Marketing NHL stars

shello

Registered User
Mar 5, 2011
2,274
725
Dana Point, CA
I've always found the NHL should focus on making the game actually affordable for those who already want to play the game instead of bringing in new fans. Hockey is such a niche sport it's never going to be the juggernaut the upper up's want it to be, so why not treat their current fans better.
 
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joelef

Registered User
Nov 22, 2011
1,730
596
I've always found the NHL should focus on making the game actually affordable for those who already want to play the game instead of bringing in new fans. Hockey is such a niche sport it's never going to be the juggernaut the upper up's want it to be, so why not treat their current fans better.
because those fans will watch the sport regardless . You need to replace them.
 

powerstuck

Nordiques Hopes Lies
Jan 13, 2012
7,595
1,543
Town NHL hates !
Well McDavid is playing for a small market team in Canada, one that keep missing the playoff. Difficult to market that to start with, and he's as boring in his interview as they come.

McDavid is playing for the same team Wayne Gretzky played for. If you are getting paid 50k (or more) to get marketing ideas...you deserve to be sacked and replaced by someone more competent.
 

Boulder Avalanche

Pull the Goalie
Apr 9, 2013
1,094
462
Hockey is a niche sport outside of a handful of countries. These countries are also very White historically and the game is expensive to play only compounding the problem if you are trying to market the NHL to a nonwhite audience. Add in the fact that stars are less marketable in hockey because their impact on the team is smaller than what American audiences are used to. Following from the aftermentioned Whiteness, the league is more rooted in a reserve style for player communication, which again makes it harder to market. All these factors compound each other and make it difficult for the NHL to market itself to the masses. The best bet for the NHL is continuing tapping into the European Hockey market while increasing efforts to make hockey more affordable and easy to play (think of the NHL cobranding gear that is inexpensive and of relatively good quality and donating large amounts to various rinks in each city a franchise is in), and seeing if they can get in on the ground floor of streaming sports via an outside content provider like Amazon or Netflix).
 

BOS358

Purveyor of unpopular opinions
Jul 20, 2017
609
329
Boston
If it were about diversity, Jarome Iginla and Mike Grier would have been the hockey equivalents of Shaquille O'Neal. It's not about that. Why does everybody take that as gospel? The fact that Tom Brady isn't "diverse" doesn't seem to harm his marketability.

Also, how exactly do the other leagues "market their stars?" What does this mean?
 
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powerstuck

Nordiques Hopes Lies
Jan 13, 2012
7,595
1,543
Town NHL hates !

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stealth1

Registered User
Aug 28, 2009
2,901
1,405
Niagara, Ontario
I don't buy into the whole "I never played hockey so I don't like it" thing. It may be expensive to play but what about playing road hockey or ball hockey. It doesn't cost much to play that. IMO the reason most Americans don't like it is the game is too fast.

If you look at the other 3 main pro sports in the U.S. they are all slow paced and you can look away for a minute and not miss anything.
 

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