I’ll be the first to admit I’m a bit of an odd bird. Inspiration and motivation find me at the oddest hours. Like many of you, I’m prone to logging on at 11 p.m. or later to tend to a bit of business, and I’m also more than likely to log a couple of hours working on Sunday before 1 p.m. NFL kickoffs. It’s a bit of a psychological tic, really; a guarantee that if I get hung up performing interviews or mundane business chores come Monday morning, I’ve already gotten a jump on the week ahead.
However, there seems to be no escaping the job completely or at least thinking about it during downtime. I’m sure it’s the same for you. But it would help if I didn’t get constant reminders in the form of office dealer advertising shortly after kickoff, puck drop or first pitch. That’s when the office dealer network is invading my fortress of solitude. Perhaps this is something I need to broach with my therapist.
I’m being facetious, of course. Stadium and event advertising is a beautiful way to increase a dealer’s visibility and branding efforts. It’s memorable, and when you consider the millions of people who tune in each day/week for any given sport, there’s no better way to get exposure to a wider swath of potential business partners. And the options for digital advertising continue to flourish, as we’ll explore shortly.
Take DEX Imaging in Tampa, Florida. A couple of years back, my New York Islanders locked horns with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals, which is just one round away from the Stanley Cup championship finals. While the Lightning eked out a 1-0 victory in game seven en route to what would be their second straight Cup title, I had to watch as Hedman, Kucherov and Sergachev (sounds like a Russian legal firm) paraded around the ice with “DEX Imaging” adorning their helmets.
This type of advertising is brilliant, and for a comparatively cash-strapped league like the NHL, it’s a great way for organizations to drum up incremental revenue. And for the business owner or executive watching in person or on TV—perhaps unfamiliar with the brand—a Google search for the name “DEX Imaging” could very well provide the inspiration for an opportunity to partner at some level.
My Eyes!
A more recent development is the use of digital ads that are superimposed on the dasher boards or the ice itself. These digitally enhanced dasherboards (DED), which the NHL rolled out this season, rotate and flash along the boards, which just so happen to cross through the viewer’s line of sight. It’s somewhat of a sensory overload when you’re trying to follow the puck. But it’s good business: sports teams can shoehorn more advertisers in for a given telecast, and the ad spend is presumably much less than it would be for a large-format or static physical sign. Plus, the ads are cycling right behind game action, guaranteeing visibility.
I’ve seen the signage for other dealers, including Impact Networking, and of course, many of the major manufacturers’ logos are splayed on stadium walls and billboards across the country. Yet, this isn’t a marketing play for only the larger, well-heeled office dealers to leave their calling cards at professional sports events. There are hundreds of high school, college and minor league organizations across the country that present the opportunity to advertise your products and services at a fraction of what the big leaguers charge.
The only question now is, when will I see LDI Connect—the pride of Jericho, New York—on Islander helmets? Brian Gertler, you can make it happen!
