Peterborough Petes Director of Marketing & Growth Shelbi Kilcollins Prioritizes Inclusivity and Diversity In Hockey

1Tell us about your role as Director of Marketing & Growth for the Peterborough Petes. What does a typical day look like for you?

As the Director of Marketing and Growth with the Petes I oversee the small but mighty marketing department of the team, which includes Riley Maracle, Sr. Coordinator of Game Operations, Justin Currier, Communication Coordinator, and Connor Massie, our Marketing and Events Assistant (in addition to our team of interns and co-op students).

Under our umbrella, we oversee all digital and print content creation, the execution of all corporate partnership digital assets, media relations, the Petes Alumni Relations Program, major and virtual events, game operations, fan engagement and community initiatives.

Similar to most who work in the sports industry, my itinerary differs dramatically from day to day.

On an average day, I am editing a variety of content that comes across my desk, coordinating interviews with staff and players for media, and working with other external stakeholders to launch/plan upcoming events or campaigns.

2The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the way sports organizations execute their marketing and promotions initiatives. How have you adapted to these changes using new and innovative marketing efforts in order to reach stakeholders?

We take a lot of pride in how the Petes have adjusted our marketing strategies over the last six months.

Our content creation has shifted to include the secondary and tertiary stories of the organization, including the behind-the-scenes of the staff that allows the business to operate, alumni stories with a human-interest twist, and those of our most notorious fans.

Riley Maracle has put together an incredible Thursday night virtual show that is streamed from our Facebook page live, called TNL.

This is a spin-off of SNL and includes a Q&A session with a crucial figure in hockey and components of our game night (intermission activations, etc…).

During this time we have been able to take on a more analytical approach in assessing what kind of content we need to be putting out.

We also haven’t forgotten the bread and butter of our organization which is using the Petes platform to draw fans together, in person.

With the assistance of Peterborough Public Health, the City of Peterborough, and Peterborough Police we were able to execute a city-wide trick-or-treating event, the Petes Not-so-Scary Halloween (trick or treating was cancelled this year in Peterborough).

The parade-style event saw Petes mascot Roger and the Petes staff deliver candy to thousands of kids, and turned into a marquee event of the fall. We doubled-down at Christmas time (Petes Very Merry Christmas), with a similar style event that stretched a distance three times the size of the Halloween event and included more floats.

Beyond the excitement and fan engagement of the event, we were able to collect over 1300 points of data across the two events, which has been a focus of ours throughout the last 6 months. 

3We would love to share your favourite moment(s) from working in marketing for the Peterborough Petes with our audience! Tell us about some of your favourite marketing content, promotions or general moments throughout your career. What made them special to you?

I’m incredibly passionate about making hockey a safer, more welcoming sport.

A large focus of our work this year has been centered around making the sport more accessible at every level.

One of my favourite events we ever executed was a Try Hockey Night with the Peterborough New Canadian Centre. On November 14, 2019, we welcomed 60 new Canadians for Try Hockey Night.

All 60 new Canadians, who ranged from 6 to 60 years of age, were introduced to hockey with the help of the Peterborough Girls Hockey Association Peewee AA Ice Kats who showed and taught the group how to skate, hold a hockey stick, shoot the puck, and many more on-ice activities.

Since the event, we have launched a pilot program in supporting families financially and logistically of the New Canadian Centre in joining a local minor hockey program with the help of the Gainey Foundation, and hope to roll it out into a more formal program.

4A part of your role is creating and facilitating long term hockey fans while bridging the gap between the Peterborough Petes and groups that are marginalized when it comes to the sport of hockey. How do you feel bridging this gap invokes positive change within the Peterborough Petes community?

Listen, there has been so much gatekeeping in hockey that hurts those trying to access it and the growth of the game.

Peterborough is a compassionate community that prides itself on being a hockey hub, and it's our responsibility internally to hold people accountable and create an inclusive, anti-racist environment where kids see the Petes as an organization they want to be a part of.

Beyond the conduct, we need to answer the systemic issues like: how can we offer free accessible hockey programming because the sport costs so much?

Have we offered content that highlights the diverse range of voices in hockey?

The Petes are a key organization in the Peterborough community and we understand that by taking meaningful action to answer these questions, we will create a welcoming, more inclusive city.