from Susan Krashinsky of the Globe and Mail,
Following months of speculation, and last week’s announcement that the NHL had cancelled the first two weeks of play, sponsors and advertisers are now anxiously drawing up contingency plans in case more – or eventually all – of the season is compromised, for the second time in less than a decade.
“The big impact for us is, we really have to plan our media strategy down two tracks – with hockey, and without hockey,” said Duncan Hannay, Bank of Nova Scotia’s senior vice-president and head of marketing in Canada.
He echoes the discussions happening right now among national corporate marketing partners of the league, such as his company, as well as individual team sponsors and other advertisers who have bought time against what they thought would be televised hockey games drawing bulk audiences.
As the season is scaled back, or possibly cancelled, sponsors get those investment dollars back, Mr. Hannay said, but they also lose the valuable connection to the league that a functional NHL provides.
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