• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Hockey Media

Ad-Sense and Nonsense: The NHL’s Marketing Successes and Failures

By Jonathan Gardner June 1st, 2015

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

The NHL is on the rise. After spending years as the redheaded stepchild of professional sports leagues, hockey is starting to make its way back to prime-time television again. NBC and their various sister channels (CNBC, USA Network, and NBCSN) have shown the entirety of the NHL playoffs, with most of the games appearing on networks accessible to the majority of country. This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s a far cry from where the league was at less than a decade ago.

Off of ESPN and Into the Wilderness

View image | gettyimages.com

In 2005, the NHL and ESPN decided to part ways, causing the league to sign a three-year, $200 million deal with Comcast, who promptly put the NHL on Outdoor Life Network (OLN). While some were trying to figure out how the NHL could be considered “outdoor life,” even more people were simply trying to figure out what channel their games were on. OLN, at the time, had paltry national coverage, reaching only about 60 million homes. Even the relaunch of the channel to turn it from OLN to VERSUS in 2006 did little to help the NHL’s image.

Fans weren’t the only ones frustrated with the move. In the book, Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside The World of ESPN, there’s a quote from SportsCenter host Steven Levy about the split between ESPN and the NHL and the inaccessibility of the sport at the time:

The people at VERSUS offered essentially more than twice what we did, and the NHL, and I believe this is shortsighted, took the money. And the League has made this mistake before over the years with that SportsChannel America. They got to make a few extra bucks, but nobody could see the games,” said Levy. “I’m constantly being told by players and the players’ association and the NHL that the guys are frustrated. Can’t get the games. Don’t know what channel it’s on. Can’t get it in the hotel when they’re on the road. They can’t watch their own sport.

View image | gettyimages.com

NBC eventually started to cover some playoff games, but that opened up another can of worms. None bigger the Buffalo/Ottawa disaster in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs. NBC was covering the Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5 between the two teams, when Maxim Afinogenov tied the game with about 10 minutes left in the 3rd period. The game seemed destined for overtime, which normally wouldn’t have been an issue. But NBC was contractually obligated to begin showing coverage of the Preakness Stakes at a certain time, a time that overtime hockey would have cut into. So after a single warning about where to find the continuation of the game, Game 5 was switched from NBC to Versus…with a two-minute delay between the switch. Coverage of the game went from 114 million homes to about 70 million, leaving a possible 40 million hockey fans out in the cold.

Focusing on the Youth

The switch from ESPN to NBC was a long process, wrought with mistakes and miscues, but at the end of the day, it appears to have worked out for the best. That’s more than what can be said about this next marketing flop. Mention the name The Guardian Project to NHL fans and you’ll either get a blank stare or bemused laughter, because when it comes to this massive marketing failure, one either knows nothing about it or knows exactly how it ended up.

It was a solid idea in concept. In an attempt to appeal to younger hockey fans, the NHL partnered with Stan Lee himself to create a team of superheroes, all based on NHL organizations. Had it worked out as planned, the league could have likely taken advantage of the superhero craze that has infiltrated television and movies nowadays. There was just one problem.

The heroes created were obvious knockoffs of existing superheros. It’s hard to enjoy “The Canuck,” when all one sees when they look at him is a surfing Batman. “The Canadien” could easily be confused as a new Iron Man suit, as well as “The Avalanche” as a different version of Mr. Freeze. The official reveal of the Guardians was during the 2011 All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina.

As someone who attended that game, let me tell you, that silence you hear during the reveal was real. Everyone in the arena was just dumbstruck that both Stan Lee and the NHL were happy to attach themselves to this project.

Unsurprisingly, the Guardian Project disappeared just as quickly as it began, but not without making one serious impact. The tech firm that financed the special effects in that video? They blamed the Guardian Project for their $3 million drop in profits that year.

Making an Impact 30 seconds at a Time

If there’s one thing the NHL’s marketing department has gotten right over the years, it’s their playoff commercials. Every year, there’s a new ad with a new slogan that does a great job of capturing the mood and the excitement of playoff hockey. The first one I remember was the 2008 playoff spot, “Cup Raise,” which shows sequential still shots of various players raising the Stanley Cup, finishing with the line “It weighs 35 pounds except when you’re lifting it.” Chills, every time.

The biggest campaign, by far, was their “History Will Be Made” campaign. Showing historic playoff moments set to a building tune, the ads first ran in the 2010 playoffs and were immediately met with praise. According to the NHL, the ads helped draw more than 302 million fans to watch the games, the most in 36 years. In addition, fans were able to create their own “History Will be Made” ads after the league released the music composition on their Facebook page. The ads were so successful, they ran the campaign a second year, beginning with one entitled simply “Wish.”

Since then, the league has done an excellent job of producing high quality commercials every year. This year’s spot, “Name”, does an excellent job of not only preparing fans for the Stanley Cup Finals, but making them think back to all the players in the past. The narration matches the images perfectly, discussing how a name “builds a reputation” while showing Bobby Clarke, or a name is often made greater by “the company it keeps,” while showing Toews and Kane together.

There’s a lot to work with if one were to criticize the NHL’s marketing department. These commercials are not one of them. If the NHL can take the success they have found in these TV spots and build upon it, the NHL can strengthen its brand, even as many other leagues find theirs in dire straits.

  • Tags
  • ESPN
  • NHL Guardian Project
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 16th 6:10 PM
Hockey History

25 Best Senators’ Memories From 25 Years at Canadian Tire Centre

Jan 16th 6:00 PM
Anaheim Ducks

Ducks Prospects: Colangelo, Andersson, Drew & More

Jan 16th 5:50 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Need Taxi Squad to Drive Better Results in Net

Jan 16th 5:40 PM
Women's Hockey

Toronto Six 2021 Season Preview

Jan 16th 5:30 PM
Winnipeg Jets

Jets Have a lot of Options to Deal With Laine

Jan 16th 5:20 PM
Dallas Stars

Stars’ COVID-19 Cases Could Cost Them

Jan 16th 4:25 PM
Column

Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Campbell, Andersen, Tavares & Robertson

Jan 16th 4:15 PM
Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning Look to Benefit From Week Off

Jan 16th 3:05 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Josh Anderson’s Canadiens Debut Should Make Marc Bergevin Proud

Jan 16th 2:55 PM
Other Leagues

OHL Would Benefit From 24-Game Season

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information