The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2023
A sports store became a hotel when cricket fans had nowhere to stay
During the World Cup final accommodation crisis, Total Sports & Fitness turned its Ahmedabad store into a hotel.
Total Sports & Fitness
the move
Ahead of the Cricket World Cup final, Ahmedabad hit an accommodation crisis: prices became unaffordable and rooms were booked out everywhere, leaving fans sleeping at railway stations and even reserving hospital beds. Every sports brand was shouting for attention, and Total Sports & Fitness's brief was simply to lift sales and footfall.
BBDO India's idea was to stop advertising and act. The Total Sports & Fitness store became the Total Sports & Fitness Hotel, opening its doors first-come-first-served to a lucky few cricket fans with nowhere to stay, hosted using the retailer's own stock.
The gesture made the store the news rather than the ad, and it was shortlisted at Spikes Asia 2024 for three awards in Brand Experience & Activation, including Guerrilla Marketing & Stunts and Customer Retail/In-Store Experience.
why it works
- Fans' real need gave the stunt an authenticity no ad can buy.
- Hosting people inside the store turns footfall into the campaign itself.
- The accommodation crisis made the story nationally newsworthy.
- It spends inventory and space rather than media budget.
what transfers
When the whole market is shouting at a moment, find the audience's actual pain at that moment and solve it with what you already have - your store, staff and inventory become the media.
what came after
The hotel stunt drove a 28% sales lift for the campaign period, earned the entry a Bronze Spike at Spikes Asia 2024, and gave the retailer a template for turning its stores into experiences during big sporting moments.
references
- Total Sports and Fitness Hotel
- Total Sports And Fitness Hotel (Board)
- Spikes Asia 2024 shortlists: Australia leads the pack
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