The case study discusses the Tampa Bay Lightning's 'Be the Thunder' campaign, which aimed to reverse declining attendance and foster community support for the NHL team following a change in ownership and significant stadium renovations. The campaign successfully increased home attendance by 7%, boosted TV viewership by 57%, and doubled season ticket sales, also showing notable growth in social media engagement. Despite criticisms regarding measurement and the influence of team performance, the campaign strengthened brand loyalty and community involvement.

1. “Be The Thunder”
A Case Study
John R. Luecke, APR, High Point University
Tyler Blackshaw, High Point University
Charles University, 3 April 2014

2. “Be The Thunder”
2013 Bronze Effie Winner
Client: Tampa Bay Lightning
Agency: 22squared

3. The Client
Tampa Bay Lightning
 NHL team
 Four-year decline in attendance
 Prior to campaign ranked 18th in
attendance out of 30 teams
 2010 - New Owner, GM, and Coach
 $40 million stadium renovations
 Two-year plan to turn franchise around

4. Agency
22squared
 Founded in 1922
 6th Largest Independent
Ad Agency in US
 Headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia
 2nd Office in Tampa Bay
 300-plus employees
 $600 million in billings

7. Case Study Structure
1. Client’s Situation – Problems or Opportunities
2. Research
3. Target Audiences
4. Objectives
5. Message
6. Tactics – Paid, Social, Owned, Earned Media
7. Evaluation of Results

8. Problems/Opportunities
Overcome fan skepticism and build
support for the new direction
Popularize a cold-weather sport in a
warm-weather town
Galvanize a transient community
around a local team

9. Research
ESPN NHL Attendance Report 2011
Agency Superfan Interviews, June
2011- skepticism over new ownership
Agency Stakeholder Interviews, June
2011- other entertainment options

10. Research
 US Census Bureau American Community
Survey- Number of people moving in and out
of Florida
 Experian Simmons and Scarborough
syndicated data- Number of visiting team‟s
fans
 Social Bakers- Facebook engagement rank
 Brand Keys loyalty study, 2011- Fan loyalty

11. Research Results
Community was interested and
passionate for hockey but felt
disconnected from the local team.
Must create a campaign to fuel a fan-
base culture that showed fan support
matters.

12. Target Audience
 Tampa Bay hockey fans interested in the
sport but not associated with Lightning
 Typical hockey fan as defined by Experian
Simmons and Scarborough syndicated data:
“an active, „work hard, play hard‟ male
with no children”

13. Audience Segments
 Superfans- know hockey and attend over 20
games a season
 Swing fans- less knowledgeable/involved in
hockey. Attends between 1-10 games per
season

14. Key Objectives
 Grow attendance and interest regardless of team
record. Home attendance and TV viewership during
last year‟s winning season were used as benchmarks.
 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
 KPI: - Increase average home attendance over past year
benchmark of 17,268
 KPI - Increase TV viewership among target by 12% over
past year
 Tools: Lightning attendance data and Scarborough TV
viewership data

15. Key Objectives
 Increase sellouts. Season ticket sales and sellouts
also contribute to long-term loyalty.
 Key Performance Indicators
 KPI: - Reach 10,000 season ticket sales prior to past year
benchmark of Sept. 1

 KPI - Increase sellouts by 30% over past year‟s benchmark
of 11 games
 Tools: Lightning sales data and NHL.com reporting

16. Key Objectives
 Increase community engagement. Rely on social
metrics as community engagement measure.
 Benchmarked KPIs against another NHL team with robust
social media programs: the Detroit Red Wings.
 Key Performance Indicators:
 Increase Facebook fan count by 20% from beginning to end of season
 Sustain engaged Facebook fans at least 0.1% average during the
season
 Increase Twitter followers from 30,000 to 60,000 by end of season
 Tools: Social monitoring services Wildfire, Social
Bakers, Facebook Insights, and Lithium (Twitter)

17. Measuring Engagement

18. Main Message
 “Powerful fans are an essential element of
a powerful team.”
 “Be The Thunder”
 Plays off team name
 Gives audience a purpose: Make noise!
 Made the fans part of the team not just
spectators

19. Tactics – Paid Media
 TV and cable spots on fall premieres and 1st
run episodes
 New Tampa Bay Lightning Spot
 First Be the Thunder Spot
 Be the Thunder Spot
 Used “trade-outs” with media

20. Tactics – Paid Media
 Newspaper Ads: “Invest in throat lozenges”
run on front page, bottom strip

21. Tactics – Paid Media
 Digital Billboards: customized messages for
upcoming games near stadium and high
traffic area

22. Tactics – Social Media
 Facebook
 Facebook “Thunderizer” App
 YouTube Channel
 Twitter
 Twitter Scavenger Hunts

24. Tactics – Owned Media
 Web page
 Promotional items for season ticket holders

25. Tactics – Owned Media
 10,000 Lightning jerseys
given to season
ticketholders
 Embedded RFID chips in
sleeves
 When worn to a
game, ticketholder gets
a discount
 Lightning is Striking with a chip up
its sleeve. (2011, December 8).
ISO&AGENT, p. 19.

27. Tactics – Earned Media
 News Release to local papers
 Tampa Bay Times and the Business Journal
NEWLY ENERGIZED LIGHTNING MARKETING CAMPAIGN CALLS ON FANS TO ‘BE THE
THUNDER' THROUGHOUT 2011-12 SEASON
TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled its ‘Be The Thunder' marketing
campaign for the 2011-12 regular season today, calling on all hockey fans throughout
the Bay Area to come together and be loud in support of the Bolts all season long as
the highly-anticipated start of the regular campaign quickly approaches.
Launched as the direct result of countless interviews with the same raucous crowds
which packed the St. Pete Times Forum each night during an exciting and improbable
playoff run, the ‘Be The Thunder' campaign features a refreshed focus on the team's
identity and its brand, highlighting and paying tribute to the Lightning's passionate
fan base. Both the exterior and interior of the St. Pete Times Forum are being
transformed to offer guests the best fan experience possible, presenting signage
consistent with the campaign throughout various parts of the building.

28. Tactics?
 Thunder sheet for fans

29. Strengths of Message and Tactics
Demonstrates that team and new
owners are interested and care about
fans
Involves residents
Promotes brand loyalty
High viewer rate

30. Communication Theories
Elaboration Likelihood Model (1)
 Peripheral route
Motivation Theory:
 Sensory Gratification- boredom or
apathy to excitement (2)
1 Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J.T. (1986). Communication and persuasion: Central and
peripheral routes to attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag.
2 Rossiter, J.R. & Percy, L. (1991). Emotions and motivationa in advertising. Advances
in Consumer Research, 18:100-110.

31. RESULTS

32. Grow attendance & interest regardless
of team record
Despite worse record from prior season, Tampa Bay:
 Saw a 7% Increase in home attendance from last
year
 Moved from 18th in the league to 13th in
attendance
 Increased 57% over last year in TV viewership

33. Criticism
 Does not track the target audience‟s television
viewership
 Does not account for away team fans at games
 Upon closer examination the Lightning only went
12-10-2 in home games for the 2012/2013 season.
8th worst home winning percentage in the league

34. Increase Sellouts
 Reached 10,000 season ticket sales 3 weeks earlier
than last year
 Doubled season ticket sales from prior year
 Sold out 20 games, 50% increase over last year

35. Criticism
 Season ticket sales came after the team‟s first playoff
appearance in almost 5 years skewing results/interest
 Does not specify which games sold out
 Once again does not account for opposing team‟s fans

36. Increase Community Engagement
 Facebook fans grew 26% (by comparison Red Wings grew
only 14% in same time frame)
 0.27% avg Facebook engagement rate (Red Wings:
0.11%)
 Twitter followers grew by 103% (Red Wings: 90%)

37. Criticism
 Keep referencing Red Wings‟s percentages but not
actual numbers. A smaller percentage of a larger portion
could still be a greater number.
 For example:
 Facebook
 Red Wings currently have over 1.5 million likes/followers
 Tampa Bay Lightning: Just over 330,000
 Twitter:
 Red Wings: 386K
 Tampa Bay: 141K

38. Long Term Impact
 bethethunder.com for Season Ticket Sales
 #BeTheThunder hashtag still in effect
 Strengthened the brand and fan support:
 2012/2013: 8th in attendance
 2013/2014: Currently 10th
 22squared still works for the Lightning

39. “Be The Thunder”
2013 Bronze Effie Winner
Client: Tampa Bay Lightning
Agency: 22squared