A 720-Second Sell-Out

Seattle was the largest city in North America without a professional winter sports team. Oak View Group and an NHL ownership group that includes David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer believed Seattle was ready for hockey. Together, they had committed a total of $1.3 billion to build a new arena at Seattle Center and secure an NHL franchise through expansion.

Two years of planning and negotiations with the City of Seattle led to a moment of truth on Thursday, March 1. For the first time in 10 years, Seattle sports fans would control their own destiny. Would at least 10,000 fans buy deposits for season tickets and send a message to the NHL commissioner that Seattle would support a team?

Cruxx was tasked with executing the digital media buy—integrating it with a media blitz that included comprehensive TV and radio media buy with full-page ads and 11 homepage takeovers, out of home, street teams, public relations, organic social media and a flag raising at the Space Needle.

The digital media alone led to an 18x ROI in season ticket deposit revenue vs. the media spend.

The numbers were indisputable, and this was the fastest sellout in pro sports history.