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As the winter months grow closer, more and more families are beginning the time honoured tradition of early morning wake up calls, coffee to go, and the pre-dawn trek to the local community hockey arena. There is a reason so many commercials show this same scene over and over again, because it is true for so many people across Canada. The community hockey rink is where people of all ages go to not only play sports but to congregate, gather, and share time with others in their community.

That alone should make any marketer’s ears perk up. Where else will you get a wide variety of people, spending hours upon hours weekly in the same place, exposed to the same environment? If you want your brand to have extended facetime with a range of target audiences, look no further than community hockey arenas.

Massive Advertising Opportunity

Hockey arenas are huge! Most people immediately think of the playing surface and rink boards when they think of hockey arena advertising, but think outside the ice! Outside the arena, staircases, walls, video screens, windows, scoreboards, dressing rooms, almost any surface inside and outside of an arena can become a creative space for marketing.

Room for Creativity

Per week, the typical Canadian spends on average seven hours engaging with hockey. Think about your friends, family members, and coworkers who discuss the weekends and nights they spend at the rink. That’s a lot of eyeballs that need something to look at. Give the people what they want! Arenas are the perfect place for fun and creative marketing campaigns that ask for engagement, make people laugh, and otherwise add to the exciting activities that are taking place inside the rink.

Become a Part of the Community

The local rink can be a sacred place for many across the country, especially in small towns and communities. This is a chance for your brand to make its presence known in smaller places that may not always get attention. Create marketing campaigns that feel like they integrate into the communities they are a part of. Creating brand loyalty with a personalized campaign or local engagement can go a long way to tying good memories and comfort to your business.

A community hockey arena is a gathering place that brings people together for the purpose of fun and sportsmanship. It is a place where people feel comfortable, where they visit over and over again, and where they feel connected to their local community. Meeting your audience in a place like this is not interruptive. Your brand can simply add to the experience—it’s a marketer’s dream!