Feel-Good Marketing
If you’ve been following the CIK Marketing Blog you may remember a personal post that I wrote a few months back concerning the Detroit Red Wings National Hockey Team and a certain former captain. Well, today I would like to formally recognize the Detroit Red Wings for their outstanding customer service and highlight their use of social media for brand management and fan outreach.
The Back Story
A few months ago, I wrote an open letter to Steve Yzerman (my fiancée’s all-time favorite hockey player and role model) inviting him to attend our wedding in late June. Instead of mailing the letter to some obscure post office box or general mailing address, I simply posted the letter to my blog and various other social media outlets in the hopes that my letter would somehow make it into the right hands (or inbox). Low and behold, some eight hours after posting the initial message, I received an email from the Community Relations Coordinator for the Detroit Red Wings. Sadly, Stevie couldn’t attend our wedding due to prior commitments. That being said, the Red Wings organization insisted on sending something to my fiancée and I to commemorate our special day. So, on June 26th, after numerous glasses of wine, I presented my new husband with a signed and personalized photograph from Steve Yzerman’s jersey retirement night at the Joe Louis Arena. Of course, if you follow hockey, you’ll know that Steve Yzerman recently signed on as the General Manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning, ending an illustrious 27 year career with the team… making the memento all the more impressive.
What You Can Learn From This Story
I sent this letter out for two reasons:
- Because my husband really loves Steve Yzerman and wanted to invite him to our wedding
- Because I wanted to test social media’s abilities at connecting people.
Sure enough, social media proved itself worthy of the challenge, but only because the Red Wings organization was actively participating in their online community. It’s worth noting that the Social Networking Coordinator with the Red Wings was the first person to stumble cross my posting – yes, you heard right, the team has a position dedicated entirely to monitoring and interacting with fans on social networks…. does your business do the same thing? The Red Wings organization is leveraging social media perfectly, reaching out and connecting to real people on a personal level. Because of this, my husband is more in love with Hockeytown than ever before, and you can bet he’s told all of his friends, colleagues, and perfect strangers, about his unique gift.
Had the Red Wings ignored social media, they would have missed the opportunity to reach out to a lifelong fan, potentially tarnishing their reputation in my husband’s eyes forever. Did the team have to send us the photo? Of course not. But the fact that they took the time and effort to make a personal connection with just one fan speaks volumes about the company and their values. Your company can (and should!) be doing the exact same thing. Now, I’m not saying you need to send every single contact a personalized gift; all I want you to do is start interacting. I was blown away when I received the email from the team’s Community Relations department – everything after that was icing on the cake.
Kudos to the Red Wings for their outstanding customer service and community involvement, and thanks again to Mr. Yzerman for taking the time to send us a personal gift. Even though you weren’t able to physically make it to the wedding, we saved a special seat for you at the reception.
The following are a few pictures from our hockey themed wedding reception and the unveiling of the autographed Yzerman photo. They were shot by our photographers, Julie and Megan Nowicki – check them out, they do amazing work!
Yzerman Photo Presentation: Ian's Contribution to the Decor - NHL Table Numbers / Me Presenting the Photo / Stevie's Place Setting at the Head Table
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to watch The Amazing Race on CBS, you’ll know that the competition is designed to challenge participants both physically and mentally. By the end of the contest, one team will remain to take home a purse of one million dollars. The show has become one of the most popular reality television programs of the past decade, and for good reason. The challenges are tough, the participants are ruthless, and the rewards are great. If ever there was a game to emulate locally, The Amazing Race is it! This past week marked the 5th Annual Chatham-Kent Amazing Race for the United Way, and today the race is featured as CIK’s Feel-Good Marketing Friday event.
Racing For a Great Cause
A total of 37 teams, the majority of which represented local businesses, participated in this year’s race, raising more than $110,000 for the United Way. Participants were required to perform different challenges throughout the municipality, including stops at the Mitchell’s Bay Marine Park, Parks Blueberries, the C.M. Wilson Conservation Area, and Erickson Arena. Challenges ranged from the ridiculous (sliding face first down a gigantic slip-and-slide), to the stomach-churning (the always exciting food challenge), as teams raced towards the finish. The winners, were a team named Jolted Java, consisting of Paula Grail and Tomo Matesic.
Hard Work and Tons of Fun
Kudos to all of the fundraisers, teams, and event organizers for making this year’s Amazing Race event a gigantic success. Each year, the program gets bigger and better, as do the donations. The Amazing Race event is a great example of how communities and small businesses can work together to help support local initiatives. Participating in this sort of event is also a great way to network with like-minded community members in a relaxed environment. All work and no play make small business owners ornery, so what are you waiting for? Register to participate in a similar event in your community, or , if one doesn’t exist, why not spearhead the initiative to get one started? Your business will benefit from being associated with the event, and a local charity will be more than happy to help you get the ball rolling.
For more information on this year’s Amazing Race event, contact Veronica McCloskey by phone at the United Way, 519-354-0430.
