By Ray Birch
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Understanding that sports teams sponsorships come with a great deal of competition for fans’ attention, one CU has introduced a unique “APM” that’s attracting the attention of Minnesota Wild supporters.
In fact, long lines of fans at the National Hockey League team’s home games have formed as fans look to get their shot at a prize from Hiway Federal Credit Union.
Hiway FCU is the official credit union of the Minnesota Wild, and this past hockey season it unveiled the Hiway “Automated Prize Machine.” The APM is located on the concourse level of the Wild’s home rink, Xcel Energy Center. It looks like an oversized ATM and is covered in colorful signage to attract Wild fans.
“We wanted to engage with fans in a way that is unique and sets us apart from other promotions inside the Center, especially other financial institutions,” said Tara Graff, SVP of marketing and business development. “We wanted to do something that fans had not seen before.”
Three-Year Relationship
The credit union has been a partner with the Wild for about three years and through its sponsorship agreement is given space on the concourse level of the Xcel Energy Center to run promotions. In previous seasons the credit union had been offering fans a chance to shoot a puck into the net via an interactive virtual reality game.
“The Wild gets a lot of the same fans back at games, so many of them had played our virtual reality game, plus that is not unlike other promotions fans see around the Center and at other sporting events,” said Graff. “So, again, we wanted to stand out with the prize machine, plus, we wanted to do something that tied back to us being a financial institution.”
How It Works
Fans approach the APM that’s located in a highly visible spot on the concourse. They are given a small, business-size card to swipe through the card reader on the prize machine, which then spits out a ticket for a gift. Awards range from shopping bags to winter apparel to expensive autographed Wild jerseys.
“We have long lines at every game, sometimes fans almost 100 deep,” said Graff. “We ran out of prizes the first game we introduced the APM.”
Many of the prizes carry the credit union’s logo. “So they double as advertising as fans carry them around the Center,” said Graff.
A Leave-Behind
The card used to swipe the machine is a leave-behind, as well, Graff noted, and carries information about the credit union. The card does not have a magnetic stripe and the prize machine simply senses a card has been passed through its reader and then randomly issues a prize receipt.
“This has become a great promotion for us, better than we even expected,” said Graff. “We now stock it with 300 prizes each game, after we ran out a bit early the first night. Still, we regularly ran out of prizes before the game was over.”
Graff explained when fans get their prize receipt from the machine, they walk over to a nearby prize table to redeem their ticket. “The prize table, too, attracts a lot of attention,” she said.
Plans for Next Season
Graff said Hiway Federal has had the APM at every Wild home game this year.
“We plan to also take the machine to some special events in the community as well,” she told CUToday.info.
Graff would not disclose the cost for the APM, but said the credit union hands out between $800 to $1,000 in prizes per game. NHL teams play 41 home games during the regular season.
“This has been a great promotion. We will do it again next year,” she said.
What’s Being Tracked
Hiway is not tracking new members signed up through the APM, as the leave-behind cards lack the capacity to track the data. But HFCU does monitor the special checking account the credit union has tied to the Wild.
As part of its relationship with the team, Hiway offers a Minnesota Wild Free Checking Account, which includes a customized debit card, credit card and checks. Cardholders receive a 15% discount at all Hockey Lodge locations—the Wild’s retail store— and have a chance to win Wild prizes with monthly drawings.
“The checking account is growing, we know that,” said Graff.