Minor League Hockey

Hockey Gets Another Shot…

March 2, 2010 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Thirty years ago we had the Miracle on Ice, and the sports world waited as Jim Craig, the triumphant U.S. goaltender, prepped for his NHL debut with the Atlanta Flames a week later. Coke made Craig the branding darling of the Olympics, and thousands of kids rushed out to buy hockey sticks across the country to try and relive the win of the Russians.  However at that time the NHL was suffering from a lack of aggressive leadership and branding at the top…coverage was not great outside of home markets, there was no social or online experience to expand the moment, and only a percentage of the great young Americans went on to have productive NHL careers, many of whom didn’t gel for a few years and were not ready for the bright lights of the top level of professional hockey at that point.  It was a great moment which has lived on, but a moment in the history of the star-crossed sport of hockey in the U.S.

The Mascot Fills A Bigger Branding Role…

February 17, 2010 by Joe Favorito · 2 Comments 

So it’s the middle of winter and you have no idea who your players are…or you are having a terrible season and the trade deadline looms and you need to keep your brand fresh and identifiable.  What to do?  The mascot. Now more than ever, with brands looking for more ROI, fans looking for personal engagement and athletes time limited, the value of having a fun, interesting and marketable mascot is higher than ever.  Ben Hill’s blog on milb.com points out dozens of minor league teams that trotted out nascot’s for Valentine’s Promotions or other teams that have unveiled new or updated mascots during the last few weeks to keep their brand top of mind with consumers.  The New Jersey Nets worked not a player, but their mascot, into a Super Bowl commercial, while NHL teams are trotting out mascots while their players are away or off during the Olympic break.  Now that it is so important to engage the entire family, older alumni may not always work as a compelling interraction, and the ability to have mascots in multiple places works as a fund rasier and a brand awareness tool.  It is true that many major market or more established brands (the Knicks, the Rangers, the Cowboys, the Dodgers) have never embraced the mascot theme, instead relying on the power of their brand and all the pieces around it to drive interest.  However for those really needing relevance, the investment in picking the right looking mascot and then marketing him, her or it appropriately, has become as valuable as any other brand campaign and one that is not taken lightly.

The Military, Don Cherry and Ugly Jerseys Create A Hit In Kingston…

October 25, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Much has been made of the NFL’s use of anniversary AFL jerseys this season. The created buzz and although luckily most of the Denver Broncos striped throwback socks won’t be at retail, the jerseys raised some extra interest. Whether that buzz is needed for the NFL to raise awareness who knows, but it certainly created a little more water cooler talk. However many other leagues and brands do need buzz, and one, The Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League, took three big steps this past week in helping a cause, identifying with a legend and creating some great exposure for the brand and for hockey in general. The Frontenacs hosted a Military Appreciation Fundraiser and brought in hockey legend Don Cherry on the same night, using Cherry’s appearance to move tickets and raise money for Soldier On, a charity which assists injured soldiers. However the team went one step further by creating a Cherry ugly jersey, looking like one of the legends, suits, and auctioned off each one, signed by Cherry himself, as an added fundraiser both online and in arena. The result…by creating a collectable, it was a “one time game used wear,” the team created buzz, and coupled that with a strong grassroots fundraiser that the community could rally around…to make this promotion another great example of how even in the smallest of markets a great idea promoted well can get national play.

In Search Of The Ultimate Fan Experience…

October 23, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The ying and yang that goes on between discretionary dollars fans can spend and getting premium access for those dollars is a battle that is only increasing in intensity for teams, brands and partners. With access to social media, much of which is free, teams have to continuously justify prices, knowing that the revenue stream for those dollars to the bottom line is more important now than ever as the larger pool of advertising spending goes south. So how does one create an effective, attractive and unique fan experience with limited resources and in the face of stiff competition…something which is truly unique for a fan, not cookie cutter…but still justifies both what the fan can spend and what the team, or even the partner brand, can justify as worth the investment.

Old School Branding:Mallards Give Everyone Something To Quack About…

October 20, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Maybe its because baseball just lends itself more to creativity because of the summer communal atmosphere and the tradition of promotion that the minor leagues lends itself to, or maybe we just notice it more because baseball has a bigger platform of a season, but it always seemed like that entreprenurial spirit of creativity should apply just as much to minor league hockey as it does o baseball. After all there are less dates usually to fill, in most cases less seats and in many cases less competition for the discretionary dollar in the winter than baseball combats in the summer. Yet for some reason, minor league hockey in the U.S…maybe there is less affinity to the game, maybe there is less money and less time spent on brand development, maybe the fans don’t connect to the team like in baseball…has never made the promotional impact that baseball has. Well don’t tell that to the Quad City Mallards. The Mallards have taken the page, well probably the whole book, from promotional and brand partnership, and under new owner Chris Lencheski have sought to redfine how minor league hockey brands and markets itself in an area where minor league sports can be king. From lockerroom access for fans to a great new in-goal Hardees promotion (written about by Sarah Talalay in the Florida Sun Sentinel and sure to be copied by others) the Mallards are providing a steady flow of information to media, creating compelling new partnerships and promotions, and making the team a must see for fun if not for hockey. They have created media partnerships with a junior reporter program, and found every possible way to connect to the community to drive interest as the season opens. Is it tough to stay relevant in an area which does not have a huge professional or even college sports following? Maybe. But the Mallards are taking every step possible to give fans and business partners a reason to support their efforts on and off the ice. The result may not be great in-game success but it will be a better, stronger brand, a quality family experience and good exposure to the sport for all involved, not to mention programs that could become even more of a best practice for arenas and their teams as they are for their baseball colleagues and their fields in the summer. Rocket science? Not at all. Understanding the marketplace, what attracts brands and how to communicate that experience to the media and to the fans? Absolutely. Hockey at all levels is a great experiential game. Here’s hoping that the Mallards and the experience they are building leads to an explosion of interest and smart business practices in the sport, just like we have in baseball.

Fan Ownership Worked In Soccer, Can It Work Baseball?

September 30, 2009 by Joe Favorito · 1 Comment 

Last year the UK soccer club Ebbsfleet United tried a novel approach to resurrect the club. They sold shares that gave fans a voting portion of all club decisions. Not only did they make enough money to have the club be financially viable, the team had a bit of a resurrection on the field and almost got to the point where the success was being shunned by the local supporters who had followed the club and their middling success, or lack there of. over the years. Could Ebbsfleet become a business model for success elsewhere? Thus far, the answer has been no. Probably more because of the economy than anything else, few have tried to find the initial cash and all the other pieces needed to launch such a venture, and the value of most teams in the United States, even at the minor league baseball and hockey level. is still well outside the realm of possibility for public, or fan owned properties. The minors are still much more business, with smart businesspeople and pretty well off owners (even in small towns), than mom and pop these days. However, enter into the mix the group of entrepreneurs in Connecticut, who have looked below the minors into the college wood bat league for an opportunity to give fans their due. The story was recently reported in the local edition of the New York Times, and tells the story of how four young men are taking that Ebbsfleet model, through the digital space and the grassroots to buy a team with fans making the business decisions and putting the team in Torrington, Connecticut. the group has built the site, Our Baseball Heaven, as an homage to the fan, where for a small investment everyone can own the team…a fantasy sports comes to reality approach. Now the idea has its problems…there is limited commercial viability in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, the team and the town do not have the passionate club following of an English soccer team or even a minor league team that has long been a part of the community, and the town recently lost its minor league ties because of lack of support…but the overall idea remains intriguing. Perhaps for the right people looking for a low cost investment in sports, it could work as a labor of love and a way to get on the job training. However for that you still need the capital to get started, and in this economy the explanation of buying some shares without seeing any or little chance or ROI with discretionary income is a stretch. However even if it doesn’t work this time, there is an upcoming time limit for submissions and the entries have not been what is hoped for, it does leave the door open for a larger business plan for another team, or maybe even an owner for the day concept, at some independent franchise. Duplicating what was done with the perfect storm at Ebbsfleet is a difficult task, but for someone with the right plan and the right amount of grassroots support, maybe that Heaven can be created somewhere in an North American field or pitch or rink. All about timing. Just ask the Ebbsfleet folks.

Majoring In The Minors: Sometimes It’s Just The Quest That’s The Fun Part…

August 24, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

One of the keys to minor league promotion is buzz…buzz leads to ticket sales and family fun, which is key when you are limited on marketing stars, who on the minor league level, are very transient. With that in mind one of the keys in buzz is always “new” or “fresh” or “first” or “record breaking.” The last one, record breaking, is always the most interesting, since it will give fans a sense of history, not to mention giving the team the ability to move more collectables or mementos from the event. World’s largest pizza, world’s largest pillow fight etc etc…have all come down the pike this year. However, as our friend Ben Hill pointed out recently in his column on the Business of Minor League Baseball, getting the “record” is not always that easy, nor is it always important. Hill studied the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ quest for the world’s largest game of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” a fun effort to get fans interested in a between innings promotion, with maybe a little sponsor tie thrown in. Did it matter at the end of the day that there was a challenge issued by the real recordholders in Taiwan? No. Were people excited to be involved? Yes. Did it sell tickets, combined with other promotions? Maybe. Did it generate a little buzz, especially when there was a bit of “controversy” thrown in? Yes. Does it give the Blue Rocks a chance to re-promote and try the assault on the record again? Yes, especially since everyone loves a comeback. The key points here are that the Blue Rocks found a promotion that was affordable, simple, involved all their fans, generated buzz and was at least semi-attainable. Whether it is a real or contrived “record” is not really the point. The point is they created a quest for a record, and sometimes the involvement in that quest is what gets people juiced and contributes to the fun of the experience.

Mallards Make Access Something To Quack About…

August 12, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The sanctity of the lockerroom before game time is probably viewed as the last piece of quiet for coach and player. Media access ends, most staff are out and teams can focus on the task of being a professional athlete. However as teams strive to find more ways to give fans and brands more and more ROI, even that sanctity can reach a compromise. The latest move in ultimate access is being offered up by the Quad City Mallards of the International Hockey League, who will allow access certain VIP seats lockeroom access as close as 30 minutes before game time, along with other exclusives for their elite season ticketholders. The Ice Row seats, a first for hockey, is probably one that can be emulated in other sports at the minor and collegiate level, and seems like a natural for sponsorship as well. As always there must be buy-in from the coach for such close game access, and both union and media rules would probably prohibit such close in lockerroom access at the highest levels, but for a franchise looking to be innovative the 30 minute rule is an interesting one, and it will be interesting as well to see whatever prohibitions will be looped in (cell phone cameras shooting chalkboards could be a small issue or Twitter reports on injured players), but the idea gets points for innovation, access and the potential of a nice sponsor return. Nice try by the Mallards to continue to offer more, and drive relevance and interest in the offseason, a brand building exercise that is wrote in minor league baseball but is now just moving to a new level in minor league hockey.

Why Second Tier Leagues Struggle…

August 5, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

The announcement this week that the Arena Football League, other than minor league baseball seemingly the strongest and most successful of any second tier leagues, is finally going out of business, raises the question why…in this economy, with people looking for affordable events at affordable prices, can’t second tier sports succeed. Even with solid branding plans, decent attendance in second tier markets, and understanding of grassroots marketing and good stories to tell to a fan base, leagues in soccer, football, tennis events, gold events, Mixed Martial Arts promotions, lacrosse, all seem to be falling by the wayside. The real answer is twofold really…the cost of event production is very high, and the support of the largest ticket buyer, the corporate support, is waning. Factor in the reality that television production for these events, although reduced through technology, still remains the true barometer of success, and rights fees are a thing of the past, and the ability to produce becomes a huge barrier to entry. Even minor league hockey, with a similar model as baseball, struggles now in many places. So why does minor league baseball succeed? First of all baseball is a social event more than a game. It is cost controlled by MLB in most places and the operators and marketers are a little more established in their markets than most other second tier sports. The length of season also gives so many more built in nights to sell and with the right revenue stream can become very lucrative. The teams are also year-round solid members of the businesses in those communities, an aspect that many second tier properties lack. Sometimes as the case now with the AFL and some others, the success of the league and the growth that is accompanying it creates failure itself…you simply become to big. Now can cost-contained arena football or indoor soccer exist and succeed? Yes. It actually did in some pockets last year, with af2 and other leagues. The question is can it be a sustainable national property which will draw media, TV and sponsors outside of the local market, or at least in regional partnerships. That remains to be seen. Lastly, does the consumer really need these events with the plethora of entertainment options available today…is it better to invest in participation sports and not worry about professional or elite events in some of these areas? The hope is that these events bring enough to the local economy and to the industry that they again become self-sustaining. However with the lack of public outcry…people these days seem to be content with moving on to another entertainment option…the real “need” for the AFL, the XSL, the IFL and so many others…may not be seen for some time by fans, brands or cities.

More Major Moves For The Minors…

February 17, 2009 by Joe Favorito · Leave a Comment 

Even as pitchers and catchers report in the States for Major League Baseball, our master marketers in the minors continue to be innovative and find ways to keep their local brands active, alive and relevant to the consumer, their partners and the media. Aside from the host of promotions announced taking off on the ARod and the Michael Phelps issues the past few weeks, there was the Fort Meyers Miracle, who immediately jumped on the story Julio Osegueda, the college student who questioned President Obama last week about benefits and then said he wanted to be a DJ or an announcer, and hired him to broadcast the Miracle’s home opener. Ben Hill broke the story on MILB.com, which has since made it to NPR and a host of other news organizations, garnering the Miracle great exposure outside of the market. Throw in the Lancaster Barnstormers, who turned their field into an ice rink (reported by Brian Gainor) for their season subs, and thats a great set of activation and brand growth in the minors that any innovator should take note of.

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