The 'You Lucky Dog' promotion has helped raise food and beverage per caps at some venues.
Brainstorming, innovative thinking and productive collaboration are key elements to launching a successful marketing strategy — something Global Spectrum has effectively done with its You Lucky Dog campaign to increase food and beverage sales at four of its venues.
It’s basically a hot dog promotion where customers buy hot dogs, and if their hot dog container has a You Lucky Dog sticker on it, they win a prize.
One might compare it to the golden ticket campaign in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And although hot dog winners won’t necessarily break out in song once they’ve uncovered the You Lucky Dog sticker, they do win a chance to tour the event facility, much like Willy Wonka's golden ticket winners toured the chocolate factory.
The prizes include facility tours, promotional products, tickets to games and upcoming events or meet and greets in the locker rooms.
“One of the most popular prizes are some of the fan experiences,” said Meghan Carrigan, director of marketing for the PPL Center, based in Allentown, Pa. “We’ll put a photo of you with your prize and the hotdog container on the scoreboard.”
Another popular prize is taking a ride on the Zamboni at ice arena events, Carrigan said.
Most importantly, the whole idea behind the promotion, increasing food and beverage sales, has been accomplished. With You Lucky Dog, PPL Center generated a 14-percent increase in food and beverage per caps, Carrigan said.
Of the four Global Spectrum venues participating in the promotion, PPL Center has by far seen the largest increase in food and beverage per caps. The Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, sold sponsorship for the promotion and saw a 5 percent increase in per caps. The Atlantic City (N.J.) Boardwalk Hall reported a 2-percent increase, while the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., experienced a 3 percent boost in food and beverage sales.
“We’re looking to expand it to other venues,” said Enzo Carannante, Marketing coordinator for the Iowa Events Center.
Global Spectrum operates 130 venues, so there’s plenty of room to grow the promotion. Carannante is looking to implement a similar promotion at the company’s convention center using the “golden ticket” theme on something other than hot dogs. The Global Spectrum team is still molding what that particular promotion will look like.
“It just varies based on the promotion,” he said.
The promotion was a collaboration with Global Spectrum’s Revenue Game Changer Challenge that the company integrated with all its departments and Comcast-Spectator companies, which include Paciolan, Ovations and Front Row Marketing, Carrigan said.
Paciolan is the ticketing branch, Ovations is the food and beverage company and Front Row Marketing handles the sponsorship.
The promotion launched on Nov. 26, and the companies involved are anxious to see it grow, Carrigan and Carannante added.
It’s essentially a way for Global Spectrum to collaborate with all of its partners and measure its success by the increase in food and beverage sales.
Interviewed for this story: Meghan Carrigan, (484) 273-4459; Enzo Carannante, (515) 564-8059.