Synopsis
Adrenalin Source for Sports has been locally owned and operated since 2007 and is Calgary’s go-to hockey & baseball destination. Thriving on Macleod Trail South, Adrenalin recognized the need to support North Calgary’s hockey community and embarked on building a new store.
Strut was engaged by Adrenalin to enhance their brand visibility, drive customer engagement, and ultimately boost sales. Adrenalin needed a campaign to let Calgary know they are all things hockey and baseball and announce the new store opening soon. It was crucial to ensure people understood this was happening at Adrenalin Source for Sports since it is a franchise and there could be confusion with other local Source for Sports stores. Ensuring Adrenalin’s name recognition was essential.
Services
- Brand Strategy
- Launch Strategy
- Media Planning & Buying
- Advertising Campaign
The Brand Strategy
The brand Source for Sports has stores across Canada. It’s a part of who Adrenalin is but they also needed to differentiate themselves. Adrenalin had been working internally to define their brand and Strut built upon that to finalize their brand strategy, a point of differentiation, brand positioning statement, mission, and values.
With the new store bringing Adrenalin’s staff to nearly a hundred, they needed to ensure everyone was on the same page and representing the brand consistently. Strut crafted values that would resonate with their team and stay true to Adrenalin’s core principles. They felt this was so important that they displayed these values prominently at the store entrance.
The Campaign
“FEEL THE ADRENALIN” goes beyond simply announcing the brand; it invites athletes to experience the thrill and drive of their sport. It resonates with their emotions and reinforces that Adrenalin is more than a store—it’s a dedicated supporter of their journey.
This campaign captures the excitement of sports, aligns with our brand strategy, and ensures our message is clearly associated with Adrenalin Source for Sports, strengthening our connection with athletes and highlighting our role in their achievements and community support.
Video Content
Through brand partnerships, Adrenalin has access to Bauer and CCM’s visual libraries, which include current commercials featuring NHL stars Connor McDavid and Cale Makar. Based on our creative approach we received permission to edit existing spots and incorporate our “FEEL THE ADRENALIN” messaging for broadcast and online use.
Transit Shelters
As part of our recommended media buy, we identified transit shelters in close proximity to each location and secured them long-term so we can update the creative for different promotions. Before the new store opened, we displayed “opening soon” messaging directing traffic directly to the new store. Following the opening, both transit shelters featured hockey superstar Cale Makar and our FEEL THE ADRENALIN brand messaging.
Opening Soon Tactics
To generate excitement for the new store opening we planned a multi-pronged approach. This included four CTV Morning Live remote broadcast segments which aired three days prior, and a bold direct mail postcard targeting 110,000 homes in Northwest Calgary and neighbouring Cochrane, in which Adrenalin had new partnerships with local hockey associations.
Radio Commercials
Looking to reach a broader audience we ran radio commercials on SportsNet 960 for sports fans and STAR 95.9 to connect with hockey moms and their hockey kids. Grand opening promotions included door crasher specials, skate sharpening deals, gift cards valued up to $250 for the first 75 customers in the door, and the opportunity to get fitted by an NHL goalie!
Calgary Transit
General awareness for both Adrenalin locations was driven by a C-Train wrap and internal takeover, featuring our FEEL THE ADRENALIN messaging. Serving as a moving billboard across the city, it was in market a month before the new store launch (during Stampede to catch increased ridership) and “Opening Soon” messaging was easily patched over once the store was open. Additionally, we executed a Northwest bus transit media buy to ensure that people around the store realized they no longer had to cross the Bow River to shop at Adrenalin.
Ongoing Awareness in the Stands
Leveraging Adrenalin’s connections to the community, we updated existing banners at baseball diamonds and hockey arenas with our new campaign messaging and negotiated new placements. Visuals were tailored to their physical positioning with either sky or grass “showing through” the baseball banners, and rink boards or rafters within hockey arenas.
For the Win!
Doors opened at 10am for the new store’s Grand Opening. The customers at the front of the 300 person line-up arrived 4 hours early and drew a $100 gift card for their commitment. The store was packed with people checking out deals, trying out hockey sticks in the shooting gallery, analyzing their swings in the batting cage with Adrenalin’s HitTrax system, and lining up to be served by Adin Hill, goalie for the Las Vegas Golden Knights. But was anybody buying anything…
Turns out they were. The Northland Village Mall location exceeded Adrenalin’s previous all-time, one-day sales record, and the Macleod Trail location exceeded its one-day sales record for that same Saturday in July.
