Wyatt Hamilton's Blog

How do you get people into the doors of hockey games on campus? First you need to find the target market. What kind of person should UBC athletics focus on to market their University hockey to? Once they have found the right demographic that will bring in the most people, how do you promote games and the product on the ice effectively?

I believe that UBC does not have a broad enough spectrum of people they aim to come to the games. The Doug Mitchell Sports Center is the most used athletic facility on campus by non-UBC affiliates. On weekends and nightly during the week, all three ice surfaces during the winter months are booked solid by minor hockey, men’s leagues and public skates. Many families that are involved in minor hockey are younger and in many cases have a lower income. They come to the rink weekly for practices and games, but leave right after their ice times with little to any knowledge of the inexpensive entertainment of Varsity Men’s hockey.

Currently on campus, really the only form of advertisement for Varsity games is one weekly minuscule poster that is displayed sparsely around campus. Some reading right now may not even know which posters I am referring to, and that is exactly mypoint. They are over powered by words and give little to no visual stimulation. The UBC student body and community alike will be hard pressed to stop and acknowledge what the posters are trying to promote. To promote effectively, customers need to be attracted to advertise-

ments. UBC athletics has the available means to do so whether that involves; more appealing posters properly distributed, television ads on campus screens and local stations, social media like twitter, or better online promotion via campus wide emails.

Just one example of an eye catching poster: Red Bull Crashed Ice. Which one would you stop to stare at?

Hockey is all around us. Turn on the TV, open a newspaper, walk down the street and you will seem something that has to do with the sport. In this past year coverage and popularity has grown not even in Canada but in the United States as well. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in Vancouver who doesn’t know what the “golden goal” is and who scored it last February.

I’m positive most students can relate to being strapped for cash while they are attending University, making cost effective entertainment all the more important. In Vancouver people fork over vast amounts of money to go watch hockey in the form of the Vancouver Canucks, and why not, they are the big dogs in town. But right here on campus students have the opportunity to watch great hockey for 1% of the price. So in a brand new 5,054-seat 47.8 million dollar arena watching fellow University student-athletes, some of which have been drafted to the same league as the Vancouver Canucks play, the question raised why is there not more of a fan base?

One of the major factors for lack of attendance I believe is due to the lack of marketing. UBC athletics has 3/4 components to the marketing mix at their fingertips:

• Product: University hockey. (6 players NHL Draft picks, 11 attended NHL try-out camps)
• Price: $2 Students, $5 Children/ Seniors, $10 General Admission
• Place: Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre (47.8 mill, 5,054 seat arena)
• Promotion: …?

If students don’t know about the games, how are they supposed to come watch? The potential to bring out fans and have a great atmosphere every weekend is unlimited. In coming posts I will share my ideas on how to make this happen!!