TimeZoneOne Produces Playful Online Ads For The Chicago Wolves’ 25th Season

CHICAGO — Global creative communications agency TimeZoneOne, has produced three playful online video ads for the Chicago Wolves as part of the professional hockey team’s ongoing 25^th anniversary season campaign.

Utilizing its in-house video production team – the same team that produces videos for the Illinois Office of Tourism’s Illinois Made series – TimeZoneOne applied the full-creative treatment, from ideation to post-production and everything in between including casting, location scouting and set design. The innovative online video campaign includes engaging 15- to 30-second spots that are running on social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Boasting the tagline “There’s No Such Thing As Too Much Hockey,” the ads aim to increase ticket sales and build excitement among fans, by taking a tongue-in-cheek look at how a hockey-obsessed Chicagoland family incorporates different aspects of the popular winter sport into their daily life.

“Following strategic discussions with the Wolves, our vision was to produce disruptive content that differed from a traditional hockey spot,” said Daniel Thomas, president and CEO of TimeZoneOne. “The extensive fan research we continually undertake allows us to create engaging promotions that resonate with both new and existing Wolves fans to increase brand awareness and drive ticket sales.”

In designing the campaign, TimeZoneOne capitalized on its successful track record of shooting in small shops with a lean crew for its Illinois Made series, a creative campaign for the Illinois Office of Tourism, which is a TimeZoneOne client. The Illinois Made shoots demand the kind of quality you’d expect from large-scale productions, but using only a handful of crew members, according to Thomas. “This is our niche – small crew, big results,” he said. “So we applied the same approach to really raise the bar on these Chicago Wolves spots. The process appears simple, but it requires some sophisticated techniques to achieve the end result of generating excitement for the Wolves’ 25^th-anniversary season.”

It has been a big six months for the TimeZoneOne/Wolves partnership. TimeZoneOne delivered a one-of-a-kind fan experience for the Wolves’ 25th anniversary season kick-off and home opener by conducting strategic media outreach, executing eye-catching visual events and creating the team’s new campaign, “Last Team Standing.” All efforts led to the relaunch of the Chicago Wolves’ new website, designed and executed by TimeZoneOne for a more user-friendly experience.

Redesigned Website

TimeZoneOne’s content development team redesigned the Chicago Wolves’ website to better reflect the team’s rebranding efforts. The team’s new website offers streamlined navigation to increase ticket sales, and it features new video content and team updates to keep fans informed of roster changes, upcoming games, special events and more.

“TimeZoneOne recreated our website to give fans a more user-friendly experience while still maintaining the look and feel of our brand that we’ve worked so hard to build over the last 25 years,” said Don Levin, owner and co-founder of the Chicago Wolves.

Strategic Media Outreach

The TimeZoneOne PR team led media outreach efforts surrounding the Chicago Wolves’ 25th season kick-off events and the team’s home opener, and along with continuing efforts, have attracted more than 100 million earned media impressions with a publicity value totaling more than $874,000 so far this season. The placements have included key local broadcast stations such as ABC7, NBC5, FOX32, CBS2, WCIU, 670 The Score and WBBM Newsradio, plus a feature in the Chicago Tribune. 

Visual Events

TimeZoneOne is responsible for facilitating the Chicago Wolves’ new opening show video seen at every home game. In addition to pyrotechnics, lasers and lights created by StrictlyFX, the show features the new CGI animated video that highlights memorable moments throughout the team’s 25-year history. The video – which was designed and executed by the TimeZoneOne team – uses the city of Chicago as both the setting and the Chicago Wolves’ muse.

In celebration of the team’s 25th season, Levin sought to create a kick-off event that would honor noteworthy players throughout the team’s history and give a nod to the fans who have remained loyal over the last 25 years.

“We wanted our 25th season to serve as a reminder to our fans of the commitments we made to them when we first stepped foot on the ice at Allstate Arena,” said Levin. “We strive to win every game, we always want to give back to the community and we want to put on a great show for our fans.”

With this in mind, TimeZoneOne brought to life an incredible art installation along Chicago’s famous Magnificent Mile – large-scale (4’ x 9’) Chicago Wolves goalie helmets, each featuring designs worn by former and current Wolves players. The installation debuted as part of the Wolves’ 25th season kick-off events on Aug. 13. It was coordinated by TimeZoneOne and remained on display along Michigan Avenue until the end of September. Each mask’s unique design made for fun photo opportunities that encouraged social sharing.

Along with the reveal of the Michigan Avenue art installation, TimeZoneOne planned and executed a simultaneous visual media event complete with slap-shot competitions and photo opportunities with Skates, the Wolves’ mascot, as well as meet-and-greets with current and former players. For the grand finale of their kick-off events, the Chicago Wolves debuted a preview of the team’s new opening pyro/laser/light show created by StrictlyFX on Michigan Avenue. TimeZoneOne managed the coordination of the show and conducted media outreach.

About TimeZoneOne

TimeZoneOne is a global creative communication agency that integrates brand building, PR, travel trade marketing, website development, digital marketing, social media management, content creation and experimental activations. This integrated approach delivers more effective communications, stronger results and a better return on investment for our clients. TimeZoneOne has offices in Chicago, Christchurch and Toronto.

About the Chicago Wolves

The Chicago Wolves are proud to provide fun, affordable family entertainment for fans of all ages. The Wolves are four-time league champions -- winning the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup in 2002 and 2008 and the International Hockey League’s Turner Cup in 1998 and 2000 -- and more than eight million fans have enjoyed Wolves Hockey at Allstate Arena. The Wolves deliver a nationally renowned fireworks, pyro and laser show before every game, which sets the stage for the high-quality professional hockey and entertaining in-game promotions. The Chicago Wolves always strive to be the Last Team Standing – every day, every game and every season.