Wednesday, April 9, 2008

New digital world to better market NHL

I found this article linking social media to the National Hockey League. It focuses on trying to sell hockey to Americans, a particularly difficult task. Completely revamping NHL.com, John Collins and his marketing team have created a new "Playoff Channel" offering hockey fans free access to a variety of hockey videos. There will be a total of 7 channels designated to these hockey fans, including one where users can look up every goal and every save in every game. Realizing that much of their target audience is in the form of web-savvy young people, NHL.com has come to the conclusion that traditional media can no longer be depended upon to create buzz over the NHL. With their channels, the NHL are looking to specifically target the deep pockets of already existing fans, instead of creating new ones and hopefully the World Wide Web will be the way to do this!

3 comments:

Ben Frechette said...

This is a good way to create a little buzz about a sport that is certaintly lacking that. I have been listening to WEEI and there has been alot of hockey talk lately with the Bruins in the playoffs so I believe there is a very loyal hockey fanbase and this is a great way to target this group.

Malorie Davino said...

I think that introducing this new marketing tool for the NHL is a very intelligent approach in creating buzz. I find that no matter how much I love a sports team, it is impossible to keep up with it all. I think that as consumers, we are constantly distracted when paying attention to anything in the media because of all the extra things that exist within the networks.

Introducing not one, but seven channels accesible to people on the nhl website is a great idea for anyone who is on-the-go or just plain distracted in the middle of watching a game. Even though Collins is hoping to target the group of extremely loyal fans, who says that this tool won't bringi n a whole new crowd of people?

Jessica said...

I personally like Hockey, but unless you're already a fan, it hard to hear too much about it. Hockey isn't one of the main sports out there and lacks a whole lot of fanbased activity. I agree that by creating these seven dimentions for people to get an idea of who did what in a game and when, it will create a little buzz. People like new things and this will definately catch some attention of existing fans and definately new ones. Think of how many people out there participate in fantasy sports. I know people who don't know anything about hockey but still want to particpate in the game with their friends. With this new marketing tool, I think that will benefit these people and get them interested in using the site.