Marketing Sports Superstars

I thought I’d start things off by blogging about some things I absolutely love: the NHL and the NBA. Or more specifically, how the NHL should copy the marketing style of the NBA by focusing more on individual superstars instead of  the sport itself.

These days, the NHL is in dire straits financially, coming in a distant 4th out of the big 4 North American sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) in terms of  TV ratings.  Many NHL teams located in the Sunbelt (eg. Phoenix Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers) are barely filling half of their stadiums and in danger of contracting. Furthermore, the NHL had its TV contract with broadcasting giant ESPN terminated a few years ago, leading to a nosedive in mainstream coverage of hockey games.

To hardcore sports fans, does this situation seem familiar? Of course it does. The NBA was struggling to stay afloat in the early 1980s. TV contracts were being cancelled left, right, and centre and many teams were in danger of folding or being bought out by the rival ABA. Then one day, salvation arrived in the form of an arrogant self-described ”hick from French Lick” and a charismatic African-American point guard from Detroit with a megawatt smile. Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson were polar opposites off the court but their flashy on-court personalities  led to a decade-long rivalry in which both players traded MVP awards and championships. The NBA marketing department used the Bird vs. Magic rivalry to ignite the NBA’s resurgence as one of the big 3 (arguably 2) sports in North America.

We all know how much the North American public craves personal rivalries in sports (think Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, Lebron James vs. Kobe Bryant, OJ Simpson vs. the police) and the NHL has been blessed with 2 young superstars lighting the stat sheets on fire. The NHL needs to step away from it’s approach of marketing the game itself as it did with it’s “Hockey: the Coolest Game on Ice” campaign(well duh, it’s only real competition is curling) and saturate the airwaves with the Crosby vs. Ovechkin rivalry.

A positive step in this direction has been HBO’s 24/7 series which focuses on the rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin and their respective teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. This foray into the untested waters of personal rivalry marketing has even led to renewed interest in a national TV contract from ESPN.

I think with continued advertising of Crosby/Ovechkin, this may develop into as big a rivalry as Bird/Magic. Now if only we could think of better nicknames than “Sid the Kid” and “Alexander the Gr8”. Unfortunately, the “Hick from Cole Harbour” and “Mog”(Russian for “Magic”) Ovechkin don’t quite roll off the tongue.