The Stanley Cup finals wrapped up last night as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two. It was good to see two traditional hockey cities go at it, but clearly the NHL, like the recently run Indianapolis 500, is struggling for relevance and audience share.
The Indy 500 would certainly have benefitted by Danica Patrick taking the checkered flag, and the NHL probably was secretly wishing the Pens had hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup. Here’s WordPress Marketing Blogger Network’s Marketing Integrity on Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, the up and coming star that hockey is hoping will restore it to prominence.
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Thanks Rick,
The NHL is certainly hoping that Crosby will fill the role vacated by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Since these two statesmen have left the game, the NHL has lacked a character to be their spotlight star like Kobe is for the NBA and Manning, Brady, and Owens are for the NFL.
From an advertisers point-of-view stars like Gretzky, Lemieux, and Manning not only wield star power but their on and off-field antics don’t wreak havoc (like Owens and to a lesser extent Kobe) for the brands that are looking for endorsement power. The power behind Crosby is that he is a bona fide star and his character holds him to a high public standard. Advertisers love him now and if he ever wins a cup his stock will skyrocket all the more!