Bowlers Journal International - November 2008 - (Page 100) Business Industry Updates and Insight THE BOTTOM LINE.. Big-time Promotion Hatches a Big, New Flock of Bowlers How one Canadian center made ‘National Bowling Day’ its own. BY BOB JOHNSON WHEN A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS was at the height of its popularity in the 1980s, it routinely played to sell-out crowds at medium-sized to large concert venues. So what was the New Wave group that churned out such hits as “I Ran” and “Who’s That Girl” doing on a makeshift stage that covered 14 of the 60 lanes at Classic Bowl in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on Oct. 4? Helping to celebrate National Bowling Day, of course. In Canada, a number of centers piggybacked with Strike Ten Entertainment’s National Bowling Day (and Week) promotion. But Ed Sousa, Classic Bowl’s Director of Marketing, said the timing didn’t make sense for his center. “National Bowling Day fell over the Labor Day weekend, which meant a lot of people we’d hope to attract would be out of town, enjoying the last long weekend of summer,” he explains. “So we decided to run our own National Bowling Day promotion on another weekend.” Sousa says his goal was not merely to put on a special event, but to make a real impact on the business. “Bowling has so much competition today, it just gets lost in the shuffle,” he observes. “We felt that we needed to do something big in order to really get noticed in our community.” Hosting a concert by one of the iconic bands of the ’80s, he reasoned, would be difficult to ignore. Not charging a dime for it would “create a buzz.” Did it ever. As Oct. 4 neared, Classic Bowl’s phone began ringing off the hook. Every caller seemed to have the same two questions: 1. Was A Flock of Seagulls really playing there? 2. Is the concert really free? Not only was the concert free, but so were all of the day’s other activities, which included a four-hour live remote featuring legendary deejay Steve Anthony on Virgin Radio 99.9 FM, Wii gaming competition, food and beverage sampling, children’s face painting, child safety fingerprinting, demonstrations by police and fire department personnel, and haircuts provided by Canada’s largest Big Brothers/Sisters members got to meet the band. chain of hair styling salons. The only “asterisk” — if you could even call it that? Guests were asked, but not required, to make a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel County. Even with all of the planning in which Sousa and company engaged, Classic Bowl’s National Bowling Day produced a few surprises — of the pleasant variety. Members of A Flock of Seagulls spent hours after their show signing autographs for all the fans who wanted them, and the local Rogers Cable System featured highlights from the event on its “Peel Living” program. Sousa estimates that more than 5,000 people passed through the center’s doors, and “Flock” fans were “ten to fifteen deep on the concourse.” And for those who couldn’t get close to the stage, the concert was beamed throughout the center on 76 overhead monitors. Sousa says the center spent about a third of its annual marketing budget — around $104,000 — on the promotion. Which brings up the obvious question: Would he do it again? “We are going to do it again,” he says. “And next year, we hope to get other local centers involved.” It may not have been the fanciest backdrop ever for a performance by A Flock of Seagulls, but it did project a bowling vibe. 100 Bowlers Journal International | November 2008 www.bowlersjournal.com http://www.bowlersjournal.com
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