Marketing Through Eugene's Eyes

I just like to start by commenting on how AMAZING the snow is – it’s literally a sea of snow! Right now, I’m sitting next to the fireplace sipping a cup of hot coffee enjoying the snowfall whilst being soothed by the soft Christmas carols playing in the background.

Anyway, on Saturday night, I was lucky enough to attend the hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks – it was a truly Canadian experience! The atmosphere was intense and filled with energy at least for the first period and half of the second period before the Blackhawks started to mercilessly shoot the puck into the hearts of the Canucks and all their fans.

Aside from the game itself and the Canuck’s disappointing performance, I was overwhelmed by the eclectism of marketing in the form of advertising and sponsorships. Even before I walked into the stadium, the name of it, “Rogers Arena”, which was posted on my ticket/souvenir, was turning on my marketing drive. I later discovered that Rogers Communications struck a multi-million dollar 10 year deal with the Canucks giving Rogers naming rights for the Canuck’s home stadium. Add the Rogers name to every banner, program, Canucks website and sign, then this adds up to maximum brand exposure for Rogers, but this was only possible because of the Canucks’ and Rogers’ healthy brand equity. Because hockey is such an undeniably prominent and important element of the Canadian culture and because the Canucks, in particular, are so widely recognised throughout the whole of Canada and so deeply ingrained into the minds of most British Columbia residents, it is no surprise that Rogers wanted to partner with the Canucks in order to signal to its competitors in the Pacific Canadian telecommunications market (e.g. Telus) that it is a serious contendor.

Back to the game…as soon I walked into the stadium, my marketing drive was going into overdrive. In the common areas outside of the rink, Playstation was allowing hockey fans to try out its new fitness game or some product of that sort (I dislike video games). There were advertisements everywhere – Miller beer, Häagen-Dazs and Canucks souvenirs (jerseys, scrafs, gloves, soft toys, cups etc.). In the seating areas around the ice-rink, it was marketing heaven. A 360 degree LED screen traced around the whole ice-rink featuring advertisements for absolutely everything: Save on foods, HSBC Bank, Air Canada’s non-stop flights to Asia, SportChek, The Keg, Tim Hortons, CocaCola, Snickers, Boston Pizza etc. The scoreboard positioned above the centre of the ice-rink was also a powerhouse of promotions.

Underneath the ice in the ice-rink were Best Buy logos; around the barriers of the ice-rink were promotions for Rogers, CocaCola Zero, HSBC Bank, REMAX, Spence Diamonds, Molson Canada etc. Even the ice-rink resurfacer carried the MasterCard logo.

The popularity of the Canucks and NHL makes them highly attractive for sponsorships by a plethora of different companies and as a base for promotions. The popularity of hockey in Canada has united “all ages, cultures and races”, which can be used to the benefit of many companies as it allows for the widespread delivery of a company’s promotional message. This is especially the case given that hockey ticket sales are consistently high; the games are aired on several television channels and newspapers; and that the Canucks.com website receives 12 million page views/month, which are over 10 minutes long.

Despite the humiliating loss to the Canucks, I really enjoyed the game! I certainly have no postpurchase dissonance, even though the tickets were incredibly expensive. I valued the unique insight into the Canadian culture the game offered. Now, it’s time to further that by going out to take some photos of the snow!!