The puck dropped on Saturday night for the first time since the 2012-2013 NHL lockout ended, and teams are doing their best to entice fans back with free ticket giveaways, open practices to the public, autograph signings, and apology letters. After a 113-day lockout and 1,020 missed games, the NHL is faced with a public relation nightmare. With only 48 games guaranteed for each team this season, NHL marketers are going to have to do their best to fill those seats with fans and get sponsorship dollars back in their pocket.
The NHL players had an estimated total loss
of about $400 million, and you can double that for the league. Marketing
departments of the NHL are doing their best to encourage fans back to the rink. Here in Toronto, the Leafs held an open
practice last Thursday that attracted 1,400 fans; they will be also giving away
about 1,000 tickets to Monday’s home opener through various promotions against
the Buffalo Sabers. Among giving away commemorative scarves at the game, 1,500
season ticket holders will be seeing the first game free of charge. In less
traditional hockey markets like Chicago, the Black Hawks are giving away 1000
autographed jerseys, and a lucky fan in San Jose is going to be selected to
drop the ceremonial puck in their home opener.
Whatever ways NHL marketing departments
decide to coax fans back to the game, sponsorship dollars will not flock back
until companies see that faith has been restored in fans’ loyalty across the
league. The NHL must been seen as a stable enterprise, with the ability to provide
an interrupted season to the good ol’ fashioned hockey game– after all, they’re
what drives the fans.
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