New Jersey Devils launch a social media hub at their arena

Every night when the New Jersey Devils suit up and take to the ice at the Prudential Center, another team is hard at work in the same building.

For the past two weeks or so, 25 Devils fans known as the Devils Army Generals, along with about four full-time employees, have staffed the new Mission Control social media nerve center to respond to fan questions and ask for input. They’re there on game nights and every other day of the week.

“I was looking for the energy that’s created by bringing people together,” says Richard Krezwick, president of Devils Arena Entertainment, the management company for both the Devils and the Prudential Center. “There’s just no getting away from the face-to-face contact in producing energy. We were looking to create a buzz.”

And they have. In the short time since Mission Control launched, Twitter and Facebook response has spiked, Krezwick says, and more people are buying Devils merchandise online.

Starting the mission