Page 8 - BusinessWest August 8, 2022

Winning Formula
Such marketing efforts included everything from lawn signs to new signage around the arena to stickers placed in the windows of downtown businesses, as well as that hashtag. They were a necessary expense, but ones with a very uncer- tain ROI.
“The other blessing about going so late into the playoffs is that it’s only three months from the end of our year to the start of the new year. I think there’s still going to be a lot of pent-up excitement, especially with the number of guys we have coming back and the continuity with raising the banner and all that.”
“You can do all that planning and do all those things, and then get knocked out in the first round,” Costa explained. “We were really fortu- nate that we got to go all the way to the end, but every round you have to redo the schedule, get tickets up on sale, set the pricing on tickets, get the tickets sold, getting marketing in place and buying the advertising — and it all happens with- in a week.”
And there are no guarantees that a playoff run
will be a financial success, he said, noting that some teams in the play- offs — including the Chicago Wolves, who triumphed over the T-Birds in the Calder Cup Finals in five games — played before crowds that were far from sellouts, and one of the playoff teams from the Western Conference, Stockton, was averaging just over 1,000 per game.
“At this level, though tickets were in demand, you still have to grind, and you still have to have relation- ships with people in the region to try to move tickets,” Costa said. “And if you’re not prepared to do that at this level, you’re not going to succeed.
“The first two rounds are really
challenging, and teams traditionally
break even or lose,” he explained.
“But you maximize those opportuni-
ties to build momentum for future rounds, if you can get there, and that’s what we did.”
Overall, the Thunderbirds did well with play- off ticket sales, he went on, noting that each of the three Finals games hosted in Springfield was a sellout (6,793 seats), and the earlier rounds averaged more than 5,000, with some games coming on weekdays and even Mondays.
But beyond ticket sales, Costa said he saw the playoffs as an opportunity to build the Thunder- birds brand, and he invested heavily in many dif- ferent initiatives.
For starters, he made sure all three of the team’s media members went to every playoff series to cover the Thunderbirds for social media.
“From the beginning, I wanted to feel like a
There are many benefits to an extended playoff run, including merchandise, such as this ‘Eastern Conference Champions’ hat.
pro hockey team, and that means getting photog- raphy, video, and social media on the road,” he said. “That’s what separates us from a lot of AHL teams; not many teams in this league are willing to invest in this stuff. But I think it’s important for perception of the brand.
“If you can do the little things like that, if you can let the players feel like real pros, then the fans, by extension, the people who are following your brand, can
also feel that, and
Thunderbirds
Continued on page 44
Raymond R. Houle Construction is committed to every detail.
These photos depict a typical “containment door” attached to a RHC job site.
This temporary door is one of the many safety/infectious control measures which RHC employs in order to ensure the safety and health of the employees and patients within a healthcare setting, while construction is being carried out.
In addition to the Building Permit, healthcare
facilities require general contractors to post several other documents in plain view at the entrance to every job site.
These include:
•Interim Life Safety Measures (ILSM) Assessment Tool •Interim Life Safety Measures Daily Checklist/Report •Infection Control (IC) Program Manual: IC75 •Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA)
•IC Preventative Measures Daily Checklist/Report
RHC is fully committed to the safety, health and well-being of everyone in and around our job sites.
We take the necessary precautions,
and we take them seriously.
Trustworthy. Sincere. Straightforward. Your satisfaction is our guarantee.
American Society 413.547.2500 www.RayHoule.com 5 Miller St, Ludlow MA For Healthcare Engineering
8 AUGUST 8, 2022
FEATURE
BusinessWest