NHL Promotional Partner "300" Opens to Record Breaking Debut

[discostu]

I didn't see this posted anywhere in terms of its business context, but, I think this is pretty significant.

300 opened to huge business this weekend, over $70M, exceeding the most ambitious expectations. The forecasts I saw for the film had it in the high $30's, low $40's range. It's an amazing result for an R-rated picture with no big name actors.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2268&p=.htm

The NHL raised some eyebrows when it ran the cross-promotional campaign, as a fairly unique method of trying to hit a new audience. Time will tell how effective it will be, but, the NHL couldn't have picked a better movie to align itself with. Who knows what impact the NHL marketing had on the success of the film, but, if there is any cross over promotion, the NHL can really benefit tap into a new fan base here. 60% of the audience was male, and 52% of that was under the age of 25, which is what the NHL is trying to attract to the sport.

At $70M, "300" becomes significant for many reasons. It's the highest grossing March debut weekend for a film, and, will likely be the highest grossing film until the summer blockbusters start in May. At this point, with the film being such a financial success, any NHL ads using this campaign have increased resonance.

Unfortunately, I did a news search, and, none of the articles I can find discussing the box office results discuss the cross-promotional strategy, which is odd. It was a pretty unique approach to marketing a film, and, given the film's strong success, you'd think it would merit a mention.

Click to read more...

 

[Fugu]

Yet everyone is a critic... at least when it comes to media personnel that cover the NHL. Helene Elliott of the LA Times writes a scathing piece condemning the NHL for its bloodthirsty and gladiator-like nature. Damned if you do and damned if you don't should be the league's new mantra.

LA Times link:

Stick game is one NHL should avoid
March 12, 2007

The NHL missed a great marketing opportunity when it suspended New York Islanders henchman Chris Simon for playing

T-ball with the chin of New York Rangers enforcer Ryan Hollweg.

The league ordered Simon to sit out a minimum of 25 games, a sentence that will carry over to next season if the Islanders exit the playoffs quickly. Chief disciplinarian Colin Campbell issued a predictably stern statement Sunday that said the NHL "will not accept the use of a stick in the manner and fashion in which Mr. Simon used his Thursday night."

Campbell should have announced the creation of a gladiators' league in which Simon and other goons would beat each other to a pulp during pregame exhibitions and intermissions.

 

[saskganesh]

good question. maybe its too soon to know how this affects the NHL (besides $ ?). for the movie, it probably worked out very well, getting young males who also like hockey into the theatre this weekend and so contributing to opening grosses.

 

[saskganesh]

well one problem with using the "Warrior" trope is that it sets up certain, um, expectations. the NHL also has speed and skill to market, something that WWE doesn't have.

 

[discostu]

well one problem with using the "Warrior" trope is that it sets up certain, um, expectations. the NHL also has speed and skill to market, something that WWE doesn't have.

I haven't watched the WWE in years, but, I bet if you'd ask a follower of it, they'd tell you that the speed and skills of the athletes are very much on display. The big names of the industry are associated with the slow and lumbering muscleheads, but, that most of the guys are incredibly athletic, and, demonstrate great skills to be able to do what they do.

But, the issues come back to the same that plague the NHL, when your industry features a great deal of violence, it's hard for the critics to focus on anything else.

Yes, the gladiator references creates this image of violence, but, it also creates teh image of fierce competition, which is what I assume the NHL is going for. The NHL will never get too far away from it's violent image, IMO, but, with the marketing of it through a very violent film, you have to think that are willing to accept that.

 

[Doc Scurlock]

Question for those of you who saw 300 and were there early for the previews. Did they show the NHL 300 commercial before the movie? Also, has anyone seen this commercial played during any other shows other than NHL hockey games?

 

[BigE]

The Gladiator association is way overblown with fans and the media. It's a constant game of word association; they just pick the first thing that comes to their mind and then run with it. Sure, the movie's central plot revolves around violence, but it's been openly marketed as a story about pride, honour, respect, and courage. These are things the NHL openly tries to identify with and I can't blame them for hooking up with the promotional team from 300.

While I'll give the NHL credit for an honest attempt, I don't think this new cross-promotion is going to do much in the way of garnering new support for the game.

The only time you see this commercial is during a hockey game when people already attracted to the sport are watching it on TV.

Furthermore, I've seen the movie and every person that has gone to see it thus far has been a huge hockey fan in addition to myself. While this is no replacement for a true statistical study based on accurate samples and the like, I think it's a fair bet to say that (at least in Canada) those going to see this movie are already aware of hockey, and it's not going to make them want to go out and watch a hockey game - it's going to make them want to go out and watch the movie.

 

[BigE]

Question for those of you who saw 300 and were there early for the previews. Did they show the NHL 300 commercial before the movie? Also, has anyone seen this commercial played during any other shows other than NHL hockey games?

No, they didn't show the NHL commercial before the screenplay. I'm not surrpised, really: rare is it that a movie shows an advertisement for itself in the opening previews (you're already there to see the movie, they've done their job).

Excellent movie, by the way. If you've expecting an intricate plot and binding characters this one probably isn't for you; but if you're looking for some slick visuals and adrenaline pumping non-stop madness for 117 minutes this one is definitely for you.

 

[Doc Scurlock]

No, they didn't show the NHL commercial before the screenplay. I'm not surrpised, really: rare is it that a movie shows an advertisement for itself in the opening previews (you're already there to see the movie, they've done their job).

Excellent movie, by the way. If you've expecting an intricate plot and binding characters this one probably isn't for you; but if you're looking for some slick visuals and adrenaline pumping non-stop madness for 117 minutes this one is definitely for you.

I was thinking the NHL could have bought some ad time in the theaters when they show a couple commercials before the previews. You've got a bunch of people in the theater already sitting there waiting for the movie so why not go after them. Not all of them will be hockey fans especially if you're running these ads in the US.

As BigE said, I don't see the point in spending money on advertising and cross promotion when the only time you'll see the ads is during a hockey game, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of advertising since those watching a hockey game probably already have an interest in the game. They should have ran the spots during other TV shows like 24 for example.