The Coyotes after four years of uncertainty surrounding the franchise are ready to focus on the future, and the team is launching a new ad campaign called “Hungrier Than Ever” to promote its future in the Phoenix area. The campaign, via Cramer-Krasselt, Phoenix, debuted with a 60-second spot airing locally during the Cardinals-Rams game last Sunday. The effort builds off the team’s recent “Here To Stay” campaign and includes creative in TV, radio, print, digital and social media. The campaign will run on network and cable TV, including during D-Backs games, “MNF,” and “SportsCenter,” among other shows. It also can be seen on digital billboards around Phoenix. Financials of the campaign were not disclosed, but Coyotes VP/Marketing Ted Santiago in an e-mail wrote he expects the team to increase its marketing budget for ’13-14. “Our hope is that this campaign gets fans and sponsors in a forward thinking mindset, forgetting about the past and eager to be a part of what we are building here,” Santiago wrote. The initial spot features RW Shane Doan sitting alone in a dark locker room preparing for a game, as well as highlights from the team’s success in recent years. “The past is the past and it is time to focus on the present and the future of hockey in the desert,” Santiago wrote. “This team is not just content to still be here.”
TOUGH SELL IN RECENT YEARS: Santiago noted the Coyotes were a tough local sell under NHL ownership the last four years. “Put aside the financial commitment we were asking fans to make, getting fans to make an emotional investment in the team was the tougher sell,” he wrote. “It was definitely not the best environment to try and build a loyal fan base. We were a quality team fighting a negative perception based on the off the ice issues.” Santiago noted the August sale of the team to IceArizona provided much-needed stability, and the Phoenix market now is “receptive to what we have to say and this campaign is the start to building a brand that our fans can be proud of.”
