Guide to Arenas and Stadiums

Arenas and stadiums are great locations to advertise your company

By Chris Perrin, Principal, Common Dialogue Enterprises, Inc.

1. When you consider stadiums and arenas, concerts and sporting events attract hundreds of thousands of people each year that will be exposed to a variety of advertisements for many hours at a time.
2. Ads can be designed to target specific audiences and changed as needed, whether they are simply fans gathering at a stadium or a particular group meeting at an area for a conference or convention.
3. It is relatively easy to find marketing information about the expected attendees for and event well in advance of the time they open the doors and often it can be predicted. For example, concerts in professional stadiums will generally draw people that will be especially interested in entertainment and are youth-oriented.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find arenas and sites with stadium info online

More than likely, you are already familiar with the big concert arenas and sports stadiums in your area, as is your competition. This means marketing in these venues is going to be competitive and expensive. However, just about every city has one or more smaller venues that need marketing and advertising dollars just as much as the bigger arenas and stadiums, and can still prove profitable.

I recommend: Find arenas for seminars at arenamaps.com or stadiums for conferences at World Stadiums and then make a list of all venues in the area you are trying to target. If possible, try to find out what type of events these venues typically hold (sports, business conferences, religious revivals, etc.) to narrow your marketing efforts.

Regularly search for current events being held at local arenas and stadiums

Once you have a list of arenas and stadiums in your local area, it is time to find out what is happening at each venue. By the end of this step, you will have a list of each arena's concerts, stadium's events, and conference center's meetings in which you can advertise.

I recommend: Investigate the venues that you have decided to target. AgendaOnline.com features a search engine of arenas and stadiums and lists the events which are being held at that venue. Also, consider expanding your advertising by using 1800miti.Com to find lists of international venues which supply contact information for popular non-US venues. If a specific venue is not listed, you may need to check directly on its website for an events list.

Consider hiring companies that specialize in marketing for arenas and stadiums

There is no doubt that advertising in arenas and stadiums has grown to be big business, so it should come as no surprise that there are many companies who offer venue marketing as a major part of their business. If this is your first time in venue marketing, or if you are planning a big advertising campaign that absolutely must produce results, consider contacting one of these companies.

I recommend: Choose companies with the greatest experience in arena and stadium marketing such as IMG, which specializes in sports and event marketing, and the Great Outdoor Network.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When considering marketing in arenas for conferences, or stadiums for conventions, try to get a recommendation from the venue for a company that can provide appropriate printing and signage. Arenas and stadiums sometimes will already have a business relationship with a printer who can pass savings on to you.
• •  If possible, arrange to have an active presence at the various arenas and stadiums you have targeted, by attending the actual events. Passing out marketing materials and information will be more effective than static advertisement alone.
• •  Most companies cannot afford naming rights, even in small arenas and stadiums. However, it is possible to be a sponsor of a venue, which will serve to get your name on all of the venue's marketing materials.
• •  If you are required to buy advertising in an arena or stadium for a period of time, rather than by the event, be prepared to have a variety of customized advertising ready to appeal to different audiences.