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"Be the Thunder" Tampa Bay Lightning Case Study
1. “Be The Thunder”
A Case Study
John R. Luecke, APR, High Point University
Tyler Blackshaw, High Point University
Charles University, 3 April 2014
2. “Be The Thunder”
2013 Bronze Effie Winner
Client: Tampa Bay Lightning
Agency: 22squared
3. The Client
Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL team
Four-year decline in attendance
Prior to campaign ranked 18th in
attendance out of 30 teams
2010 - New Owner, GM, and Coach
$40 million stadium renovations
Two-year plan to turn franchise around
4. Agency
22squared
Founded in 1922
6th Largest Independent
Ad Agency in US
Headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia
2nd Office in Tampa Bay
300-plus employees
$600 million in billings
5.
6.
7. 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
8. 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
9. Research
ESPN NHL Attendance Report 2011
Agency Superfan Interviews, June
2011- skepticism over new ownership
Agency Stakeholder Interviews, June
2011- other entertainment options
10. 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
11. 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.
12. 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”
13. 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
14. 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
15. 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
16. 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)
18. Main Message
“Powerful fans are an essential element of
a powerful team.”
“Be The Thunder”
Plays off team name
Gives audience a purpose: Make noise!
Made the fans part of the team not just
spectators
19. Tactics – Paid Media
TV and cable spots on fall premieres and 1st
run episodes
New Tampa Bay Lightning Spot
First Be the Thunder Spot
Be the Thunder Spot
Used “trade-outs” with media
20. Tactics – Paid Media
Newspaper Ads: “Invest in throat lozenges”
run on front page, bottom strip
21. Tactics – Paid Media
Digital Billboards: customized messages for
upcoming games near stadium and high
traffic area
22. Tactics – Social Media
Facebook
Facebook “Thunderizer” App
YouTube Channel
Twitter
Twitter Scavenger Hunts
23.
24. Tactics – Owned Media
Web page
Promotional items for season ticket holders
25. 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.
26.
27. Tactics – Earned Media
News Release to local papers
Tampa Bay Times and the Business Journal
NEWLY 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.
29. 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
30. 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.
32. Grow attendance & interest regardless
of team record
Despite worse record from prior season, Tampa Bay:
Saw a 7% Increase in home attendance from last
year
Moved from 18th in the league to 13th in
attendance
Increased 57% over last year in TV viewership
33. 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
34. 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
35. 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
36. 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%)
37. 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
38. 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
39. “Be The Thunder”
2013 Bronze Effie Winner
Client: Tampa Bay Lightning
Agency: 22squared