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Latest Update:
Sept. 22, 2005
Check
in with us throughout the NHL season as The Fourth Period's
brass of experts offer their opinions on major events occurring
around the world of hockey.
 My
NHL; league's new campaign
With
the regular-season is set to begin on October 5, the
NHL unveiled its latest marketing campaign yesterday, in an
effort to reclaim it's position as one of the top four sports in
North America.
The
five-piece mini-series was directed by Sam Bayer, a recent MTV Video Awards winner for his work on Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams
video, and Michael Fink (Braveheart) was the Visual Effects
Supervisor.
If
you haven't seen the video, click here
to watch, or click here
to watch the behind the scenes action.
TFP's
Experts react to the league's attempts to draw back its fans:
| Dennis
Bernstein |
The NHL enters the new era with a new public relations campaign,
my NHL. Clearly, this marketing effort is geared to the MTV generation; the 21-30 year olds that watch "Jackass" and "The Real
World." Hiring Samuel Bayer, an MTV Video Music Award
winning director, to create the vision affirms that. The spot does try to practice the politics of inclusion by saying, "It's Everyone's
Game," but it's doubtful anyone north of 50 or south of 15 would get the imagery. This is NOT to say that the NHL is woefully in need of more
hipness, because it certainly does. They'd do well to recruit some
celebrities in the age bracket to do some spots to give the game more currency with the
GenXers... but if they don't call interference in the neutral zone, you could have Pam Anderson, Jennifer Garner and Brooke Burke promoting it and no one's gonna watch.
I'll grade it out as a C+. |
| Dan
Kingerski |
It is the classic struggle of hockey versus marketing. Perhaps my opinion is guided by a marketing,
media and hockey background, but it really feels like the Madison Avenue types have again shot wide.
The spots and the campaign will be visually capturing; they will certainly hype the game, but marketing can do more. Do the spots create a lasting image of the game and its players? Do they create a need for the product? After viewing the behind the scenes footage, I must answer, on both counts, probably not.
Yeah, hockey players are warriors. Not even the biggest detractors have ever doubted that. Hype Kid Sid, the continuing legacy of Mario, the glory of the Stanley Cup, the blood, the sweat, and the exhilaration that hockey provides. Don't use contrived imagery and emotion. Hockey has so much real color and subtext that it
doesn't need clichéd hyperbole. Similar marketing for the IRL has flopped, but I guess that's only a fringe sport that much of America
doesn't pay attention to. (Please note the irony.) |
| David
Pagnotta |
For
the hardcore hockey fan, the glory of the sport has
long-ago been defined. To battle throughout an 82-game
schedule and a grueling playoff run to win the ultimate
prize and hoist Lord Stanley's Cup is what this sport is
all about. Yes, this new "Inside the Warrior"
campaign does illustrate a player's journey to his
thrown, but was this dramatic short story the right road
to take? After watching it the first time, I said no.
With the amount of player movement this summer, hype has
been building in most markets long before the pre-season
began. Yes, the Toronto's, Montreal's and Detroit's are
always a given, but to see a market like Nashville
nearly sell out its draft party back in July is huge for
the league. Taking some time to watch the creation of my
NHL I may have changed my point of view. I'm not
100% sold on the video itself, but the message is clear
and the way it will be customized for each market will
help their cause. Some may think it's cheesy, but it
will peek interest, and that's exactly what the league
wants. |
| Dan
Rakusan |
This commercial seems to be geared to the same people who continuously waste money on those pseudo-Epic movies that are coming out by the dozen lately. The failure to realize that the target audience (a primarily male demographic, to be sure) would rather have watched all the nauseatingly short clips from game action rather than some muscle-bound
gorilla being groped by his lady friend. If the NHL is trying to give us seizures, that strobe effect is a step in the right direction... |
---
Who are they? ---
Dennis
Bernstein, an NHL Analyst with ESPN Radio, is the Los Angeles
Correspondent for The Fourth Period Magazine and covers the
Kings for TheFourthPeriod.com. He is also the man behind SCORE!
media.
Dan
Kingerski, a play-by-play announcer, is the host of The Fourth Period Radio Show, as well
as the Pittsburgh Correspondent for The Fourth Period Magazine,
and covers the Penguins for TheFourthPeriod.com.
David
Pagnotta, formerly an NHL Analyst with FOX Sports Radio, is the
Editor-in-Chief of The Fourth Period Magazine and
TheFourthPeriod.com, and also covers the Toronto Maple Leafs for
both the website and publication.
Dan
Rakusan, a TFP Senior Writer, is the Ottawa Correspondent for
The Fourth Period Magazine, and covers the Senators for TheFourthPeriod.com.
Also
read: Analysis
of the Hossa-for-Heatley trade
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