THE SITUATION
For the National Hockey League’s, Arizona Coyotes, it wasn’t enough to just reach sports fans to come to a game. The Coyotes knew they had to reach new audiences including moms looking to plan family outings, millennials hoping to reconnect at a fun event, and young couples looking for an entertaining date night out. To tap into this new demographic, the Coyotes turned to our social media team to create an influencer program to help grow hockey fans in the desert using online influencers. By picking the right influencers to partner with, they can show their audience how fun and exciting a Coyotes game can be. Game on!
THE SOLUTION
First things first: identify the appropriate audience. The Coyotes already reach thousands of hockey fans all over the country, but the time was right to visit a new demographic. We know that Coyotes fans are currently made up of individuals who grew up with the sport. In order to spread our fandom, we wanted to reach out to influencers outside of that audience. By connecting with fashion and parent bloggers, we were able to introduce them to #OurPack. Reaching a younger female audience caused the conversation to shift and Coyotes games are now being described as the perfect place for family fun or a girls night out. We began to target a new kind of hockey fan – one who doesn’t necessarily follow the sport, but wants to attend for the experience.
To get influencers excited, our team created custom Coyotes influencer packages filled with tickets, Coyotes apparel, comped parking, and a Coyotes-branded iPhone charger. Influencers were also encouraged to post swipe up links on their Instagram stories to get their fans prepared for the season. Take a look at some of the content the Arizona Coyotes influencers created below:
Permission granted from Andrea Blake.
THE RESULTS
Hashtags are everything, and #OurPack has made quite the impact. Today, the hashtag has been used over 21,000 times. Each influencer posted multiple Instagram Stories and in-feed posts including the hashtag and tagging @arizonacoyotes. Since every game has a score, what was the result?
From December 2018 to March 2019, OH Partners brought in more than 20 influencers to experience Coyotes games. Combined, these influencers scored more than 44 million potential impressions and growing. In addition, the influencer campaign garnered nearly 200,000 engagements through Instagram content including stories, swipe-up links, and in-feed posts.
Working closely with the Coyotes, our team helped deliver a big win for their brand. Could influencers make an impact for your team? Contact us here to learn more, and ask about our detailed playbook for identifying, vetting, and working with social influencers.