With the NHL’s All-Star weekend festivities set to take place in Ottawa this coming weekend, the league is reporting the highest volume of All-Star sponsorship activation since 2007.
In addition to Tim Hortons, the event’s title sponsor, and Scotiabank, the title sponsor of the Scotiabank NHL Fan Fair – an associated event that runs throughout the weekend – corporate partners include newcomers such as Allstate Insurance and smartphone brand BlackBerry.
Molson Canadian, meanwhile, returns to the All-Star fold after a 12-year absence.
Kyle McMann, vice-president of integrated marketing for the NHL, said sponsors like Tim Hortons and Scotiabank have been able to increase the value of their involvement by promoting the game weeks ahead of time.
“Our partners have really turned it into a two- or three-month activation window, in some cases, and it’s all going to burble up and come to life in the next few days,” said McMann.
“(Sponsors) can take this moment of the season, when we focus all the attention on a single event, and use it to launch their next wave of hockey programming.”
The weekend’s sponsorship activities begin Thursday, when a group of Timbits minor hockey players skate NHL trophies down Ottawa’s Rideau Canal to the site of the Scotiabank Fan Fair.
On Thursday evening, Molson Canadian will sponsor the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft, the selection of each team’s members televised on TSN, RDS and, in the U.S., the NBC Sports Channel.
On Friday, Allstate will activate its title sponsorship of NHL All-Star Media Day, marking the first time that the NHL has had a title sponsor for media day activities.
Battery brand Energizer will sponsor a Friday-evening event on the Rideau Canal during which 2,500 participants will wear Energizer-branded headlamps as they skate to raise money for the Sens Foundation and a community rink-building project. Also on Friday night, SiriusXM will present an All-Star-themed rock concert at Ottawa’s Byward Market.
The following day begins with Canadian Tire’s sponsorship of a skills competition for minor hockey players aged seven to 12 and continues that evening with the Molson Canadian NHL Skills Competition.
Several brands will serve as sponsors of specific events in the skills competition. Allstate, Bridgestone, Canadian Tire, Blackberry, G Series and Tim Hortons will take ownership of events such as the breakaway and hardest-shot contests.
Molson Canadian will also sponsor a Saturday-night party at the Molson Canadian Hockey House.
In addition to these events, several brands have made commitments to support All-Star weekend by advertising with the league’s broadcast partners. Cisco, Honda, McDonald’s and Enterprise are among the companies that will air creative on CBC, TSN, RDS and NBC Sports Channel.
Other brands will be active at the Scotiabank Fan Fair, including Bauer, Reebok/CCM and card company Upper Deck.
