July 4, 2007
Volume 6, Issue 11

***SPECIAL EDITION***

 
Raptors Promotion

Generates $50,000

Editor's Note: This issue marks a special occasion for us here at the National Sports Forum; it's the 5th Anniversary of the first edition of Selling It.  In July 2002, we sent our first issue out to approximately 40 recipients.  Today, Selling It has over 1,600 readers and a subscriber base as broad as the articles we have published.

Over the last five years we have published over 120 articles (all available in our NSF "Inner Circle" archives) covering promotions from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, minor league baseball and hockey, university athletic departments, and agencies.  One of our favorite issues each year is the annual ADchievement Award winners edition in which we showcase the year's best sports-related television ads as determined each January at the National Sports Forum.  That issue will be released later this year on October 17; however, to celebrate our 5th Anniversary, we thought it would be fun to reach into the archives and re-run the very first edition.

We would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you for subscribing and thanks to everyone who has forwarded Selling It to a friend or recommended us to someone they thought would enjoy reading about the industry's best and most creative, outside-the-box revenue-generating promotions and campaigns.

*Super Summer Special*

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Raptors promotion is a

Promotion: Raptors Chinese New Year Celebration

Contact Name/Title: Chris Overholt - Vice President, Sales & Service; Pam Wiles - Coordinator, Sales

Team/Organization: Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs)

Objectives:
1. To increase awareness of the Raptors in the Chinese Community throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
2. To increase ticket sales on a "softer" midweek game during the season.

Program Description: The Chinese community celebrates their New Year over a period of several weeks; towards the end of the New Year the Toronto Raptors annually host a Chinese Celebration night at a Raptors game.

The two contacts that the Raptors worked with on this event have strong ties in the Chinese Community. One is a prominent member in the Chinese business community and the other is involved with a number of youth organizations.

Ticket Program:
1. Approximately 2500 seats sold. 
2. Tickets are purchased outright by the client and re-sold as part of a fundraising initiative for the CCYAA (Chinese Canadian Youth Athletic Association).

Tickets were sold through a number of outlets in the community:
1. Chinese Community Centre.
2. CCYAA (Chinese Canadian Youth Athletic Association).
3. TD Canada Trust Bank-2 Branch Locations.

Media: All media was executed through contra.

Radio: The Chinese/Canadian Broadcast Corp. is one of the Toronto Raptors radio partners.  All Raptors home games are broadcast live.  The CCBC ran radio spots 4-6 times daily for a 3-4 week run.  They also ran on-air promotions, ticket giveaways and the chance to interview a player post-game for CCBC.

Newspapers: The 2 main Chinese Newspapers in the Greater Toronto Area, Sing Tao & Ming Pao, ran quarter page ads twice a week for 3 weeks.  The ads were created in Cantonese and advertised the points of purchase for the event.

Game Operations:
• Chinese dancers were pre-game entertainment at the main gates of the Air Canada Centre.
• A member of the Chinese community sang the Chinese National Anthem before tip-off.
• 2 on-court games were played. Contestants were chosen from the Chinese fans.
• Half-time Performance: "The Chinese Pandas" (acrobats)
• Special Welcome Messages
• Centre Court Pre-game Presentation to the CCYAA for their dedication to youth basketball programs in the community.

Sponsor: This season the Raptors did not have a corporate partner tied to the event.  In previous years, Air Canada has sponsored the event.  Their involvement included: pre-game giveaway and an on-court contest with the grand prize of a trip.

Results:
• Generated approximately $50,000 in revenue.
• Continued to strengthen the Raptors relationships with their media partners, cultural contacts and fans.
• Increased exposure to the Chinese community in Toronto.
• This successful event gave the contacts the recognition they deserved, and the Raptors the opportunity to go to them for other events; ie. Vince Carter Charity All-Star game; Disney on Ice, etc.

 

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