It is slow and steady progress, this brand building stuff. However one thing seems pretty sure, hockey as a property that can engage an active lifestyle, satisfy it's core fans and find ways to draw attention to big events is doing a great job. A few cases in point. First on the college level, the “Big Chill at the Big House,” the Michigan-Michigan State game at Michigan Stadium, found a way to become a spectacle despite the fact that the NHL Winter Classic was less than a month away and was already drawing sponsor and media interest. The hook of being the largest crowd ever to watch a hockey gam. (over 109,000) was great and wil. be the biggest takeaway, but all the ancillary benefits…games of all levels being played before, a strong TV presence, quality hockey and the lure of two Big Ten schools at a time when football is usually king… made the event a success outside of its walls, while two marketing savvy schools found ways to draw partner dollars to offset the costs. The game actually served as a very nice door opener for all things hockey leading up to this year's Winter Classic.
Then there is the NHL and the great distance they have traveled as an overall brand activation platform in recent years. The Winter Classic is now the sport's mainstay on the big event calendar, and each year the league is able to tak. the game and use all its assets…TV, social media, digital enhancements, partnership activation…to build the event even bigger than the year before. Media Post had a great summary of how the pieces are moving together for the game, and how the pieces will have long range positive effects in who and how the NHL can engage the consumer going forward. The addition of perhaps the Winter Classic's biggest partner, HBO Sports, also infinitely raises the perception of the sport amongst casual fans, creates great buzz and opens a platform for fan engagement that had not existed before in hockey, or for that matter for any team sport during the regular season. Maybe there are too many “F bombs” dropped by Bruce Boudreau, the Caps coach, but the show has showcased the personality of the organizations (both perfectly selected for this year since they both Pittsburgh and Washington both seem ti understand the responsibility and the opportunity this gives the sport) and really gives true insight on a minute by minute basis for what it is like in the inner sanctum. Almost every league has dropped microphones from time to time, done indepth pieces and used television as a platform to showcase the sport. The difference here is really the unknown. It is a first time look into hockey and its names and where and how they play, and it is being done very consistently with all the trappings HBO brings to its productions. NFL Films does things on a grand scale, as do MLB and the NBA, but the consistent intimate access in a commercial free environment for the NHL is really unprecedented and helps the NHL raise the bar for what can be done in the future for the fan and for its brand partners.
The evolution of the Winter Classic is a great next step for the sport, following up on a great Olympics, renewed interest on the collegiate level and hopefully a growing level of participation on the youth level around the United States. There are obviously labor challenges and issues still with some teams in smaller markets during a challenged economy, but to see how far the sport of hockey in general and the NHL in particular has come in terms of fan engagement, TV innovation, and digital activation and accessibility is impressive, and makes the entore industry wonder what will be next for the hottest sport on the coldest surface.
