Arena board OKs marketing plan

The Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority on Tuesday approved an advertising campaign proposal for the Augusta Entertainment Complex.

The campaign proposal, pitched by Chris Rucker, who owns the downtown creative firm Kruhu, focuses on creating a voice for the entertainment complex, which includes James Brown Arena and Bell Auditorium.

The campaign would span about two years and would cost $50,000 for concept designs and project ideas, and creating assets that will be used in the campaign and beyond. Media buys for the campaign and show promotions could be an additional $28,500.

"We have sufficient enough funds that it won't put us in a bad position," said authority Chairman Cedric Johnson.

The campaign will primarily be visual and rely on print media, online platforms and digital billboards.

"Our goal is to create a message-driven campaign that will be visually and culturally integrated into the various outlets of advertising and promotion for the Augusta Entertainment Complex," Rucker said. "I think the result obviously is brand loyalty. The Augusta Entertainment Complex really hasn’t had that in the past."

Rucker said the length of the campaign is necessary to saturate the market and convey a cultural impact.

Though the complex has advertised shows in the past, it has not necessarily advertised the arena or auditorium as entertainment destinations.

"This is something that I think needs to resonate for a solid two years to catch the attention that it needs and the voice that it needs to communicate," Rucker said.

The authority approved the advertising campaign proposal, and the dissemination of the marketing information once it is received.

During the meeting, the authority also discussed fixing the leaking roof over the Bell stage, which has damaged the floor. Though the roof is under warranty, any damages to the floor as a consequence to issues with the roof are not covered. Repairs to the roof will likely cost about $31,000.

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