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by Neil Parmar
The Wall Street Journal
July 27, 2005
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Returning to the ice after a 16-month absence
caused by a labor dispute, the National Hockey League faces a new challenge:
winning back disgruntled fans. The NHL's answer? Overwhelm them with
kindness.
In advance of the dropping of the puck in the first games Oct. 5, hockey
teams have slashed ticket prices and, in some cases, handed out thousands
of free tickets, something rarely seen in professional sports. Teams
have taken out full-page ads in newspapers thanking fans for putting
up with the lockout. And in an effort to lure new followers, the league
is giving the game a make-over with a series of rules changes, a classier-looking
logo and the working slogan: "A Whole New Game."
For the first time, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players'
Association have entered into a joint marketing partnership in an attempt
to woo fans. The two entities, which usually operate separately, will
craft a "nontraditional, very aggressive" ad campaign, an
NHL spokeswoman says, noting that details are still being finalized.
"The worst thing we could do for hockey is to dwell on what happened
this year," says Charlie Jacobs, executive vice president of the
Boston Bruins. Rather than continue apologizing to fans, "We have
to talk about our players, our game ... and (build) the excitement over
our product," Mr. Jacobs says.
To court unhappy fans, some teams are cutting ticket prices. The Montreal
Canadiens have set aside about 4,800 tickets -- 23 percent of the total
available -- that will sell for US$24.72, a sharp discount to the usual
price. Teams in struggling markets, where the sport has failed to draw
large crowds, are being even more aggressive. The Buffalo Sabres, for
instance, have cut ticket prices 12 percent to 28 percent, the largest
one-time reduction in the team's 36-year history.
The Anaheim Mighty Ducks has a new outreach program to get young school
kids interested in the game by introducing them to players and handing
out free tickets to games. The California team is also relying on a
few gimmicks to boost early-season sales: People who buy two tickets
get two more free, while season ticket holders will receive free food
and parking at the first three games. "Everybody has to do what
works in their market," says Tim Ryan, executive vice president
and chief operating officer of the team.
Indeed, without a new playbook, hockey faces a dim future. TV audiences
for hockey games had been shrinking in the U.S. well before the lockout,
according to Nielsen Media Research. Even in Canada, where the NHL first
formed in 1917, the lockout managed to help erode a previously solid
fan base. Since 2003, the number of Canadian sports fans older than
12 identifying hockey as one of their favorite sports has dropped to
55 percent from 68 percent, according to Solutions Research Group Consultants
Inc.
In addition to the discounts and freebies, NHL "teams must take
on an unprecedented service mentality" by retraining customer-service
employees to better handle disgruntled fans, says Robert Cornilles,
president of Game Face Inc. The Tualatin, Ore., consultancy is working
with six NHL teams to recruit new employees for in-house marketing efforts.
It is also coaching some of its players on how to win back corporations
that used to sponsor teams.
"Anyone can take out a newspaper ad, but the human touch is what
corporate sponsors and fans need right now," Mr. Cornilles says.
Some teams have gotten a jump-start. Throughout the lockout, the Boston
Bruins management ranks combed through blogs and emails and met with
their season ticket advisory board and focus groups made up of fans.
Mr. Jacobs says the top complaint across the league, was that players
-- some of whom frowned on giving interviews and autographs -- "had
become inaccessible" before the lockout. Now, some kinder, gentler
teams are planning meet-and-greet sessions and celebrity hockey clinics
to lure back their followers.
What's more, the NHL has already begun tapping its rising star. Last
weekend, a number of events were held in Ottawa to show off young players
recently signed to NHL teams. The main attraction: 18-year-old Sidney
Crosby, a rookie from Nova Scotia who recently signed endorsement deals
with Reebok International Ltd. and PepsiCo Inc.'s Gatorade. Mr. Crosby,
known by sports commentators and fans simply as "The Next One"
(in reference to Wayne Gretzky, "The Great One"), has become
quite literally, the poster boy for the new season.
Other teams are overhauling their entire image. The Phoenix Coyotes
have doubled their advertising budget and hired a marketing firm to
conjure up a new slogan, Web site and ad campaign, says Douglas Moss,
the team's president and chief operating officer.
To attract new and younger fans, the NHL is even jazzing up some of
the game's rules. The new emphasis will be on "entertainment, skill
and competition," according to the league. Attack zones will be
expanded to quicken the pace of the game, and goalie equipment reduced
to make it easier for players to score. A "shootout," which
has long been popular during Olympic hockey games and in videogames
spun off from the NHL, will determine the winner if a game remains tied
after five minutes of overtime.
"The essence of hockey has not changed since the 1940s and we hope
(these changes) are going to help," says Chris Botta, a spokesman
for the New York Islanders. "We need to win over new fans. The
entire sport does."
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