In a competitive sports market, the National Hockey League is trying to catch up and compete with the other major sporting leagues through innovative marketing tactics and embracing the emergence of new forms of media and technology. At its current state, the marketing of the NHL is adapting to new marketing strategies in order to expand its revenue and reach new audiences. The current COO of the NHL has been using the techniques of other leagues and implementing them into the league’s scheduling and promotion. Furthermore, order to expand its financial capabilities, the NHL is also exploring new forms of bringing in revenue from sponsors and ad placements. Finally, with the rapid progression of technology and data, the league is constantly …show more content…
While some of these strategies are basic innovations to an already existing platform, others are much more controversial. One avenue that the League is exploring is sponsored jerseys, similar to that of major European football leagues (Dewhirst, 2016). With this strategy, players’ jerseys would have sponsors’ logos placed directly on them, and this has already been tested in more controlled environments such as the World Cup of Hockey. While John Collins, the leagues current CEO, has said that that these types of sponsorship strategies will be inevitable in the future, there is a worry that the use of sponsored jerseys will receive backlash from fans. The various conflicts between players, teams and the League also come into question, as many of the sponsors for each level of brand have competing interests. A less controversial approach that was experimented by the League is a simple innovation to a current medium: virtual advertisements on rink boards. Using infrared technology, a virtually overlay can be displayed on the traditional rink boards in order for ads and sponsors to have more customizable and creative placements (Krashinsky, 2016). This makes the NHL’s marketing capabilities much more versatile, as they can now cater their placements based on viewing region, nationality, and scale. Companies who want their content to take over the entire …show more content…
As cameras get smaller and more versatile, fans are now able to have views of the game that they never had access to before; one such example is the RefCam. The technology is a broadcast-ready helmet that “transmits video from the users to broadcast in real time, allowing fans the chance to watch hockey from the perspective of someone on the ice” (CBC, 2016). The camera was developed out of Windsor, Ontario by Chris Stramacchia, who wanted a way to have an on-ice view of his son’s hockey game in 2014. Fast-forward to 2016, his technology was debuted in in the NHL All-Star Game and is now being implemented into the league’s regular programming (CBC, 2016). Data has also been an emerging factor in the way in which the NHL markets its content. Information such as “ticket and merchandise purchase data, what fans are doing at the game, and how they’re engaging across digital platforms and social media” (Bruell, 2017) are also useful tools to understand how consumers behave and in turn, how to reach them. Using this data, the NHL and its teams can cater their content in their broadcasting and online presence to the demographics that that they want to attract the most. This, in turn, will shape the NHL’s marketing strategy for the future and as the league responds to its new data, this process will continue to
The National Football League (NFL) and NASCAR thrive on sponsors and vice versa. An NFL game is by far the most watched single game event in the country and gaining popularity exponentially worldwide. Their championship, the Super Bowl, is arguably the most watched television program in that particular year. In NASCAR, the Daytona 500 is their “Super Bowl” and is a very large event in its own right. Corporations all over the world jump on these mega advertising vehicles with the hope that their name is popularized which will result in profitability. In many cases, most of those who do buy airtime during NFL games, the Super Bowl, and during the major NASCAR races are very visible names and products that we already know about. Most of the time, these companies are trying to market new products or products that have been enhanced.
As stated in my thesis statement, the sport of hockey has been forced to compete with the growing mass popularity with other sports such as basketball and football. There once was a point in time where hockey had just as much popularity as those sports but because people are finding more interest in those sports, the National Hockey League found itself in a “drought” of unimportance with other sports. With not televising the sport as “commonly” as other sports.
Mr. Greg Anger as the Director of Marketing for Irwin Sports must introduce a marketing communication strategy for Ice and In-line Cover Ups for goalies. Two of the major challenges facing Mr. Anger are the two different major geographical marketing areas; Canada and the United States, and the introduction of an innovative product that is very new to the marketplace. In addition, he has a capital constraint of $115,000 to choose the best communication strategy.
“If you try to sell products to everybody, you can waste money on advertising to people who aren't interested (Johnston, n.d.). The statement is true in the sports business industry. Many organizations and companies will waste money on marketing to consumers who just are not interested. Creating and understanding the consumer profile of the target market an organization is trying to reach is essential when gaining fans and having successful business. For this assignment, I chose the NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings.
Sporting is one of the universal activities that brings people from different backgrounds together and is viewed as an income generating activity that creates revenue for the participants as well as the location where the activities are held. The NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament is one of the most anticipated sporting events in the US that attracts a high number of fans in the cities where it is held. Before the Final Four is held in given location, it is imperative for the organizers to have a detailed understanding of the venue so that they can introduce marketing strategies that are in line with the demands of the fans (Snipes & Ingram, 2007). The host committee is charged with the responsibility to come introduce an exhilarating experience for the locals and visitors. Owing to the interest generated
When one talks about a major-league soccer (MLS) team like the LA Galaxy, it is unlikely that the term marketing will come up. LA Galaxy was one of ten teams that formed the Western Conference of the MLS in 1996. The LA Galaxy has been the most successful franchise in the MLS and has several conference and championship wins to their credit. Part of their continued success is the ability to recruit and sign some of the biggest soccer players from the United States, Brazil, Ireland, Italy and Panama. The LA Galaxy teams draws about 23,000 fans to each of their games. It may be hard to believe, but MLS attendance has surpassed both the NBA and NHL (Smith, 2013).
In a presentation by Alex Hagan, the details of the principals of the NHL’s mission statement are outlined. They include: providing an international environment to NHL ice hockey for its teams and players to regularly compete at the highest level, delivering long term financial benefits to participants and shareholders which contributes to the growth and success of NHL ice hockey, creating additional value in terms of sport, finance and
Recommendations to achieve a sustained competitive advantage: Online, mobile, and store purchase will certainly increase customer traffic with the online and store combinations gives Target Corporation with a best possible low-cost price. A best-cost provider strategy allows Target to position itself and compete with low-cost providers such as Walmart. In addition, it employs a competitive strategy with a designer label along with superior supply chain, increased operational capabilities, and skilled employees. . The strategy of sending coupons are huge for a customer, so increase discount based on their purchase history and use the store brand credit card to attract more customers.
I have choosen to use th XFL as a marketing vehicle for my energy/supplement bar. The XFL has been able to position itself as a fast paced hardcore football league. The nature of the leage would compliment the nature of my product in that people will assosiate my product with the action on the field. The league is focusing on a younger active audience and that is the same target market that I am looking to reach with my product. The high awareness and anticipation for the league makes this an ideal time for my product to be introduced to the market.
Global BC, "The NHL in Winnipeg: the economic impact." Last modified May 31, 2011. Accessed January 8, 2012. http://www.globaltvbc.com/the+nhl+in+winnipeg+the+economic
...know" (The Canadian Press, 2013). Hockey is one of the most difficult sports out there, and dropping the gloves and looking another fighter straight in the face is one of the most challenging parts of it. Getting rid of fighting will not necessarily make the game safer, and it could potentially cause a decrease in the number of fan viewership. The players and leagues understand what they are getting themselves into and they are aware of the culture of the sport, which is rich with fighting history. They respect that aspect of the game, and they respect their opponents as players and fighters. There will never be a time when everybody is happy about the state of fighting in hockey, but for now, the NHL is taking the right steps toward maintaining this historically important part of the game, while also making adjustments to keep the players as safe as possible.
Based on the information provided in the document, The new Economics of the NHL, by T. Keller, it states, “Only one 5fth of the NHL’s teams are Canadian, yet the country’s fans account for nearly one third of the league’s revenues” (Keller, 2011). This demonstrates that despite Canada’s relatively low population to the United States and lower team numbers in the country, Canada still accounts for one third of the NHL’s revenues. Even when Canadian dedication is compared to hockey in the United States, who has more NHL teams and higher population, Canadians still contribute significantly to the leagues overall sales. If Canada had even more teams in different locations, such as Quebec, this revenue contribution could possibly grow even more and further establish the bond Canada has with hockey
Technology is changing everything around us including our sports. With modern technology now, we can implement it into our professional sports to make the games fair. Instant replay is the most important luxury in our sports today. It allows officials and the fans to look back at the recent play and decide if the correct call was made. Not all sports have implemented it into its rules yet. The commissioners of America’s favorite sports are discussing the rules of instant replay and are including the use of it into the sports. Instant replays are the most accurate source for officials to use, and should be used in all professional sporting events. A con to having instant replays in any sporting event is that it takes away human error which can be seen as defacing sports. Although using instant replays in professional sports makes the game longer, it is great for the officials to use instant replays because there will not be wrong calls made in baseball, football, and hockey.
Sports are one thing that unite people from various backgrounds. The idea of being up-to-date with trends is also something that is idolized over different cultures. The key place to find the latest and greatest trend is from the youth’s interest and sporting events. The fact that “RBMH covered all the various aspects of its marketing tools from making online feature films, television coverage, sports magazine called The Red Bulletin, and an in house record label” means that Red Bull is not afraid to dabble into new industries in order to expand their brand (Kansara, 4). Red Bull also has a unique 4-pack packaging that differentiates them from their competitors (Kansara, 4). Supporting over 500 extreme sports athletes leaves little to no room for competitors to try and be seen in the sports industry (page 6). Red Bull also uses social media, such as Twitter, to truly connect with their consumers rather than solely sale their product. They hope to remain a privately owned company (Kansara, 9), eliminating room for unauthentic replication of their brand. They also strongly connect to the youth because they are noted as a “rebellious drink” (Kansara,
This started with the introduction of gate fees. As more and more players and spectators took an interest in hockey, the cost of keeping arenas and ice surfaces in shape was also increasing. While Canadian leagues were still considered amateur, “they were becoming much more commodified, as growing numbers of spectators were charged admission fees to games and teams were becoming more sophisticated in their acquisition of players.” If arena and league owners were profiting from the game why were the players not? As hockey was becoming more and more like a business, it would seem that the transition to professional players was