skating - Rinksider

10
RINKSIDER
Omaha rink offers ‘something
for just about everyone’
By Connie Evener
S
kate Daze, featured last October by USA TODAY as one of
the country’s “10 great places to
let good times roll on skates,” offers
“something for just about everyone” in
Omaha, Neb.
Since the late 1940s, when Scott
Cernik’s father hauled a portable roller
rink from town to town, the family business has continued to grow, change and
evolve. Originally built in 1983, Skateland became Skateland Play Daze in
1994, then Skate Daze after a complete
makeover with a “21st Century” motif
in 2007.
The 45,000 square foot FEC (Family Entertainment Center) offers skating,
laser tag, bumper cars, a rock climbing
wall, more than 75 interactive games, a
huge play area for kids under 10 called
the Playdazium, seven birthday party/
meeting rooms, and the VIP Tiki room,
a South Pacific themed venue for larger
meetings and parties. The popular All
Access Pass, at $20, provides one-day
access to all the attractions, plus 8 game
tokens and two meal tickets.
Scott Cernik doesn’t only think
outside the box – or the rink – in terms
January - February 2009
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
Skate Daze Owner Scott Cernik makes inroads with one of his primary target
groups – churches – by hosting a pastors’ meeting in his newly refurbished facility.
of attractions. His something-for-everybody approach on, say, Tuesdays, ranges
from the morning Wee Skate for kids
7 and under to the Adult Retro Skate
– with “rockin’ tunes from the 70’s”
– that same evening – with perhaps a
team building seminar for executives
during the day.
A big part of marketing is problem
solving and Cernik has been working on a problem that’s been affecting
most skate centers across the country:
poor attendance at school fundraisers.
The PTAs that once sponsored and
promoted those events are burned out
and overwhelmed. “PTAs have always
done the skating parties, but now it’s
hard to get them fired up because they
have so many different fundraisers,”
said Cernik.
Cernik is trying out a new approach
with the assistance of a school principal,
“one of those people who get it, who
understand that skating is good exercise
and social interaction,” noted Cernik.
“We went to the school, met with the
principal and a couple of teachers who
are in charge of the student council,
then met with the student council and
talked with them about how to promote
a party,” said Cernik, who figures that
any party organized and endorsed by
the kids elected to the student council
should be well-attended.
Cernik thinks everyone will benefit. Student council members will gain
experience and confidence – and they’ll
donate their profits to the school for
new equipment. As for Skate Daze, said
Cernik, “If it goes over this year, we’ll
have the facts and figures to introduce it
to other schools (next year).”
Cernik is also trying to develop a
following of local churches. Working
with a Christian radio station, Skate
Daze hosted an event for local pastors,
transforming the skating floor into a
banquet room with tables, nice linens,
and a catered meal. “We got some good
photos and we’re using them in some
of our marketing materials to promote
(the fact that) we can hold all kinds of
events.” And he’s introduced an overnight the first Saturday evening every
month for church groups.
Back in the late 1960s Skate Daze
introduced report card passes. For a
time, the program languished, but Cernik
has brought it back. Kids bring in their
report cards and get two free passes
for every A, one free pass for every B.
Kids get free passes for reading, too.
When the program at neighborhood
libraries seemed to go stale, Cernik
took it to school libraries, awarding a
bookmark/free pass for every five books
read. Those student rewards passes,
good on “Wacky Wednesdays,” have
proven popular with kids, parents, and
the schools.
Skate Daze also hosts a special day
for handicapped students from a local
school district several times a year and
they’ve been hosting the Nebraska Special Olympics for the past 20 years.
Skate Daze also urged its customers to “Get Healthy with Beef,” the beef
being the Omaha Beef, the city’s arena
football team. The ongoing promotional
collaboration included cheerleaders and
players promoting the health aspects of
skating, and a match between the Beef
and the Omaha Rollergirls.
Now Cernik is kicking around the
idea of a new type of party for kids 10
and older in the VIP Tiki Room. He says
they won’t “doll it up too much,” since
it’s geared for older kids. It’ll include
skating and laser tag, and he’s thinking
about including a nonalcoholic slushy
type drink, served in a cool glass with
an umbrella, in keeping with the room’s
tropical theme. Of course it will be
called the “Freaky Tiki Party.”
Scott Cernik is always on the lookout for opportunities, outside the box,
outside the rink and out in the Omaha
area. He markets what Skate Daze has
to offer by watching the community,
determining what its needs are, and
demonstrating how Skate Daze can fill
those needs – whether the reward is
increased revenue or good will.
R
oller skating received yet
another 15 minutes of fame
when the October 17, 2008
issue of U.S.A. Today ran a fullpage feature entitled “10 Great
Places to Let the Good Times Roll
on Skates.”
Included in the Top 10 were:
(in no particular order)
Skate Daze – Omaha, Neb.
Skatetown USA –
West Chester, Ohio
Interskate 91 North –
Hadley, Mass.
United Skates of America –
Tampa, Fla.
Sparkles – Hiram, Ga.
Oaks Park Amusement
Park and Skating Rink –
Portland, Ore.
Skate Galaxy –
Baton Rouge, La.
Roll Arena – Midland, Mich.
Skate Center of Brentwood –
Brentwood, Tenn.
Northridge Skateland –
Northridge, Calif.
To view the entire article, go
to www.skatedaze.com and click on
the USA Today link.
RINKSIDER
11
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
A look at the history of roller
“fitness” skating
By James Vannurden, Curator,
National Museum of Roller Skating
R
oller skating hit mainstream
America in the early 1800s as
a form of leisure. This activity
gave the public a gateway for enjoyment and a way for social interaction.
As roller skating evolved into the 20th
century participants began to see the
results of fitness skating. Although not
fully marketed as a form of exercise, the
benefits of skating spread in the 1900s.
An early way skaters developed
better fitness through skating included
the endurance race. Beginning in the
early twentieth century, these races
challenged participants both physically
and mentally. The first twenty-four hour
endurance race took place in Milwaukee, Wisc., in 1913. For two days,
March 28 and 29, the skaters circled
the track at Riverview Skating Palace.
Upon completion, the skaters unanimously decided that this type of race
was too grueling for one person and
needed to be changed. They chose to
limit individual races to twelve hours
and agreed teams needed to exist for
longer races.
Relay races formed later to provide endurance tests. In 1929, Madison
Square Gardens in New York hosted a
six-day relay race. From June 11 to June
16 the three-man teams competed for
victory. A second relay race occurred
in 1932 in Newark, New Jersey. This
twenty-one-day event at Dreamland
Rink ended after nineteen days when
judges declared the race over due to
snow on the outdoor track.
Another way people used skates
for fitness was through
roller basketball. Roller
basketball began in the
1920s. In 1922 players
showcased the new sport
for Lowe’s traveling rink,
beginning in Missouri. By
1927 the game had made
its way to New York when
the New York Roller Basketball Club defeated the
Brooklyn Big Five at the
Broadway Roller Rink in
Brooklyn.
Roller basketball went
in and out of popularity
in the decades to follow
before a resurgence in the
1990s. In 1993, former professional basketball player
Tom LaGarde started the
National Inline Basketball League. Beginning
in New York, the league
quickly expanded into the
neighboring states before
spreading nationally. By
1999, the league hit the international
stage with teams from counties like the
Netherlands and Germany.
During the 1950s, roller skating spread into the Girl Scouts of the
USA. Its official incorporation into the
Girl Scouts began in 1952 when Ann
McBrearty of Michigan wrote to the
Girl Scouts Headquarters. After discussion about including skating into their
group sports, or sports sampler badges.
The rules for achieving a skating
badge in the scouts included many similarities between boys and girls. A scout
needed to demonstrate knowledge of
skating such as the importance of safety.
Scouts showed skating skills with basic
moves of both forward and backward
skating as well as special moves such as
the bunny hop. Knowing skate care and
The first known roller basketball team, circa 1922. sports badge, skating received its own
badge in 1953. Both ice and roller skating were acceptable to achieve this new
badge. Between the years 1953 and
1965, the Girl Scouts awarded some
900,000 skating badges with 90% from
roller skating. In 1973, the Boys Scouts
approved the skating badge. By 1980,
sports badges including skating were
all incorporated into individual sports,
understanding the scoring system for
competitive skating was also important.
Boy scouts needed to complete a certain
amount of time skating with a family or
den member. And unlike Girl Scouts,
Boy Scouts could earn their badge on
inline skates.
Founded in 1980, the RollerBlade
Company of Minnesota started marketing their product as fitness equip-
Roller
Racer ®
ment beginning in 1986. To do this,
the Wilson brothers gave hundreds of
pairs of skates to skate rental shops in
Los Angeles. Once inline skating took
off on the west coast, national appeal
increased. This fitness appeal spiked
sales; between 1992 and 1994, the
number of inline skaters doubled from
ten to twenty million. New companies
emerged like First Team Sports Inc.,
which promoted their fitness skates
using athletes such as Wayne Gretzky.
The ten-year period after RollerBlade
opened the door saw inline skating participation jump nearly 800%.
During the 1990s, government
approval of roller skating increased.
The Surgeon General published a report
on physical fitness in 1996 that stated
many great activities to improve the
health of the nation; one was roller skating. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports recognized the
top three activities in the nation for all
around fitness; these included jogging,
swimming and roller skating. Another
organization, the American Heart Association, stated that roller skating protected the heart and circulatory systems.
A program aimed at children, the President’s Challenge for an Active Lifestyle
Program awarded students who went
above and beyond the five times per
week for six weeks guideline of physical activity; roller skating was an option
for the program.
Although its foundation began as
an activity of leisure, roller skating
developed into a way of exercise and
fitness. Utilizing different activities
such as basketball, endurance racing,
and inline skating, the roller skate grew
in popularity with individuals seeking
another way to stay healthy. With all the
benefits of skating stated and reinforced
by the government, there is no reason
not to be healthy. For health’s sake,
roller skate!
Roller Skate
Wheel Washer ®
“Serving the rink industry since 1982!”
800-821-4141
8114 Isabella Lane
Brentwood, TN 37027
www.masoncorporation.com
info@masoncorporation.com
Roller Racer ®
Caddy
Soft
Playgrounds
Horizon Fun F/X Rochester, NY
January - February 2009
12
RINKSIDER
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
Tennessee rink succeeds
with multiple offerings
By Dionne Obeso
T
he town of Pigeon Forge, Tenn.,
has a population of just over 5,000,
but calls forth a lot of traffic as a
self-proclaimed “family vacation hub.”
Pigeon Forge has a lot to offer as a tourist
destination, including theme parks, music
venues and outlet malls, so a roller skating rink has to have an extra something
special in order to attract the attention of
locals and tourists alike.
Spin City USA, which is owned
and operated by Larry Sorrell, is the
kind of roller skating rink that can truly
hold its ground against the wide range
of other attractions. “On our busy nights,
which are on the weekends, we do 300 at
admissions,” said Sorrell's daughter and
rink manager Jenny Leroux. “Weeknights
are slow. We increase our attendance
throughout the week with themed nights
such as Local Night, Retro Night, and Old
School Hip Hop Night.”
One of the first things that you might
notice when you arrive at Spin City USA
is the use of color in the building. The
outside walls are painted with bright and
exciting murals that clearly announce that
this is a place where fun is being had. The
large, bright signs, the fun design of the
building itself and the painted truck that is
parked out front for parades all draw the
eye and hopefully customers as well.
The second thing that you might
notice about Spin City USA is the go kart
track. This is no traditional track, looping
Spin City girls strike a pose.
around the building or taking up space in
the parking lot. Instead, the go kart track
makes up the open ground floor in a brilliant and very aesthetic building design.
The upper story of Spin City USA is
enclosed, and provides a roof for the go
kart track so that the cars can operate in
all kinds of weather conditions, most of
which would shut down go kart tracks
at other facilities. The track is also open
to the air on all sides, so the fumes that
January - February 2009
might build up in an indoor
track are released harmlessly,
providing Spin City USA go
kart drivers with the
best of both
worlds.
Bumper cars under the rink are a hit!
Stairs
lead up the
appear all over the walls, and even into
outside of the building the bathrooms, which are color coded:
and into the skate facil- bright pink for girls, and a neon shade
ity itself, where skat- of green for the guys. Modern features
ers can rent skates from like padded stools at the edge of the skate
the rental station, buy floor add functional style that makes little
their own gear at the pro kids feel all grown up and provides a
shop, spend some cash comfortable place for parents to rest and
at the stuff shop, get a admire their junior skaters on the floor.
snack from the concesSpin City USA also features some
sion stand, or drop a jumbo-sized party rooms done in the
few quarters into the small handful of same bright colors as the rest of the rink.
arcade games. They can also, of course, The padded stools from the edge of the
go skate. The skate floor itself is 10,000 skate floor are continued into the party
sq. ft. of hardwood, enlivened with expert rooms, where they provide seating that
light patterns and designs as well as an prevents any “you’re too close to me”
shoving matches among birthday goers.
“We can host dances, pep rallies, and
youth lock-ins,” said Leroux. The rink
excellent sound system to get skaters of also welcomes anyone who has fun on
all ages moving. They welcome anyone skates, from jam skaters to roller derby
three years of age or older onto the floor. girls. Their unique building and fun look
The festive atmosphere that is so encourages locals and passers-through
prevalent on the outside of the building alike to strap on some skates and join
is continued throughout the entire rink. them at the rink that holds its own in the
Murals that feature skating silhouettes “family vacation hub” of the USA.
RSA ad
November–December 2008
RINKSIDER
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
13
fcXXWTaWcbjXe
Sure-Grip International | 5519 Rawlings | South Gate, CA 90280 | www.suregrip.com
RINKSIDER
14
January - February 2009
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
Market the facts
Overweight America: skating
can be part of the solution!
By Kathy Bergstrom
T
he statistics on overweight children
in America aren’t pretty.
According to the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC), the percentage of
overweight American children ages 6-11
doubled from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 17
percent in 2006. Obesity tripled among
adolescents, or ages 12-19, during that
same period going from 5 to 17.6 percent,
according to the agency.
The Surgeon General’s Office estimates that 12.5 million U.S. children are
overweight. Additionally, the CDC said
that 61 percent of young people have at
least one added risk factor for heart disease
such as high cholesterol or high blood
pressure.
But, did you know kids can burn 350
calories in an hour and have fun with their
friends by roller skating? It’s a great way
for kids to meet recommended guidelines
for physical activity, said Melissa Johnson,
executive director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
“It’s an excellent activity for cardiovascular health. It’s always great if people
are trying to manage their weight,” she
said.
Current guidelines call for children
to have 60 minutes of physical activity
per day, and that time should include bone
development and muscular development
activities. The exercise should include
exercise of vigorous intensity at least three
days per week, and muscle and bone
strengthening at least three days a week.
“Roller skating is definitely a phenomenal aerobic activity, because it’s continuous,” Johnson said, adding that the
sport can be moderate or vigorous, and
it’s fun for both children and adults. The
average person can burn about 350 calories in an hour by skating at a rate of six
miles per hour and can increase it up to
600 calories if by averaging 10 miles per
hour, she said.
“The main theme of physical activity guidelines is ‘be active your way,’”
Johnson said. The council wants people
to choose activities that are fun and that
they enjoy. Roller skating is easy to access
because many communities have a rink.
The President’s Council has already
worked with the Roller Skating Association International (RSA) to promote roller
skating as a good activity and plans to
continue in the future.
The RSA was one of the advocates
Melissa Johnson, executive director,
President’s Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports
for this year’s President’s Challenge, which
was held from March 20 to May 15. The
challenge asks participants to exercise 30
minutes a day, five days a week.
The Association held its first Skate
A Million Miles Event to see how many
people could skate at least five times during the time period and if those skaters
could reach 1 million miles. About 65 to
100 rinks and about 5,000 skaters participated in the program, Johnson said. They
skated about 500,000 miles total.
Individual rinks participating in the
program could present skaters who successfully completed the program with the
Presidential Active Lifestyle Award. The
Council plans to hold the fitness challenge
again this year.
Participating in the President’s Challenge is a great marketing opportunity for
rinks because they are listed with the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports as rinks that offer the award, said
Johnson. They also can use the President’s
Challenge logo.
And if you want help promoting your
fitness-related skating sessions, the RSA
offers members a complete marketing
packet that includes a fitness press release
for rinks to send to their local media.
In addition to stats from the President’s Council, the release also states facts
from the American Heart Association and
the University of Massachusetts, among
other health-related organizations, on roller
skating’s benefits.
One such finding is that roller skating
provides a complete aerobic workout and
involves all 640+ of the body’s muscles,
especially the heart.
The Web site www.presidentschallenge.org contains a pull down menu of
fitness activities to choose from and allows
participants to track their activity online if
they register.
“It’s an inspirational kind of motivational way to track and monitor your own
activity,” said Johnson.
“Thank You for providing me with
great fitting boots!”
Lindsay Mann
• 5 time world team member
• Jr. World Bronze medalist
• 3 time national champion
SP-Teri Co., Inc.
Roller Skating Boots
436 North Canal Street, Unit #1 • South San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: (650) 871-1715 • FAX: (650) 871-9062
www.spteri.com
wery
January - February 2009
RINKSIDER
15
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
Pennsylvania rink boosts summer profits
with outdoor attractions
By Diane Walker
I
t started in 1987 when Gary Seibert opened Kid Sports. Kid Sports
was started with children in mind.
Gary wanted to provide entertainment
and sports for children, and he owned
locations all over the world. He was a
consultant showing fun centers how to set
up multi-dimensional businesses, not just
roller-skating. Tiring of the constant travel,
he sold the rights to the locations and they
are now franchises; although he is still in
contact with them as a consultant.
It was in 2003 when a local banker
bought Ozzy’s and asked Seibert to “fix
it.” Ozzy’s, located in Leesport, Pa. – five
miles from Reading - was originally built
as a go-kart track and a rink was added
eight years later. The previous owner kept
adding a variety of activities but the operation became too much for him to operate.
“People can build fun centers, and do
a good job at that, but you also need to
know how to run the operation,” said
Seibert, who is now the vice president of
operations for Ozzy’s Sports Fun Center.
The possibilities are endless
Once Seibert took over Ozzy’s, he
added - and continues to add - activities.
“We have something for every age group.
We are completely multi-dimensional,”
said Seibert. Ozzy’s has so many fun
activities that patrons are kept busy year
round, even in the summer, which is
known for slow months for most rinks.
There are three outdoor activities
Bumper Boats at Ozzy's Family Fun
Center in Leesport, Pa.
that you can’t help but have fun doing.
The 18-hole miniature golf course is open
when the weather permits. There is a
go-kart track with 18 cars. Every safety
measure Seibert could think of has been
taken: curbing on the inside and outside of
the track, traffic lights, automatic shut-offs
in the car so that if a car has a problem,
all of the cars can be automatically turned
off, and a PA system with programmed
messages.
A new activity that has been added is
the bumper boats. In a big, four-foot deep
pool, there are ten electric bumper boats.
Once the boat drivers get going, they can
bump into other boats and they also have
squirters that add to the fun.
Seibert’s newest addition to the Center is Chip- It Golf, which he is in the
process of patenting. No one else in the
country has this activity. Gary has gutted
his batting cages and installed turf where
you would have previously batted. He has
built stations in the cages simulating a
golf course situation where the golfer may
have to chip up, down or sideways. “Any
golfer will tell you that it’s the short game
that can make or break your game. Now
golfers have someplace to go and practice
that short game,” Seibert said.
Another huge summer draw for
Ozzy’s is their summer camp program.
What eight, nine or ten-year-old wants
to tell their friends that they have to go
to day care during summer break? Now
they don’t have to; they can go to summer
camp at Ozzy’s. The Fun Center has
a ‘club house’ or room that holds 75
campers. The camp is held for 11 weeks
to help working parents find a safe, fun
place for their children to go in the summer. Drop off can be as early as 7:30 a.m.
and pick up can be 6:00 p.m. The camp is
filled to capacity every year.
Parents know that each week is a
different theme and there are lesson plans
made up. The campers are put into groups
and depending on the age group, there
is one counselor for ten to 12 campers.
Every day there is a different activity,
craft or recreation activity and they follow along with the theme of the week.
Each Tuesday the campers go to a pool
for swimming and on Thursday s there is
a field trip that coincides with the theme.
The field trip could be to a zoo, a water
park or science related.
“There is an enormous market these
days for day care. The summer camp is not
day care but it has comparable cost and in
some cases it is less than day care.”
Ozzy’s also has an outdoor picnic
pavilion that can hold 600 to 700 people
and company picnics are very popular.
The outdoor stage has summer concerts
and other entertainment. “A lot of places
have indoor activities with air conditioning but it is important to bring space outdoors and use what you have to the best of
your ability,” added Seibert.
The award goes to….
For the second time since Seibert
took over Ozzy’s, they were awarded the
“Peoples’ Choice Award,” in Birch County.
An independent agency was brought in
Chip-it golf at Ozzy's Family Fun
Center in Leesport, Pa.
during the summer and telemarketed the
community for a variety of categories.
After the votes were tallied, Ozzy’s won
in the family fun category! This is impressive considering all of the entertainment
venues they were up against. It shows that
when you give the community what they
want, the community gives back.
“Think out of the box”
Seibert can pass on is for rink/fun center
owners to think out of the box. “They
must look at what they have and see what
they can do with it. If they have a parking lot, then in the summer they can add
a bounce house or inflatable slides. On
certain nights, they can hold a battle of
bands event or a car show. They just have
to think,” stressed Seibert.
He feels that all rinks should keep a
database of families that come in during
the winter, and that includes children who
came in for birthday parties. Rink owners
need to come up with summer activities
and then go to those existing customers
letting them know of the upcoming events
or programs. Seibert feels that with the
proper planning a summer camp program
is no-brainer. The owners need to offer the
right hours and can go to local colleges
and hire education or physical education
majors and have lesson plans and fun
activities. Parents will love that.
Seibert invites people to look at his
website, www.playozzys.com, to see what
he has been able to do. He wants to help
people go out of the box and even has
a training program and lesson plans for
summer camps and information for owners to market their program
One of the best pieces of advice
Coming in the
March/April
Maximize Birthday/Private Parties
Rental Skates – Check ‘em Out
Refurbishing & Remodeling – your best
investment
Great ideas every issue!
Editorial Deadline: January 12, 2009
Advertising Deadline: January 30, 2009
16
RINKSIDER
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
January - February 2009
It pays to advertise
– if you do it right
RSA 'Kooky Award' winners
and finalists share tips
By Connie Evener
kating and family entertainment centers face unique challenges in advertising, but several general principals do
apply. In any discussion of effective advertising, three terms pop to the surface again and
again:
 Branding
The identity of
your business – its
“personality”– is based
on how customers
perceive you. To carve
out a positive and wellrecognized identity your
message needs to be consistent.
 Benefits, not features
Customers don’t really care how wonderful your “features” (equipment, skating
floor, staff, etc.) are. What they care about
is how it directly affects them. It’s called the
W.I.F.M. (What’s in it for me?) factor. So,
rather than saying “Our new rental skates are
state of the art and have our logo on them,”
advertise “You’ll skate faster and smoother
and better than ever before on our new rental
skates.”
 Target marketing
Aiming your advertising “arrows” at
the people most likely interested in what you
have to offer gives the highest response and
best value for your advertising dollar.
For the past seven years RSA has challenged its members “to put their best skate
forward in advertising,” and recognized the
most creative and effective efforts with The
Golden Kooky Media awards. In the interest
of sharing ideas, The RINKSIDER contacted
some of last year’s winners and finalists.
S
Print media: simple but catchy
Sandra Levin of Orbit Skate Center
(Your Place in the Galaxy), Palatine, Ill.,
won last year’s "Best Color Flier" award and
placed as a finalist for her direct mail and web
site entries. “I have a belief in design that you
need to take your viewer’s eyes on a journey.
So many times people don’t leave enough
space to breathe. You can call it white space,
but in this case it’s blue space,” Levin said,
referring to her winning entry.
Levin’s birthday party flier is printed
in color on both sides, with a schedule on
the back. When she puts them in the rack
for customers, she puts out two batches, one
with the birthday party promotion facing out,
the other with the schedule facing out. Most
customers take one of each, and when they
pass the extra on to a friend it doubles the
distribution.
Jenny Nash of Simply Profitable Marketing (formerly Korte) estimates that she
generates more than two million cards for
clients every year. When it comes to design,
“Less is more” is her mantra, too. “Another
thing that makes a card or flier effective
is a call to action,” said Nash, “meaning
‘bring this card in today, this week, this
month’ as opposed to something open-ended.
Make the offer’s perceived value high so
that folks are certain to visit your center and
redeem the card.” Kids don’t get much mail,
added Nash, so getting a
bright, colorful and easyto-read card will make a
big impression.
Aaron Estrada of
Northporte Rollercade
(San Antonio’s Finest
Skating...), finalist for
his black and white
flier, used a Print
Shop Deluxe template, keyed in the information for his calendar/schedule and added clip art in about
20 minutes. He runs his fliers off on a copy
machine and has them in his customers’
hands within hours. It’s simple, inexpensive
and fast.
To see Sandra Levin’s designs, go to
www.residentpublishing.com. For a sampling of Jenny Nash’s designs, go to www.
SimplyProfitableMarketing.com. And for
some cross pollination from non-skating
related areas, take a look at www.allgraphicdesign.com, a networking site for graphic
designers.
Regulars at Skating Plus in Ventura, Calif., participate in a TV commercial for
the rink.
have become semi-regulars to regulars just commercial before the Friday night session
because their parents started skating,” said on a certain date and we want everybody
to come in at 3:00.” Grenier gets consent/
White.
release forms from everyone who wants to
participate as they arrive so he can use their
Cast your customers for TV
images in footage for commercials and still
The first of the “10 Essentials to an shots for ads. “Then we have them skate. We
Effective TV Commercial,” according to do a mock birthday party. It’s a lot of fun.”
Skating Plus’s slogan gets a workAbout.com, is “Put People in Your Commercial.” That’s standard practice for Sonny out in those commercials. “We’ve got kids,
Grenier of Skating Plus in Ventura, Calif. His sometimes in groups holding each other’s
finalist-placing TV commercial followed a shoulders, yelling out ‘The Plus is the place!
formula that he and other owners and opera- The Plus is the place!’” said Grenier.
Grenier advertises on TV rather than
tors use with success.
For two to three weeks before the com- radio because his facility is in the L.A. area,
mercial is to be filmed, said Grenier, “We where Top Forty radio station rates are astrotell people we’re going to be taping a cable nomical, but local cable is affordable.
Go for emotion with radio
According to Radio Ad Lab (www.
RadioAdLab.org), “Audio can generate
stronger emotions than visuals,” a concept
Grayson White of Looney’s Super Skate in
Montgomery, Ala., used in his finalist-placing radio spot. “We wanted to go for adult
skaters, the people who grew up in that
generation when roller skating was enjoying
its heights,” explained White.
To do so, White used the high energy
music of the period to stir memories. As
his deejay did a simple voice over – time,
day, price, location – songs like “Rapper’s
Delight,” “Skate, Bounce and Roll” and
“Planet Rock” took listeners on a journey
down memory lane: Friday nights at the rink,
first couples skate, maybe even first kiss.
He ran the spot on HOT 105 daytime,
drive time and “really ramped it up” during
the day before the Sunday adult nights.
Because he didn’t want to mix his
message, White left off his usual tag line,
“...where family fun and fitness meet.” The
music itself provided a sort of “self branding,” said White. “People heard the music
and said, ‘Man! That’s roller skating music!’
I think it helped build our base of regulars.
It brought back people who had forgotten
about skating and helped them rediscover
their childhood love.” And some of those
people, now with families of their own, are
bringing their kids. “Kids I’d not seen before
Sure Grip promotion fights breast cancer
Sure-Grip International has begun a new promotion that will benefit the
American Breast Cancer Foundation (www.abcf.org). Throughout 2009, Sure
Grip will donate all proceeds from the sales of their Rock Skates Flame Line’s
black boots with pink flames and white
boots with pink flames to the Foundation.
Jim Ball, Sure Grip vice president, said it
was a natural fit.
He pointed out that since the American
Breast Cancer Foundation’s public awareness tactics are “very discreet,” Sure-Grip is only enhancing the boots’ heels
with an embroidered pink ribbon. The accompanying ad campaign, which
showcases the skates, simply states: “Buy a pair...save a life!”
“One of our next door neighbors had two family members die from breast
cancer. It became sort of a personal issue,” explained Steven Ball, Jim’s son
and head of Sure-Grip’s sales and marketing, of the Company’s decision to
promote breast cancer awareness. “Also, it felt like the right time to start giving
back a little bit. Nobody in our industry has really done this. We’ll see what we
can do, and hopefully we can help somebody.”
“This is a win-win for roller rinks, for us, for the industry,” said Jim Ball,
explaining that rinks can bring awareness because everyone already knows
what the pink ribbon means and what breast cancer is.
Ball already has plans in the works for 2010, including a pink wheel
embossed with a ribbon, called Courage.
Sure-Grip International has been a manufacturer and distributor of roller
skating products for 85 years. They manufacture traditional roller skates, inline
recreational and hockey skates, skateboards and other sporting goods and
equipment. Sure-Grip is located in South Gate, Calif., and can be reached by
phone at 800-344-3331 or 562-923-0724 or by internet at www.suregrip.com.
RINKSIDER
18
Left to right - Larry Pattison (Rainbow
Roller Rink, Monmouth, Ill.), Kay Pattison (Pattison’s West, Federal Way,
Wash.) and Shaun Pattison (Pattison’s
North, Spokane, Wash.).
‘Big Ted’ Werner (National
Skate, Tacoma, Wash.).
Brian “Rob” Robinson of RC Sports
discusses business with Janet Dietur
and Bob Hansen of Funway in Batavia, Ill.
Steven Ball (Sure Grip Skates,
South Gate, Calif.).
Roller derby girls make an
appearance at the RC Sports
trade show.
RC Sports office staff get ready to host
the customer appreciation dinner.
Mike, Dacia, Debbie and Dave (SkateN-Station, Tacoma, Wash.).
National Skate
Tacoma, Wash.
October, 2008
It’s sell, sell, sell at the RC
Sports Trade Show!
from the
Southeastern Skate Supply
Roanoke, Va.
October 5-6, 2008
January - February 2009
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
FALL TRADE
SHOWS
RC Sports
Lenexa, Kan.
October 12-13, 2008
Southeastern Skate Supply
Mableton, Ga.
October 20-21, 2008
Julie Couey of Sparkles and Greg
Alexander of Cascade Family Fun
Center discuss novelty supplies.
Jim Ball of Sure-Grip, John Purcell of the RSA, and Ralph Jenny
of Sure-Grip.
Ron Liette, RSA Vice President,
and Julia Liette (Skatin’ Place,
Cincinnati, Ohio).
Robbie Jordan (Skateland, Kannapolis, NC) and Tim Lowder
(Frye’s, Concord, NC). Wayne Ramsey of SE Skate (left)
and John Matejec of Roller Derby
(right).
Bob Renner, Ronda Ramsey, David
Ramsey, and Brock Havron of SE
Skate.
Weston Conner (Skate Center,
Roanoke, Va.).
Left to right: John Franklin (TNT Skate,
Lumberton, NC) and Rob Sherman (Skate
Zone, Crofton Md.).