Ticats Marketing: Hamilton Proud in Stipley

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats marketing campaign in the Stipley neighbourhood where the stadium is located is brilliant.

The Cats went door-to-door giving out free large "Hamilton Proud - Stipley Neighbourhood" Tiger-Cats flags that people could hang from their front porches. (The Ticats also handed out free tickets for the pre-season game)

As I biked along Cannon a few weeks ago, I saw dozens of the flags flying in the neighbourhood - creating an atmosphere of excitement about the stadium, and enhancing neighbourhood pride.

The next day, on the GO bus, a group of people who live in Stipley (and from how they spoke, I believe they are recent Hamiltonians) were speaking about the flags with pride - they love hanging them on their porches. They also spoke of their neighbourhood as Stipley.

I lived on Wilson at Chestnut, and Barton at Avondale - one block outside of Stipley on each side. I never heard Stipley used in my time living near there. This is a nice change to hear.

For the Tiger-Cats, more closely aligning themselves with the neighbouring community is a smart move. It creates a game day atmosphere, will prevent complaints during game day, and with the Ticats campaigning to host a Grey Cup, they need to have strong neighbourhood support.