Entries with the tag: marketing

Steven Stamkos. Supermodel.

by Alanah McGinley on 08/27/08 at 08:21 PM
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How does an 18 year old who’s never played a NHL game in his life end up as the official spokesman for a pricey Swiss watch company?

Well, being the #1 draft pick has its perks, and being thought of as the “next Sidney Crosby” doesn’t hurt, either.

Which brings me to the video.

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New Ways to Make Money at GM Place

by Alanah McGinley on 08/25/08 at 07:16 PM
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The Vancouver Canucks may not lead the league in on-ice performance (like the Wings), or corporate branding (like the Leafs) or pretty much anything else, but it seems like they’re always on the cutting edge when it comes to new ways to make money.

In Forbes, I saw this today:

[Two] major league sports franchises, baseball’s New York Mets and hockey’s Vancouver Canucks, have signed deals with Nortel Networks to upgrade their in-house voice and data systems, likely leading to instant concession stand ordering from all over the arena.

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Canucks Know a Flop When They See It

by Alanah McGinley on 08/21/08 at 11:36 AM
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According to the Vancouver Sun, “flops” are a big business, and not just at GM Place.  Flip Flop Shops are set to open a dozen stores in BC in the next 5 years, and guess who wants in on it…

At least two well-known Vancouver business executives have invested in the Flip Flop Shops concept, including Vancouver Canucks president Chris Zimmerman [...].

“I like the simplicity of the concept,” Zimmerman said in an interview. “The product has a very universal appeal and I think there’s a real void in the market for people to go to one place and find the latest styles and brands.”

Such a major market void (*cough*) Zimmerman is likely investing somewhere in the $200,000+ range for at least one store.  A store that sells nothing but plastic summer shoes. 

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Back in the Men’s Game

by Alanah McGinley on 07/22/08 at 02:50 PM
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The Canadian Press reports that Hayley Wickenheiser—the all-time leading scorer of Canadian women’s hockey and widely considered one the best female players to ever set foot on the ice—has made the cut for men’s professional hockey again. 

A Swedish third-tier team, Eskilstuna Linden, has reportedly signed her for the 2008-09 season. The last time Wickenheiser played men’s pro hockey was a short stint in the Finnish Second Division, and her signing was met with mixed reviews, but there’s no doubting the impact she’s had on professional hockey culture.

A few words from Jamie Fitzpatrick on the issues faced in the past:

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200 and Counting

by Alanah McGinley on 01/29/08 at 02:14 PM
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“Orca Bay” is no more—the Vancouver Canucks’ operating company underwent a long-overdue name change today: Canucks Sports & Entertainment. 

And it’s a big day for the new company, as tonight’s game represents the team’s 200th consecutive sellout.  Which is all well and good, but team president Chris Zimmerman isn’t taking anything for granted, either:

...Zimmerman doesn’t want to hear comparisons to the sold-out-from-now-to-eternity Toronto Maple Leafs.

“That’s an incredibly dangerous thing that I would never say,” Zimmerman said. “We talk all the time about ‘don’t take any of this for granted.’ Loyalty can be a fragile thing.”

Especially in Vancouver, which has historically been a fickle market.

That’s for sure. 

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NHLPA’s Player of the Day

by Alanah McGinley on 10/09/07 at 09:45 AM
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Yesterday’s Player of the Day.... the Sabres must be so pleased.

I realize this sort of thing happens all the time, but seriously: no one can find a pic of this guy in a Flyers’ jersey?

The guy’s getting a bazillion dollars to play in Philly over the coming 5 years.  I think “franchise player” is a reasonable definition of Briere’s job at this point.

It just makes you wonder at the people doing the marketing around this league sometimes. The NHL’s own media guide also still promotes Briere with the same photo.

And what is really the point of “Player of the Day” if not marketing the league and the player?

There’s No Business Like NHL Business…

by Alanah McGinley on 10/01/07 at 01:28 PM
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It’s definitely not a boring week in the hockey business when the very league we love—despite all the ways it drives us nuts—receives notification of a lawsuit filed against it by one of it’s own member teams, MSG and the New York Rangers. 

The lawsuit alleges that the NHL monopolizes control over team promotion.  The Rangers appear to be the only team left in the league that hasn’t handed over their website, as everyone else has followed the new standards. And that hasn’t sat well with the NHL:

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