Title	ZSC - THE ESSENCE OF LIONS
Brand	ZSC LIONS AG
Product/Service	ICE HOCKEY
Category	A03. Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast Food Chains
Entrant	SERVICEPLAN SUISSE Zürich, SWITZERLAND
Idea Creation	SERVICEPLAN SUISSE Zürich, SWITZERLAND
Production	SIGNORELL – CREATIVE PRODUCTION AGENCY Zürich, SWITZERLAND
Post Production	SIGNORELL – CREATIVE PRODUCTION AGENCY Zürich, SWITZERLAND

Name	Company	Position
Nadja Tandler	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Art Director
Tizian Lienhard	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Art Director
Henry Clarke	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Copywriter
Peter Liptak	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Copywriter
Nicolas Gspan	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Account Director
Nathalie Jakober	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Agency Producer
Michael Kathe	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Creative Director
Marcin Baba	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Executive Creative Director
Raul Serrat	Serviceplan Suisse AG	Chief Creative Officer

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Ice rink meltwater is worthless. But not if you’re an ice hockey fan, and especially not if the rink in question is your team’s home stadium. For Zurich’s ZSC Lions hockey club, fans are as important to the game of hockey as the ice it’s played on. In a season when Covid-19 had prevented fans from attending live sports events, the club created “Essence of Lions” by taking meltwater from its home rink and mailing it to season-ticket holders in 15ml bottles. The gift inspired fans to renew their season passes and ensured vital financial support for the club.

Background

Governments around the world banned fans from attending live sports games in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Switzerland went into lockdown in March 2020 – the middle of the ice hockey season. When games resumed, it was behind the closed doors of empty, silent stadiums. Season tickets sales are one of Zürich’s ZSC Lions hockey team’s most important sources of revenue. The club was unable to refund ticket holders for the games they could no longer attend. More worryingly, amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic, the club couldn’t guarantee that fans would even be able to attend the next season’s games. Facing the possibility of a significant drop in season ticket renewals, the ZSC Lions needed an effective way to thank fans for their patience and inspire them to continue supporting the club throughout the next season.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

"The Essence of Lions" was a piece of direct mail memorabilia that gave every season ticket holder 15ml of ZSC Lions history. To create "The Essence of Lions", the club melted ice from their home stadium, bottled it, and mailed it to fans. A QR code in the mailing linked fans to a video explaining the significance of the small bottles: in their hands, fans now held the ice from the "silent season" they’d been forced to watch from home. The gift idea gave the club a unique yet scalable way to offer its fans an authentic piece of the game they loved. The theme of ice water featured in a film accompanying the mailing to explain the gift’s significance. Here, a two-metre-tall ice sculpture of a lion, the team’s mascot, was symbolically melted into the Hallenstadium ice.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Throughout the pandemic season, sports teams had used social media to maintain contact with their fans. However, as lockdown lasted, online engagement began to drop and uncertainty around live attendance for the next season grew. Clubs faced the possibility that fans would not renew their season ticket passes for fear of not being able to use them. For many clubs, this posed a serious threat to their financial security. Our strategy was to combine film and memorabilia to remind fans of the irreplaceable experience of attending a match: the noise, the atmosphere, the unique perspective and memories it offers every spectator. The club needed to make an affordable yet meaningful gesture to add credibility to the players’ message that fans were an integral part of the team and the game they loved, and to inspire fans to renew their tickets despite the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming season.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

"The Essence of Lions" was created by melting ice from the ZSC Lion’s home stadium ice rink and sealing it in 15ml bottles traditionally associated with Lourdes holy water, or schnapps, a strong herbal liquor fans drink to warm up by the rink. The bottles were sent in specially designed packaging to season ticket holders. A QR code linked to a short film explaining the gift’s meaning and inviting fans to renew their tickets for the upcoming season. The film featured players and team management and was filmed on the stadium ice rink "The Essence of Lions" was made from. It was hosted on a landing page on the club’s website, where users were prompted to renew their season passes. Video messages from players and team management thanked fans for their support.

List the results (30% of vote)

"The Essence of Lions" was mailed to more than 4000 season ticket holders in the Zurich area. Every fan who received the mailing renewed their season ticket ahead of the renewal deadline, a 100% success rate that significantly helped in ensuring the club’s financial security amidst the uncertainty of the post-pandemic season. The fans’ online reaction to the gift was loud and positive, with many thanking the team and pledging their support for the future. The club is now considering integrating the idea of melted rink water into its merchandising model.