The client

The Brisbane Heat is one of Australia’s best cricketing teams. Off the field, the club is all about innovation, always thinking up new ways to engage and entertain their fans.

The situation

In 2016, The Brisbane Heat’s marketing team developed a campaign that would use virtual reality technology to give fans an immersive behind the scenes experience.

Given the unique nature of the promotion Brisbane Heat knew they needed a high-quality activations team.

As the first port of call, Marketing Manager, Taylor Deen looked to a promotions agency she’d used in the past.

“We found that the staff were just not the right fit for our project. There was a lack of enthusiasm from them which was creating a really poor experience for the fans

 

I needed staff who really cared about the fans and would love coming back to work with us throughout the season. I knew if I could deal directly with the staff, we’d have a chance of getting the right people.”

The solution

The Brisbane Heat started using Sidekicker as the platform provides full choice, transparency and control over who they hire, and gives The Brisbane Heat the opportunity to own the relationship with their temp staff.

“I just loved how it cut out the middleman. I could describe exactly what I wanted in my job request, and find people who were not only available but completely matched my criteria.

 

I could read their statements and almost immediately tell if they had the enthusiasm and energy I needed. By looking at the experience and reviews I could then shortlist people who had done work like this before.

 

I was blown away by how self-sufficient the Sidekicks were. They arrived ready to get things done and we were rapt with how they performed. They were always going above and beyond to make sure the fans were having a great time.” 

Using Talent Pools, Taylor curated a collection of her best-performing Sidekicks and simply allocated shifts to them first, allowing her to hire the same staff again and again.

“I’d trained enough Sidekicks that I had pretty good cover if someone wasn’t available. When I eventually exhausted my talent pool, I could just jump on the platform and post another request.”

The results

By the end of the season, Taylor and her Sidekick promo army had entertained thousands of fans whilst saving time and money previously spent on admin and training new staff. 

“By the end, I didn’t even have to train the new Sidekicks. I could just pair them up with a Sidekick who had done my training before the season and they would take it on themselves to get the new staffer up to speed.

 

I wasn’t having to babysit the teams at the activations every time. I was able to reclaim around 5-6 hours a week, that I could put back into preparation and making sure my teams were the best they could be.”