Inside Las Vegas Sports Marketing: Why Businesses Pay Golden Knights To Become A Sponsor
By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
It seems every type of business in Las Vegas wants a piece of the Vegas Golden Knights these days. We chatted with Brian Killingsworth, the VGK chief marketing officer, to find out about the logo and sponsor proliferation.
But what about the business’ side? Why do dozens of businesses sign checks to become VGK sponsors. LVSportsBiz.com went Inside Sports Marketing with Roseman University, the latest Golden Knights’ business partner. We posed five questions to Jason Roth, vice president of communications at Roseman University of Health Services.
LVSB: There are dozens of Las Vegas area businesses that are sponsors of the Vegas Golden Knights. How does Roseman plan to use its business partnership with the VGK to advance its goals and not be lost in the high number of Golden Knights sponsors?
JR: We are currently the only higher education institution to partner with the Vegas Golden Knights. We plan to use the new partnership as a way to engage hockey fans from southern Nevada and throughout North America who are also looking at future educational and career opportunities. We attract and enroll students from Nevada and from states across the country into our pharmacy, nursing and dental medicine programs. The partnership allows us to share the educational benefits unique to Roseman’s Six-Point Mastery Learning Model and the experiential learning and clinical training opportunities available in our communities that help them to enter the workforce as competent healthcare professionals.
Further, the partnership creates opportunities to promote the many services Roseman University offers in southern Nevada, such as dental and orthodontic care through our College of Dental Medicine Roseman Dental clinics in Henderson, primary care and other specialties through our College of Medicine Roseman Medical Group in Spring Valley, and free health screenings and education offered by student organizations at community events throughout the region.
Finally, we are working with the Vegas Golden Knights to collaborate and create a student experiential program with the team’s medical staff, creating new learning opportunities for our students.
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LVSB: What first attracted Roseman to becoming a sponsor and how did you work out the deal? And how many years is the agreement?
JR: First and foremost, a large number of Roseman University employees, students and alumni are Vegas Golden Knights fans. Roseman University also shares in the spirit of #VegasBorn. Founded in Henderson in 1999, Roseman University is a private, non-profit institution, and is the only such institution created in southern Nevada, and one of only two in the state. Like the Vegas Golden Knights, many thought our founders were doing something that was impossible. As we kick off our yearlong 20th Anniversary celebrations this fall, we have an opportunity to share our story of reimagining the impossible and our track record of success in educating our pharmacists, nurses, and dental professionals, and serving our communities.
While I can’t share specifics of the partnership, Roseman University’s partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights is multi-year and we look forward to the opportunities it creates.
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LVSB: I believe the Golden Knights have a dental sponsor. How does Roseman feel about having another sponsor in the dental category with the VGK?
JR: Roseman University is multi-faceted with academic programs and healthcare services, such a dental, that support the learning of our students and residents. This partnership will allow us to promote all aspects of the university.
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LVSB: How did Roseman arrive at putting the VGK logo and colors on a dental retainer? If the dental retainer is in the mouth of the Roseman dental patient, how will people see the VGK logo?
JR: The dental retainer was born from an idea by College of Dental Medicine orthodontic faculty and residents. A very larger number of patients – mostly youth – are Vegas Golden Knights fans. While the retainers aren’t visible outside of the mouth, kids are such huge fans that the novelty of having the logo on their retainer is special to them personally. In addition to the retainers, some patients request Vegas Golden Knights colored rubber bands on their braces. This allows them to color coordinate with the Vegas Golden Knights apparel.
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LVSB: Are there other Roseman items that carry the VGK logo? What was the patients’ reactions when they saw they could have a VGK logo on a retainer? Are sales going up because of the logo on the retainer?
JR: The Roseman University partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights is new, so this is the first use of the logo. The retainer was just introduced this week and it has created quite a buzz. This time of year we have a lot of patients having their braces removed and will be getting retainers, and many have already expressed interest in the Vegas Golden Knights design.
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The Golden Knights return to T-Mobile Arena Saturday night when the VGK host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7 p.m. LVSportsBiz.com will be returning to the Top of the Escalator at 5:45 p.m. when the doors open. Look for us on Facebook Live. And stop by and say hi at Top of the Escalator.
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