The Building Is Only the Beginning
The phrase “build it and they will come” has never been less true. A building, no matter how impressive, will not fulfill its potential without a strategic plan to activate it. A successful launch requires more than opening the doors. It requires a story that draws people in, a team prepared to deliver on that story, and a strategy that connects the space to its audience from the very beginning.
At CENTERS, every new facility is treated as a living system. The architecture may inspire, but activation sustains it. The key lies in applying a marketing lens throughout the entire launch process. Communication, audience development, and brand alignment are not final steps. They are foundational to the success of every modern venue.
From Construction to Connection
A functional venue is only the first step. The greater challenge is to build a community around it. Launching a new facility is not a single milestone. It is a process shaped by hundreds of decisions made long before opening day.
When CENTERS prepares a site for launch, our team integrates marketing thinking into every phase of start-up operations. Recruitment, training, readiness, and programming are all planned through the same lens: how will this choice shape the first experience for our guests?
This approach transforms the launch process into a collaboration among operations, marketing, and leadership. The goal is not only visibility but also viability. Every step builds both identity and audience.
Start with Strategy
The foundation of any launch is clarity of mission and message. What purpose does the new space serve? Who will it engage first, and who will follow?
At Johns Hopkins University, the Bloomberg Student Center is designed as a home for belonging and wellness. Every element of its launch strategy reflects that mission. Communications and events reinforce not just the building’s features, but the university’s values.
At the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, The Sonnentag Center represents a public-private partnership built to unite campus and community life. CENTERS’ marketing plan integrated partners such as Pablo Center and Visit Eau Claire early in the process. The result was an opening campaign that became a shared story of pride, collaboration, and regional identity.
Each example demonstrates that successful launches are driven by alignment. Design creates possibilities. Strategy creates meaning.
Embedding Marketing from the Ground Up
To activate a facility, marketing cannot sit apart from operations. It must inform every decision that shapes the guest experience.
From digital screens to staff orientations, each touchpoint tells part of the brand story. The marketing lens ensures that these stories are coherent, intentional, and consistent.
This integration also builds internal ownership. When staff understand the ‘why,’ they become ambassadors for the mission. The strongest form of marketing is a team that believes in the story it tells.
Build the Audience Before Opening Day
A successful venue launch follows a deliberate process that connects strategy, operations, and experience. At CENTERS, we developed a Launch Funnel Framework that ensures every facility opens with an audience that is already informed, engaged, and ready to participate.
This framework reflects years of operational and marketing experience across campus recreation centers, arenas, and event venues. It applies to the same discipline that drives large-scale event success but adapts to it for complex, multi-stakeholder environments. The result is a structured, repeatable process that builds momentum in four stages.
Phase 1: Awareness – Setting the Stage
The story begins long before opening day. In this stage, communications introduce the vision and connect it to the mission of the institution. Teasers, stakeholder updates, and early visuals create anticipation and establish purposes.
At Johns Hopkins University, the Bloomberg Student Center campaign focuses on belonging and well-being. The story centers on people, not the building, and helps students see how the space supports their experience before the first visit.
Phase 2: Engagement – Building Buzz Through Access
The engagement stage builds excitement through direct participation. Guided tours, ambassador programs, and behind-the-scenes storytelling invite people into the journey.
At The Sonnentag Center, partnerships with UW–Eau Claire Athletics, Pablo Center, and Visit Eau Claire expanded awareness through joint promotions and shared experiences. Each collaboration extended the reach of the campaign and strengthened community ownership.
Phase 3: Conversion – Turning Excitement into Action
The grand opening is both a celebration and a conversion point. It transforms curiosity into commitment. Through media coverage, digital campaigns, and promotional events, awareness becomes engagement.
At Longwood University’s Joan Perry Brock Center, the opening series positioned the arena as a regional destination for both athletics and entertainment. Every event was designed to deliver on the promise of access, energy, and connection.
Phase 4: Retention – Sustaining the Momentum
Retention measures true success. The post-launch period focuses on sustaining interest through programming, promotions, and continuous storytelling. Each new event reinforces purpose and extends reach.
A strong opening matters, but long-term engagement defines legacy. At CENTERS, every launch plan includes follow-up campaigns, performance tracking, and ongoing activation designed to maintain relevance and deepen connection.
Stretching the Budget and Amplifying the Impact
Resources are finite, but strategy creates leverage. Strategic partnerships multiply reach and credibility, while cross-department coordination ensures efficiency.
At The Sonnentag, collaboration with UW–Eau Claire Athletics and local tourism partners expanded marketing visibility without added cost. At Hopkins, integration among Student Affairs, Event Services, and Dining built a seamless launch experience for every audience. At Longwood, coordinated communications positioned the JPB Center as both a campus anchor and a regional venue.
A focused strategy allows each message to work harder. Every channel, partner, and event builds toward a single narrative: the facility as a living, mission-driven destination.
The Power of Simplicity
Clear, repeatable messaging creates alignment. Complex or clever campaigns may capture attention briefly, but simple and consistent communication builds credibility.
At CENTERS, we apply the Keep It Simple and Strategic principle to every launch. Messages are easy to understand, repeat, and share. This clarity ensures that every stakeholder, from senior leadership to student staff, can speak confidently about the facility’s purpose and impact.
Simplicity strengthens connection. When audiences understand the ‘why,’ they engage more deeply and more often.
Grand Openings That Soar
A grand opening is more than a milestone. It is the first expression of a brand and the foundation for everything that follows.
For CENTERS, the grand opening is where planning meets performance. Marketing, operations, and mission come together in one moment that defines the future of the space. The best events do more than draw a crowd. They inspire loyalty, belonging, and pride.
At The Sonnentag, the opening year is being designed as a sequence of activation moments that keep the facility at the center of community life. At Hopkins, early events are building excitement for a new era of student experience.
When done right, the launch is not the end of construction. It is the beginning of connection.
The Takeaway
A great building begins with design. A great launch begins with intention. The secret to success is embedding marketing throughout the process—from concept to community.
When planning a venue, plan the story as carefully as the structure. The audience you build will define the legacy you leave.