During the average Canadian winter, thousands of families wake up early for morning practice at their local community arena. This typical scene is repeated day after day, weekend after weekend, allowing community rinks to become a big part of a city’s fabric. This is exactly why both local businesses and national corporations invest in arena advertising. If you’re considering starting an arena advertising campaign, here are six must-know tips.
1. Consider the Whole Audience
Arena advertising is unique in that it reaches entire families at the same time. Most youth visitors are accompanied by at least one family member and return multiple times a week. When designing your campaign, think carefully about which audience within an arena ecosystem you are targeting and consider it when deciding on creative strategy, placement, and tone.
2. Think Outside the Boards
On-ice and rink board advertisements are what come to mind when most people think of arena advertising. But there is so much more real estate within, and outside, of an arena that may allow more creative flexibility and visitor interaction. When brainstorming campaign strategies, consider locations like outside the main entrance, walls and doors, banners by main waiting areas, scoreboards, or outside dressing rooms.
3. Get Creative
The typical Canadian spends, on average, seven hours per week engaging with hockey. This means many people who spend hours and hours of time in arenas are used to seeing the same old ads in the same old places.
With arena advertising, you are grabbing the attention of someone who is on their own recreational time, so have fun! Get creative and make your campaign stand out.
4. Increase Community Engagement
The best way to help the public remember your brand is to engage with them. Try to include a strategy to connect with the community within your ad. Ask people to share a picture of your ad with a hashtag on social media, set up a contest for local residents, or support a local charity.
5. People Love Giveaways
Everyone loves a free water bottle or t-shirt. Arenas are great places for experiential marketing and the perfect place to find people who are relaxed and willing to chat or answer questions. These interactions give you valuable face time with your audience and allow them to have a deeper connection with your brand.
6. Tailor Your Ad to the Arena
When at all possible, gather as many details about the arena and its visitors before you decide on your ad strategy. There are experts who know where people spend time when they are waiting or eating, people who know the space and have an idea of what arena activity is like during low, average, and high visitor levels.