There’s some extra bounce in the step of M2 employees these days. The IPG Mediabrands agency has won the media assignment for Sky Zone indoor trampoline centres in the Toronto area.
Next month, M2 will launch a multi-media campaign featuring TV, radio, digital, social media, cinema and direct mail. The campaign, using creative assets supplied by Sky Zone’s U.S. corporate office, will run through the remainder of the year.
This is the first time Sky Zone owner Caroline Irving has worked with a media agency since jumping into the trampoline business with both feet in 2011. Today, the former CBC Television producer owns three Sky Zone franchises in the Greater Toronto Area, with a fourth set to open later this year.
While Sky Zone benefited from strong word-of-mouth in its early days, it also relied on social media and limited print advertising. For Irving, the problem was determining if her investment was paying off.
“I was honestly sort of making it up as I went along, and I decided I really needed expert advice and not just throw things at the wall and see what stuck,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to all the expertise M2 can bring to the table.”
Irving said she was attracted to M2 because of its research and SEO capabilities, as well as its analytics and digital acumen. “It just felt to me that they could address each of the different areas and bring it all together, rather than me just trying to do it piecemeal,” she said.
Irving was also attracted by M2’s “obvious enthusiasm” for the Sky Zone business. “It’s important for me to have people that really understand that it’s not just about birthday parties, but getting people active and healthy and families exercising together. They buy into my vision for the company – it’s really important to me that it’s a destination and a community hub. It’s not just a trampoline business.”
One of Sky Zone’s biggest marketing challenges, said Irving, is its broad appeal. “It really does appeal to everyone, so that’s a pretty big mandate – everyone likes it, please let everyone know about it,” she said. “I really felt that M2 would really be able to help me manage such a broad target group.”
