College football, Crisis Management, NFL, NHL, SI.com

NHL Sends A Great Global Execution Message…

When looking to stage the excitement of a product in a new environment, leagues will often take the cautious approach and go with preseason exhibitions or friendlies.  More recently both MLB and the NFL have taken the strides to play regular season games around the world, which is usally a better representation of product, and sends the messages to business partners and those in market that they are taking the fan experience seriously.  Teams often balk at the regular season problem, which can result in loss of gate and disruption of schedule in many cases.  However the NHL set some great examples on how to approach the global game this week, and even sent some messages to the Premier League as they take their action globally in the future, as the story in the Mirror pointed out this week.  Was it an inconvenience to the teams to make the trek for the extended period?  Yes.  Did it build brand for the league?  Yes. It it keep the teams away from local media coverage in a time of year where sports have become pretty quiet during the week and media budget constraints did not permit travelling? Yes.  However the brand building, merch oppts and good will, especially combined with quality competition, will probably play in the NHL’s favor as they look to gain brand abroad in hockey friendly and emerging markets with the casual fan.  Kudos to the NHL for getting a good global play and positive reviews.

Some other good reads…the Christian Science Monitor has a good piece on all the ways a fan can touch and experience a sports event these days, most right at his fingertips…wsj.com has a solid q and a with the Blackhawks John McDonough on his franchise resurrection plan…the Wichita Eagle has a good piece on the issues with obscenities involving fan chants around Kansas football games…and si.com has a look at how the economy is effecting the fan experience and how it will change going forward.