed to offer guests the best fan experience possible, presenting signage consistent with the campaign throughout various parts of the building.

Tactics?

Thunder sheet for fans

Strengths of Message and Tactics

Demonstrates that team and new owners are interested and care about fans

Involves residents

Promotes brand loyalty

High viewer rate

Communication Theories

Elaboration Likelihood Model (1)

Peripheral route

Motivation Theory:Sensory Gratification- boredom

or apathy to excitement (2)

1 Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J.T. (1986). Communication and persuasion: Central and peripheral routes to attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag.

2 Rossiter, J.R. & Percy, L. (1991). Emotions and motivationa in advertising. Advances in Consumer Research, 18:100-110.

RESULTS

Grow attendance & interest regardless of team record

Despite worse record from prior season, Tampa Bay: Saw a 7% Increase in home attendance

from last yearMoved from 18th in the league to 13th in

attendanceIncreased 57% over last year in TV

viewership

Criticism

Does not track the target audience’s television viewership

Does not account for away team fans at games

Upon closer examination the Lightning only went 12-10-2 in home games for the 2012/2013 season. 8th worst home winning percentage in the league

Increase Sellouts

Reached 10,000 season ticket sales 3 weeks earlier than last year

Doubled season ticket sales from prior year

Sold out 20 games, 50% increase over last year

Criticism

Season ticket sales came after the team’s first playoff appearance in almost 5 years skewing results/interest

Does not specify which games sold out

Once again does not account for opposing team’s fans

Increase Community Engagement

Facebook fans grew 26% (by comparison Red Wings grew only 14% in same time frame)

0.27% avg Facebook engagement rate (Red Wings: 0.11%)

Twitter followers grew by 103% (Red Wings: 90%)

Criticism

Keep referencing Red Wings’s percentages but not actual numbers. A smaller percentage of a larger portion could still be a greater number.

For example:Facebook

Red Wings currently have over 1.5 million likes/followers

Tampa Bay Lightning: Just over 330,000

Twitter: Red Wings: 386K Tampa Bay: 141K

Long Term Impact

bethethunder.com for Season Ticket Sales

#BeTheThunder hashtag still in effect

Strengthened the brand and fan support: 2012/2013: 8th in attendance 2013/2014: Currently 10th

22squared still works for the Lightning

“Be The Thunder”

2013 Bronze Effie WinnerClient: Tampa Bay Lightning

Agency: 22squared