
Struggling Spits hope Swifties can expand OHL team's fan base
CBC
A Windsor Spitfires' themed night comes with the team struggling to start the season.
The Ontario Hockey League club is hosting a Taylor Swift night this Saturday vs. Saginaw — giving away two tickets to Swift's final show in Toronto on Nov. 23, 2024.
The team is in last place in the overall standings, having only won one of their first eight games.
Remo Agostino with the Spits' marketing department, says the Swift ticket night was planned during the summer and the hope is to attract a younger audience.
"New fans that have never had the chance to experience wonderful Spitfires hockey," he said.
"We thought, 'What better way to go after that young audience that maybe has not been here before than to do something with Taylor Swift?'"
Agostino says Swift's songs will be played, friendship bracelets made available in the concourse, and fans are encouraged to wear their favourite Eras Tour outfit.
"When people come in, they're really going to get that feeling that they're at not just a hockey game, they're being entertained with something else as well," he said.
The team's themed night comes as Swift has been seen at NFL games supporting Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce. The Chiefs, the National Football League (NFL) and the league's broadcasters have been making the most of their rumoured relationship.
"We can see that the NFL/Chiefs/broadcasters are using a technique called influencer marketing, which relates to using star power to gain attention/attraction to a product," said Nick Welsh, the Spitfires' manager of communications, media and community relations, in an email.
"It's good for them to leverage that on that level of resources. However, we don't have that kind of resources at our level."
At least one marketing expert thinks what the OHL team is doing is a viable strategy.
"It is a means of communicating with the consumer," said Peter Voyer, associate professor of marketing with the University of Windsor.
Voyer said the current economic situation facing Canadians could also be playing a role in local sports attendance and revenues.