Representing the Colorado Avalanche, our goal was to bring fans along for the ride on the journey through the highs and lows of our Stanley Cup Championship season. Through the platforms of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, we wanted to be a source for accurate information, entertainment, and to be the best at telling the Avs' story. Whether you followed along in person at the game or from the comforts of home, it was our mission to give everyone a front row seat to the fun.
To achieve our goal of being the primary source of both information and entertainment for fans, we focused on three main areas: innovation, inclusion, and engagement. Here are some examples of ways we proudly executed our strategy!
Regarding innovation, one video project in the content category worth highlighting was the ongoing #SloMoSymphony series which juxtaposed the fast-paced game with classical music, highlighting how beautiful the game of hockey can be. Once we won the cup, we were excited to share a unique animation of our Captain raising the cup over his head, but with LEGOS. We also tried to get creative and make the most of content we were producing with Partners. A campaign we were proud of was with UCHealth, "Avs Family Values", which was a heartwarming look at the people behind the scenes supporting the players - their families. Another such activation was with Chipotle, bringing a unique augmented reality activation from in-arena to the forefront of social media. Lastly, one of our proudest in-arena activations and a fan favorite was Next Gen Night, where kids run the show. Kids applied, auditioned and earned the opportunity to play a key role in running the entire in-game show. Positions included In-Arena Host, DJ, PA Announcer, Coach, just to name a few.
As far as inclusion, we focused on working with outside organizations to listen, learn and make our content representative of the group. Working with groups such as Black Girl Hockey Club and You Can Play allowed us to hear from experts on the best way to approach hard conversations. We were able to announce the signing of the “Get Uncomfortable” pledge by the Avalanche and encourage others to Get Uncomfortable in hockey. We also were able to go all in on Pride Month by working with LGBTQ+ organizations and artists to not only educate, but celebrate the month. We have also emphasized utilizing alternative text on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and captions as often as doable to ensure people with dissabilities can also follow the team on social media.
Lastly, in focusing on engagement, we emphasized the connection the Avalanche brand had with fans. We tried to respond as frequently as possible on all platforms to inquiries, excitement, and even commiserate with losses... to an extent. We also invited fans to become a part of our content community by utilizing greenfly to give our fans a platform to share what the games looked like from their point of view. Often times we were able to take this content and tell the stories of our fan base from a different angle. We showcased fans taking part in the unified singing of "All the Small Things" both from home and at Ball Arena, which became a highly anticiapted moment during each and every playoff game. Our "IT FINALLY HAPPENED" tweet was one of our most successful of the year. Simple, to the point, fans loved it... and it landed in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Lastly, throughout the year, we make it a point to support the entire city of Denver. Whether it is our fans or the other sports teams in the community, we love to show the love. When it was our moment, teams throughout the city showed their support in return really making it apparent that was have a strong Colorado community.
Alongside the success of the Avalanche on-ice product, the social media numbers gained impressive traction. Finishing out the year ranked in the top ten amongst the other 31 teams in the National Hockey League in engagement rate across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (via Zoomph).
