Event Promotion

Target Center

UFC 87, Minneapolis

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has a phenomenal national media image and presence. But when the UFC broke into a new marketplace, the Twin Cities, would they be able to attract the attention of the local fan base and persuade them to embrace the product—and pay the up to $600 face value for a ticket to sit close to the Octagon?

The Leer Communication team was hired by Target Center to generate event ideas that would result in the kind of excitement this world-wide-televised pay-per-view card demanded. Among other tactics, we staged a pre-fight media event in the Mall of American that attracted one of the biggest throngs of media to ever attend an event there. More than 200 media outlets from around the world reported on the UFC’s arrival in the market, triggering unprecedented interest and coverage few local media outlets had seen before.

When the curtain went up on the event, a sold-out Target Center set a venue record for the biggest event ever in the arena’s twenty-year history, grossing more than $2.3 million. Media goals accomplished.