NHL needs to improve marketing

[canadienhater 0]

The fact is the NHL needs to market itself better and here is my plan

1. put NHL franchises in places where people know or have some idea of what hockey is no more nashville, atlanta/

2.take nascars approach to marketing which is this is what we are if you don t like us go to hell

3. stop catering to the casual fan and start catering to us the base in the early 90s when things were good and sports illustrated said on there cover hockey was the up and coming sport

these were the things i could think of off the top of my head please tell me what u think and anymore ideas

[high_stick69 7]

Huh? The NHL sucks at marketing? Wow, there's the surprise of the century.

[Guest Shoreline]

The fact is the NHL needs to market itself better and here is my plan

1. put NHL franchises in places where people know or have some idea of what hockey is no more nashville, atlanta/

2.take nascars approach to marketing which is this is what we are if you don t like us go to hell

3. stop catering to the casual fan and start catering to us the base in the early 90s when things were good and sports illustrated said on there cover hockey was the up and coming sport

these were the things i could think of off the top of my head please tell me what u think and anymore ideas

I pretty much just repeated #1 in another thread (Ducks win the Cup I think).

I don't think the NHL needs to market itself to other audiences. It's clear the biggest problem is keeping the current fans. Those are the ones that are disappearing. 2 lockouts, one season gone, an already relatively small fanbase (compared to other sports) and a s***load of small market teams winning bring what we have now. Not even the great new rules can change it due to incompetence starting from the top (Bettman).

[Kp-Wings 3]

Oh for the love of...

Jeez. It must have taken a brain surgeon to figure this out. The NHL sucking at marketing? That's new news to me! Damn, how could I never have realized?

[Yc172 3]

The NHL really does suck at marketing.. but i think they are really trying. People complain about there being no comercials for the season or playoffs.. but there were a ton of commercials, the problem was that they were only on VS. I watch sportscenter/espn almost every night and i have seen ONE ad for the NHL on VS. Its crap.

[WingNut199 0]

NHL needs to improve marketing

Duh.

[ShanahanMan 473]

Seattle Predators! Portland Thrashers!

[vangvace 12]

Vegas Gamblers!

[scotzman 29]

You really want to get the NHL back, you bring in people who love it, played it and can't live without it. You know, guys like Mickey Redmond, Don Cherry and Brett Hull may be entertaining and sometimes a little annoying (not Mickey... for me anyway), but they speak a lot of truth when it comes to the NHL and what it needs. Cherry was spot on in Game 4 (2nd Intermission) on NBC.

I think getting a hold of the people that made NASCAR a huge sport need to be lured away to the NHL. ESPN had the right idea back in the day, but more than anything, the NHL needs to be proud of what it is and market the toughness, the skill and the excitement.

Stop wussifying the sport and embrace the grit. Fighting ain't a bad thing people... neither is scoring. Market players and their personalities and you just might find some new fans.

[Guest bullocks]

Seattle Predators! Portland Thrashers!

fail, fail....and

Vegas Gamblers!

fail

[scotzman 29]

Vegas Gamblers!

Bay City Bettmans... sorry it's late.

[GoHabs007 0]

I think it's about time the NHL has gotta realise that it's a niche sport - always gonna take a back seat to NFL, MLB, & the NBA...It's not as though folks in Arkansas, Oklahoma, or Idaho haven't heard of nor seen hockey - it's just that they don't care. The NHL should worry about the hard core fan base vs trying to win over non-hockey fans.

Before Bettman took over, the NHL was on the verge of matching the NBA. The NBA was hurting after the retirement of people like Bird, Magic, and Jordan (his first time). The NHL was expanding and doing very well. Bettman comes in and boom: lockout just over a year after he took the job. Things have gone down hill ever since.

A Yahoo writer wrote a pretty funny article about it, joking that David Stern had Bettman take the job to ruin the NHL, haha. Doesn't seem so outrageous to a lot of fans. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=dw-bettman012907

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

More dismal ratings for Cup clincher

When the series switched to NBC, Game 3 was seen in 1.2 million homes and produced a 1.1 national rating, matching a July 2005 rerun of "The West Wing" as the lowest-rated prime-time broadcast in NBC history.

The Ducks' 6-2 win over Ottawa on Wednesday night received a 2.5 overnight rating and 4 share, NBC said Thursday. That marked a 14 percent drop from Game 5 last year, a 4-3 overtime victory by Edmonton over Carolina.

Ouch. I wonder how much of that is marketing, and how much is that a Ducks/Senators series isn't all that exciting. At least not without Emelio Estevez.

I think Versus is part of the problem. I have friends in different states that hadn't seen any NHL games all season beyond the local team because VS doesn't exist where they live. Marginal hockey fans didn't even know the playoffs were going on! bah!

[55fan 5,133]

This is more my gut than brain speaking here, so feel free to poke holes in my thoughts........

Where I live, game 3 was pre-empted by a telethon (sorry for the repetition to those who have heard me ***** in other threads). From what I understand, the station managerhad to schedule it in advance of knowing the actual dates and had scheduled the telethon for Saturday under the assumption that the game would probably be played on a Sunday.

I would suggest that the NHL schedule the cup earlier. Sure, we don't know how long it will take for each best of 7, but by time we are down to 4 teams, let's just assume that it might take all 7 games and schedule the Final.

The advertising could get out earlier, local stations would know not to schedule other things for those times, and fans that work odd hours (like me) could get our Waterfoul that shall remain nameless in a row. (misspelling intentional)

The playoffs are an ideal time to hook new fans. The excitement level is cranked.

If we're talking about marketing, scheduling is key. Advertising and a decent station don't hurt either, but others have already covered that.

Just my opinion.

[luvmnger 125]

if i could take over the NHL advertising abilities and the money available.....

i would beg/plead/force/threaten to get the bud light advertiing team to handle the commercials.

i would work my way through hollywood and contract stars that ARE hockey fans to step up and support the NHL and their favorite teams in commercial advertising/billboards/magazine ads.

i would hire GODSMACK (hardcore bruins fans) to release the rights to "whatever" as the new theme song for the NHL (violent,passionate,in your face,aggresive,attitude)video type commercials with fast paced images of hits,saves etc....

and this would be directed by Mr. Jerry "i will get a hockey team in las vegas" Bruckheimer....

the untapped potential of celebrities is astronomical....michael j fox, kiefer sutherland, denis leary, michael myers, garth brooks of all people!

come on people.....saving the NHL while keeping our dignity is easy....it just costs money, and a f***in clue.

[Shockwave180 0]

How about this novel approach; advertise a big-time heated rivalry ie Red Wings/Leafs during a NCAA/NFL football game?

Wings-Leafs? That doesn't happen anymore, son.

Yes, the NHL is bad at marketing. In other news, water is often wet, and the sky tends to be blue.

[SoupGuru 0]

The NHL needs to embrace its position as the rejects of the American sports world. They need to stop trying to make it a clean, family fun, 'aw geez shucks' sport...

Start playing up how rough it is. The NHL is badass and these people play with injuries and hardly have any teeth, that's how rough it is. Become the rebels. Bring back fighting. The NHL is the only "major league" sport that tolerates fighting to a certain regard. Embrace that, use it to sell the game. Realize you're never going to get the number of viewers that the other sports get so cultivate your hardcore fans - don't sell them out.

[EastLansingNative 1]

fail, fail....and

fail

WRONG!!!

I'm usually pretty quiet around here, but I have to step in and call BS when I see it.

Have you ever even been to Oregon?

I've lived in Eugene for 8 years, moved here from East Lansing Michigan, and Portland is only an hour and a half drive north.

The WHL's Portland Winter Hawks have a great following, and have been around since the 70's.

Wiki

The entire state of Oregon only has one major league pro sports team, the NBA's Trailblazers.

People here are insane about the 2 colleges and their teams.

They also just started up a pro Lacrosse team, and they're doing really well too.

I think they'd have to change the name of a team to the Portland Tsunami, or back to the Portland Rosebuds.

Its more relevant, and would give them a fresh start.

Here are some more good wiki's for those who claim to know about hockey in Oregon. (Bullocks)

Portland Rosebuds

Portland Buckaroos

PCHL

I don't have a stat handy, but I know the Winter Hawks are near the top of their league in attendance every year.

They've taken to calling it "Hawkey Town".

NHL2PDX.com

What do you think Jaytan? I'm curious as to your take on it.

[Legionnaire11 0]

F.Michael is spot on. Advertise during events/programs other than hockey. I mean... hockey fans are already watching, you don't need to market to them.

Also, the NHL needs to build better business partners. Bud Light was probably the closest that they had to really having that. But they need more. Geico would be a good one, I think they're already with the NHL, just start pumping up that partnership more. Everyone knows Geico and their variety of commercials, get more NHL exposure with them. What about a charity organization? the NFL and United Way partnership is the best known in sports. You see those commercials everywhere.

Outside of straight up fixing games. Do something more to get fans in major media markets excited about hockey. New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit. If those cities are going absolutely crazy for hockey, then the league is doing well.

[Guest jaytan]

I've only lived here for a year, and I lived in Seattle for about as long earlier in the 2000s. This season, the Winterhawks really sucked, so there wasn't as much excitement as I witnessed as an out-of-towner coming to games previously. WHL hockey is very successful in both Portland and Seattle, though, and Portland's got Seattle beat on a few counts:

1. The Rose Garden in Portland would be a nice NHL arena. Key Arena in Seattle is awful and the NHL would never allow them to use it.

2. Seattle is only a tad bigger than the Portland/Vancouver, Wash., area but they've got NFL, NBA (for now), MLB and major Division I NCAA teams. Here, there's only the NBA, minor league baseball and soccer, and a I-AA NCAA football team.

3. Seattle is only about a two-hour drive from Vancouver.

[canadienhater 0]

Last December 9th it did

Should happen again this 2007-2008 season; in T.O. if I'm not mistaken unless of course Bettman wants us to take on Columbus a few more times

It shows you that bettman does nt know s*** about tradition

[Guest jaytan]

NBC's Hockey Night in America - featuring America's home-team Rangers every time, and then the Red Wings playing a road game on the Coast. Brett Hull gets to play Grapes.

A Murder She Wrote re-run gets better ratings.

[ZAMBONI 0]

NBC's Hockey Night in America - featuring America's home-team Rangers every time, and then the Red Wings playing a road game on the Coast. Brett Hull gets to play Grapes.

A Murder She Wrote re-run gets better ratings.

Time for the nhl to do another diversity campaign with Willie O'ree. Reaching markets not considered prime by the nhl is the next step. The people who can afford to watch hockey live already do so,it would be nice for the nhl to buy blocks of seats for those less fortunate to attend games and drive up the interest in markets they wouldn't normally target. Its broken Mr Bettman please fix it.

[55fan 5,133]

Maybe out on a limb here, but what we should try targeting the NFL audience. Our schedules overlap for only a few months, so after January they are looking for something. Before I rediscovered hockey, I would go into a post-SB depression. Now I am fine until June.

Here's my plan: Dump NBC and get a one-year contract with FOX. They already have Sunday afternoons blocked out for one or two NFL games, depending on your area of the country. Once our season starts, they could run a hockey game in the markets that would only get one football game per week (the hockey game would obviously be in the time slot that football is not in).

During the NFL season (esp the palyoffs) FOX could promote the heck out of NHL. Then during the week between playoffs and SB, they could show hockey instead of birdwatching, or whatever they show. After the football season is over, it could be 2 NHL games/week. We might get some carryover, and start a new fanbase.

I've kept up my Lions fanship for 40 years even though I only get to see them thrice a year. That kind of exposure, with that kind of marketing, would do wonders for the NHL.

[vangvace 12]

Maybe out on a limb here, but what we should try targeting the NFL audience. Our schedules overlap for only a few months, so after January they are looking for something. Before I rediscovered hockey, I would go into a post-SB depression. Now I am fine until June.

Here's my plan: Dump NBC and get a one-year contract with FOX. They already have Sunday afternoons blocked out for one or two NFL games, depending on your area of the country. Once our season starts, they could run a hockey game in the markets that would only get one football game per week (the hockey game would obviously be in the time slot that football is not in).

During the NFL season (esp the palyoffs) FOX could promote the heck out of NHL. Then during the week between playoffs and SB, they could show hockey instead of birdwatching, or whatever they show. After the football season is over, it could be 2 NHL games/week. We might get some carryover, and start a new fanbase.

I've kept up my Lions fanship for 40 years even though I only get to see them thrice a year. That kind of exposure, with that kind of marketing, would do wonders for the NHL.

I was thinking about this on the drive home from work. It could evolve into interesting cross-promotion.

For instance... show a receiver getting creamed going across the middle, fade into Holstrom. "If you think that's a hit check this out" and go into either some good hits or Holstrom getting beaten up in front of the goal.

Show a one handed catch and have Crosby or Datsyuk come in with "that's skill but this is talent. Enter pretty goal montage.

Reverse it with Oveckin's (?) on his back goal and show a great catch montage...

Neither league would go for it but it's an idea