Student turnout at a looped in-hosted viewing party Tuesday for the Boston University men’s hockey Beanpot Tournament semifinal was sluggish despite high hopes.
Information about the gathering at Sunset Cantina, hosted by mobile payment application looped in, was shared through social media and was expected to bring students who were unable to attend the game, said Rivka Tadjer, CMO and chief of strategic development of looped in.
“The owner at Sunset Cantina loves us. He’s doing buy-one-get-one free meals,” she said in an interview before the viewing party. “He wants to be close to the university, so people who couldn’t go to the Beanpot because the supply is so limited and the demand is so great.”
Looped in partners with universities in the Boston area, Tadjer said. At BU, it sponsors on-campus events for Boston University Athletics and the Dean of Students office.
More students were projected to attend looped in’s after party, especially those returning from BU women’s hockey’s Beanpot Tournament semifinal match at Harvard University, Tadjer said.
“On social media, it’s really hard to tell because if people leave the Beanpot, they could come there in droves,” she said. “[If] they’re coming back from the Beanpot on the T, they’re going to get off right in front of it [Sunset Cantina], and they’re going to know about it [the party].”
Michael Froio, the field marketing assistant for looped in, said although the app caters to all college students, events and information booths revolve mostly around BU sports games.
“Given the sponsorship we’ve gotten, it’s hard not to come to an athletic event as of late and not see looped in there,” he said. “We have a strong university athletic fan base.”
Froio said smaller gatherings like the one in Sunset Cantina are a change of pace from looped in’s usual set up at Agganis Arena.
“Merchant events are more on the intimate side. It is more for people that frequently come to Sunset and looped in users,” he said. “This [the turnout] is typical.”
Chelsea Beytas, a senior in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said she attended the viewing party because she is a hockey fan and a looped in user.
“I received an email about it. Coming was a good alternative to get promotion items with looped in money and some food,” she said. “If not [here], where would they be showing it? I have a 22-inch TV at home, plus the atmosphere here is bigger.”
Several students said they were not aware of the viewing party and may have been interested had they known in time.
Tara Taybah, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said weather might have been one of the factors preventing students from attending.
“The bar is so far away from campus, and it’s so cold. I live by there, but for people living in East Campus, it would be a harder time getting out there. Most people wouldn’t skip out on free stuff.”
Kieran Redmond, a junior in the College of Communication, said turnout would have been better if the event did not fall on a weekday.
“My problem is that weeknights are terrible for events. I have night classes,” he said. “If I weren’t going to the game, I would be interested. If I was looking to stop in for an hour or between classes, that would be a good alternative to going to the game.”
Redmond said that reaching out to a larger audience could get more students to come to looped in gatherings.
“I’ve seen them at games, but they should have more of an outreach and be involved at student events [and] diversify their demographics,” he said. “Those who attend games are only a small population of the student population.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story spelled Rivka Tadjer’s last name incorrectly. The story also included a quote from Michael Froio stating that looped in has an event space at Agganis Arena, which is not a true statement. The story has been updated to reflect both changes.
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