Jets tickets icing on the cake

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/10/2011 (5183 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Want a sure-fire way to get the public to stand up and take notice of your business or charity? Easy, throw in some Jets tickets.

Car dealerships, restaurants, lotteries and temp agencies are just some of the wide variety of organizations using the most valuable currency in town as a marketing tool.

Need proof? As of two weeks ago, the HSC Lifestyles Lottery had sold more than 70 per cent of the 63,000 tickets for its Dec. 8 draw. The special bonus draw prize for early entries for two lucky winners? A pair of Jets season tickets and two Jets jerseys, naturally. (The grand prizes are a $1-million show home in Pritchard Farms and a $925,000 lakefront cottage at Falcon Lake.)

“We wanted to do something new and exciting,” said Susan Gordon, spokeswoman for the lottery. “There is nothing more exciting than getting the Jets back in Winnipeg. We knew people would rally around the cause and hopefully help the lottery along. What better prize than something you can’t go out and buy?”

Arguably the biggest user of Jets tickets as a promotional tool has been the Birchwood Automotive Group, which has run advertisements for several months offering people the chance to win Jets tickets if they drive a vehicle off one of their lots.

Steve Chipman, president of Birchwood, said customer traffic at its 10 dealerships is up 20 to 25 per cent from a year ago. And while those figures haven’t translated directly to its bottom line — sales of new vehicles are flat compared to a year ago, while used vehicles sales are up — today’s traffic could very easily pay off down the road.

“We just want people to come in and visit us,” he said.

Customers aren’t the only ones with a chance to go to a Jets game. Chipman said his dealerships are also using tickets as rewards for top-performing employees and for charitable purposes.

“If an employee goes above and beyond the call of duty or I get a nice letter from a customer saying so-and-so did something extra special, I can give you a couple of tickets,” he said.

Chipman is quick to point out that even though his family co-owns the team, Birchwood used its status as the largest season-ticket holder for the Manitoba Moose to buy 11 pairs of Jets season tickets.

“We bought them. I can’t get True North to just give me 22 season tickets,” he said.

Kevin Gill, president of Staffmax, a local temp agency specializing in office, administrative and clerical positions, shares Chipman’s mindset. Social media users who like his company on Facebook or follow it on Twitter could win a draw for tickets to one of two Jets games every month.

A former corporate sponsor of the Moose, Gill said his company shelled out $42,000 for the Jets tickets, an investment he believes will be well worth it.

“There’s such a buzz in the community for the Jets right now. Anything related to the Jets seems to be talked about. It gives our company a good image that we can align ourselves with the growth in Winnipeg, the Jets coming back and the momentum in the city,” he said.

Gill also uses tickets as an incentive for his employees.

“We have a number of entry-level people here, some single moms and others who couldn’t afford to go to games, and we can reward them for their performance and work,” he said.

Smaller entrepreneurs see the benefit of Jets tickets, too. Victor Vieira, part-owner of the Crazy Rooster Authentic Grill, will give a ballot to every customer who spends a minimum of $10 in his restaurant for a chance to win two P1 tickets to one game a month.

“Everybody is into the Jets right now. We’re big Jets promoters and we decided maybe (the giveaway) will give us a boost. Jets tickets are something not too many people can get. If we can give somebody a chance to watch a game, why not?” he said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

More than tires…

hockey tickets, too

CANADIAN Tire handed out a pair of lower-bowl tickets to Sunday’s home opener. All you had to do to enter was go on its Facebook site and describe why you were Winnipeg’s biggest hockey fan.

Michelle Ghandour, spokeswoman for the retailing giant, said it wanted to build on a promotion from June when it celebrated the deal to move the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg by placing 1,500 hockey sticks throughout downtown.

“We wanted to do something special. We’re very active in the community and we’re excited that we could give those two tickets away for a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said.

— staff