Hockey Club Davos: Rink Bingo
Hockey Club Davos, a successful Swiss ice hockey team, faced significant financial dependence on merchandise and catering sales. They needed a solution to increase fan interactivity during games and simultaneously boost sales figures for concessions and the fan shop.
Creative Idea
Rink panels became live bingo fields, triggered by player crashes, engaging fans in real-time.
Hockey Club Davos transformed their rink panels into a live, interactive bingo game, leveraging player crashes to trigger numbers on a fan app. This gamified experience boosted fan engagement and significantly increased merchandise and concession sales by incentivizing stadium visits and purchases.
Turning Body Checks Into Business Checks
Turning Violence Into Vouchers
The creative team at FCB Zürich identified a unique rhythmic pattern in ice hockey: players crash into the perimeter boards approximately 100 times per match. By assigning a number to each physical panel, they transformed these high - impact collisions into a "called" number for a live game. This converted the most aggressive element of the sport into a commercial trigger. The Rink Bingo App functioned as a pioneer in "second screen" technology, allowing fans to engage with the physical intensity of the stadium from their homes or seats in real - time.
The Monetization of Impact
The campaign’s success was measured by its direct impact on the club’s bottom line rather than just digital impressions. Merchandise sales through the fan store skyrocketed by 128%, while stadium concessions saw a significant lift with beverage sales up 34% and food sales up 46%. These results were driven by instant digital discount vouchers delivered to the first fans who completed a bingo row on their devices.
A Global White Label Legacy
Beyond the immediate season, the project had a lasting industry footprint. Bill Mistura (CEO of HCD) and Marc Gianola (Head of Marketing) viewed the initiative as a way to prioritize the fan experience through modern interactivity. The tech was so effective that it was developed into a "white label" product, designed to be exported and adapted for professional hockey leagues worldwide. Creative Director Andy Lusti noted that the goal was to bridge the "origin and tradition" of the club with a digital future, proving that even a traditional sport could be successfully gamified.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Hockey Club Davos had a physical rink, frequent player collisions, and a strong need to boost merchandise and catering sales.
Category
Traditional sports events often offered limited real-time fan interaction beyond watching the game itself.
Customer
Fans desired more engaging, interactive experiences during matches and incentives to visit stadium bars and shops.
Culture
The widespread use of smartphones and second-screen entertainment, coupled with the simple appeal of bingo, provided a fertile ground.
Company
Hockey Club Davos had a physical rink, frequent player collisions, and a strong need to boost merchandise and catering sales.
Category
Traditional sports events often offered limited real-time fan interaction beyond watching the game itself.
Strategy:
Transform passive viewership into active, rewarding participation to drive commercial engagement.
Customer
Fans desired more engaging, interactive experiences during matches and incentives to visit stadium bars and shops.
Culture
The widespread use of smartphones and second-screen entertainment, coupled with the simple appeal of bingo, provided a fertile ground.
Strategy:
Transform passive viewership into active, rewarding participation to drive commercial engagement.
Results
Sales figures for concession partners were sensational. Beverages sales increased by +34%, food sales increased by +46%, and fan shop sales increased by +128%. Rink Bingo was a huge success, receiving fantastic feedback from fans, who were enthusiastic about the promotion.
+34%
Beverages sales increase
+46%
Food sales increase
+128%
Fan shop sales increase
Strategy Technique
Build an Utility, Not an Ad
Instead of a traditional ad, the campaign created a functional game and app that added value to the fan experience. This utility directly drove engagement and sales by making the game more interactive.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Gamification
The campaign integrated game elements into the live hockey match, turning passive viewing into an active, rewarding experience. This encouraged real-time participation and incentivized fans to engage with club offerings.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional due to its innovative core idea, seamlessly brought to life through robust digital technology and strategic design, driving both fan engagement and significant commercial results.
The seamless integration of physical sensors behind rink panels, real-time data transmission to a stadium display, and an interactive mobile application creates a flawless, immersive fan experience.
The user interface of the Rink Bingo app and the visual presentation on the stadium cube are clearly designed for intuitive fan participation, ensuring clarity and engagement during live gameplay.
The campaign's success is a direct result of the synergy between a brilliant 'Ideamaking' that reimagines the game experience and the 'Digital Craft' that flawlessly executes this vision, enhanced by thoughtful 'Design' and effective 'Media Planning' to achieve business goals.
