From Sports Networker Review by Alex Willner in SRM 334 (section 3) Despite the NHL lockout lasting roughly half of the 2013 season, teams have turned to social media to keep fans involved and excited about their organizations. Facebook and Twitter have become an everyday part of people’s lives and have the capability of spreading information quickly and efficiently. There are over 160 million Facebook and 107 million Twitter users in America. With numbers like that, there’s no wonder why NHL teams have focused a lot of effort on connecting with fans over social media. The Edmonton Oilers have cleverly created Training Tip Tuesdays, which is a weekly video posted on Facebook by the strength and conditioning coach, explaining different workouts and healthy food choices. The Vancouver Canucks implemented another creative idea by posting pictures of fans on Facebook. The page highlights fans wearing team gear from all around the world including Barcelona, Indonesia, and the Great Wall of China. The Nashville Predators pride is still running strong partly due to the teams’ effort in creating the Second Annual Social Media Scavenger Hunt taking place across the city. Winners are given great prizes such as free concert and game day tickets. Social media has created the perfect platform for spreading information and keeping fans energized about their locked out hockey teams.
Although it is still early in the season, there are clear indications that fans have not forgotten or turned their backs on the NHL. NBC’s broadcast triumphed after opening day reporting TV ratings has never been higher for a regular season game since 2002 (excluding the winter classic). The Canadian broadcast network CDC, had similar viewer results after the Toronto and Montreal match-up. A staggering twenty seven percent of the Canadian population tuned in for the game totaling roughly 9.2 million viewers. Fox Sports Ohio drew irregular numbers in Columbus for the Blue Jackets game against the Predators, a one hundred and thirty percent gain over last year's opener. Although there is no statistical information indicating the rise in spectator numbers were directly caused by social media, it can be concluded that it only helped the cause. With teams becoming worried about losing fans interests during the lockout, social media has become a cheap, easy and effective way of communication. --- Review by Melissa Knicely in SRM 334 (section 3) A lockout during a sporting season is never a good thing; players, coaches, owners, team staff, and fans are all negatively affected by the quarrel. During this season’s NHL lockout, the relationships the teams have with their fans was one of the main concerns. The teams’ staff took to the internet as a main communication channel for interaction with fans during the lockout. During the lockout, many teams, such as Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, and many more, used social media to deliver hockey content to their fans during the down time. These teams recognized that the fans are the most vital part of their organization and that they should not be punished because negotiations were at a standstill. In particular, the Edmonton Oilers were excellent at providing fans with an inside look into the team’s atmosphere. The strength and conditioning coach hosted Training Tip Tuesdays on Facebook, the staff created a segment called “Now & Then” where they reflected on highlights of the past, and they also shared with fans some of the players’ favorite recipes in the Oil Country Cookbook. By providing this exclusive content on their social media sites it kept the fans engaged and wanting more. The importance of social media was prevalent during the lockout because without the use of it, it is very likely that fans may have felt neglected and rejected. Throughout the course thus far we have explored how social media can play a huge role in the reputation and persona that a team portrays and I believe this situation is a great example of that. Social media, in this case, was a great avenue for damage control. By keeping the fans interested in hockey and the status of the lockout, the teams were able to retain their fans and make them more involved than ever before.
From SI.com and Adweek Review by Chris Wyvill in KIN 332
As an NHL fan and a Sport & Recreation Management major, I have many thoughts and feelings on the NHL lockout. This article addresses the future implications of the lockout with fans, sponsors, and the overall future of the NHL. The NHL and their lockouts have been depressing to fans and damaging to its own future as well.
The marketing of the NHL and its teams continues to be held back and a large amount of that can be attributed to the sporadic dealings within the league over the past 20 years. It is hard to gain and cultivate interest for the league when it has to cancel a season every several years. Not to mention the reality that the NFL and NBA create stiff competition to gain viewers and fans in the stands. The article quotes Ryan Miller who says the negotiations seem more like brand suicide. The NHL was doing well and made record revenues last season before the lockout. The future success or failure of the league is uncertain. Some have voiced their disgust and some threaten to boycott. Reporters say that the loyal fans will remain and that the others boycotting will return as their teams compete. Marketers for the NHL and its teams face a huge challenge at earning back their loyal fans and try to regain awareness with potential fans that existed last year.
Review Erika Grimm in SRM 334 Interviews, press conferences, YouTube videos, and sports talk radio all have been deliberately used by both parties in the current NHL Lockout. Daly himself, the NHL Deputy Commissioner, said that he would use every place he could that had a microphone to sway the media and fans. The players made a YouTube video that was directed just towards the fans that pleaded their case. Both sides are using different sources of media to persuade interested fans that they are doing everything they can to have a peaceful outcome and this lockout is the opposing parties fault.
From the side of the owners, they simply want more money. They believe the players receive too much and want to cut the revenue split closer to 50-50. During one of the sports talk radio sessions Bill Daly partook in, he claimed that he knows the NHLPA has been thinking of numbers; why don’t they just make an offer already. With this statement and others from the owners’ point of view, they put all the blame on the NHLPA. They are using their sources of media to gain the trust of the fans.
The players on the other hand, used a more direct form of communication to build a relationship with the media and fans. They made a YouTube video literally titled, A message from Players to Fans about the NHL Lockout. In this video, the players speak directly into a camera portraying a personal, intimate message stating they just want to play and the agreement they and the owners are working on will eventually work out for both parties. This video is the NHLPA’s way of persuading fans that the lockout is not their fault, and rather the owners’. They simply went about passing the buck with a heartfelt video instead of literally stating it on air.
Both parties are using different sources of media to build and sustain a good relationship with the fans. Regardless of the reason, the lockout is ultimately no good for the NHL program as a whole. In order to keep their frustrated fans dedicated customers, media must now be used by both parties. As a fan myself, I just hope to see the season start sooner rather than later regardless of the owners and players disputes.
---Review by James Daniel in SRM 334 The NHL Lockout started officially on September 15. Leading up to the lockout, coverage in terms of neutral sports networks was constant. What I mean by that is that of course NHL.com or NHL Network is going to cover the lockout constantly due to the face it really has nothing else to talk about. However since the league announced that it would cancel the first two weeks of the season totaling 82 games, there really has not been much coverage of the lockout from stations such as ESPN, ESPN 2 or the NBC Sports Network. With the NFL season already underway & the MLB postseason in full gear, it has been a topic of little coverage. That fact in my eyes makes the lockout more prone to drag out. With the NFL lockout, watching ESPN every day I saw coverage of it for hours. Likewise with the NBA lockout, who missed 16 games per team just a year ago. This was due in large part to the fact nothing else was on other than regular season baseball games & WNBA games. Being in the spotlight constantly by major network stations coverage puts more pressure on both sides to strike a deal. I saw a statistic that NHL attendance grew a small amount from the last lockout till now. Wondering why, it is simple now. No one is watching too many NHL games at this times of year anyhow. The first big game fans pay attention to other than Sidney Crosby playing Alex Ovechkin is the Winter Classic. That is why the urgency is not to miss that game, because the money the league receives from it is substantial. Looking at two years ago, it was the most watched event on NBC that year (the Superbowl was broadcasted on FOX in the 2010-2011 season). Even hockey great Wayne Gretzky hoped & was optimistic a deal could be done before the Winter Classic. That is the pressure, because if there are no games played through January 2, (The Winter Classic is schedule to be played on New Year’s Day) I think it is safe to say that there would be zero hockey played this year. So the key to ending this lockout may be more coverage.
Honda has teamed up with the NHL again and renewed the contract of being the official car of the NHL. This also gives them the rights to a lot of promotional events at events such as the NHL All Star Game and the NHL Awards. This contract will continue to give Honda a lot of exposure, especially being the only automotive partner of the NHL. They will have reserved areas within NHL arenas that will help them promote their vehicles, as well as on-ice promotions. Most NHL rinks can fit around 15,000 fans which is a great deal of people to expose a product to. Taking into account 41 home games a year for each team, the exposure is phenomenal. Renewing this deal seems to be vital to the success of Honda as a leading automotive company.
Honda seems to have a well thought out plan as to why they are trying to market themselves through the NHL. They have found the right demographic they are looking for as Honda’s brand manager Tom Peyton explains. The NHL is also a very loyal and passionate fan base, which in return could help continue the success of Honda. Many fans stick with their teams throughout everything, and if Honda can convince them to buy a vehicle they may continue to stick with that brand in the future. The NHL fans are somewhat of a secluded demographic, they have a set fan base that stays loyal. I don’t see this market very hard to penetrate. I think this because the demographic is “young, affluent, and educated”. When I think of Honda I feel that the style of the cars they make definitely match the demographic. Honda is making a good choice by hooking up with the NHL.
The NHL is a great business and has many opportunities to help Honda be successful for the remainder of their contract. After the NHL lockout, the league seems to be revamped and exciting. Every year the NHL receives more and more exposure, which in return exposes Honda. All in all, this is a good move by Honda to team up with the NHL and they should see a continued success within this market.
