The Lightning Generate Buzz With Tampa International Airport Travelers

The Tampa Bay Lightning recently announced an unprecedented partnership with the Tampa International Airport that is designed to reward travelers, drive incremental interest in the team, and help grow the local tourism economy.

The Lightning and Tampa International Airport officials are partnering on several initiatives that will surely generate buzz amongst city residents and tourists traveling through the airport:

• Promotional Contests
  • Beginning Tuesday, November 1, one person who parks in the Tampa International Airport designated parking lots will win a free four-pack of tickets to a Lightning game at the St. Pete Times Forum (the winner will be chosen randomly each day at the exit)
  • The Lightning gave away two (2) pairs of round-trip tickets on Edelweiss Air (the airport's newest International carrier) as part of its new "Seek the Seat" promotional initiative on Twitter

• Branding Tactics
  • The Lightning wrapped a shuttle that connects the main terminal to Airside A with an eye-catching "Go Bolts" creative design
  • The voice of Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier greets passengers on the Airside A tram as they head to and from the main terminal

Check out the Lightning's "Go Bolts" Airside A tram wrap below and consider ways that your sports organization can partner with a local airport authority and effectively market to millions of airport travelers each year!

A special thanks to Caryn Switaj for her insights and contributions to this column!

The Lightning Launch a Seat Seeker Initiative to Reward Active Twitter Followers with Tickets

The Tampa Bay Lightning recently celebrated the start of the 2011-12 season by creating a promotional platform that rewards fans for interacting with the team on Twitter. As part of the platform, entitled the Tampa Bay Lightning Seat Seeker, fans can follow the team's official Twitter handle (@TBLightning) to receive messages when free tickets are placed at secret locations throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Once the message is posted, Lightning fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #BeTheThunder to unlock clues that zero in on the location of the tickets. Once the location is revealed, the first person who finds the tickets wins them.

The Lightning launched a landing page to host the Seat Seeker initiative, which features a camera that zooms in on the location of the tickets every time a designated amount of tweets occur. The site includes a countdown unit that shows how many total tweets have been posted (240+ to date) and how many are needed to activate the next zoom.

The lucky Lightning fan who won tickets for the team's Opening Night game found them at a McDonald's location on West Kennedy Blvd., showcasing how teams can effectively benchmark and utilize the social media promotion to drive traffic and publicity to corporate partners' retail locations. 

Check it out below - a great, engaging tactic!

A special thanks to Caryn Switaj of the Tampa Bay Lightning for her insights and contributions to this column!