Hockey is already a big deal in Canada, but the 30-foot-high walls being set up within Toronto’s Distillery District are only one example of how the NHL is hoping to make it even bigger with the Scotiabank World Cup of Hockey Fan Village.
Set to operate from Sept. 16 through the 25th, the Village brings together a series of hockey-related experiences from the likes of Molson Canadian, Samsung and even more B2B-oriented brands such as SAP. Though the $25 tickets to the opening and closing concerts went on sale Thursday, general admission to the Fan Village will be free.
Steve Mayer, NHL executive vice-president and executive producer of events, programming, and creative development, told Marketing the Fan Village needed to not only promise an opportunity for powerful brand activations but a way to extend what fans could see and do amid the games.
“The event itself – that’s what it’s all about. But, we know fans won’t necessarily be able to go to every game,” he said. “The Village is a place where, when they come, they’ll realize they want to come back again tomorrow.”
Mayer highlighted Molson Canadian’s life-sized bubble hockey game, which will let fans get hands-on in an oversized replica of the classic arcade game, as one of the more innovative activations. Elsewhere, Scotiabank and Rogers (which owns Marketing), will offer ways for fans to view or experience hockey using virtual reality. SAP will be applying its analytics software to showcase scoring and statistics, and musical acts from Green Day to the Killers will be performing at the Pepsi World Cup of Hockey Premiere Party. Scotiabank will also be offering a fan passport to gain access to a variety of different activities in the Fan Village.
“We challenged them. They challenged us,” Mayer said of the brands taking part in the Fan Village. “It was a little like a puzzle: we have this great space and capabilities, so what could they bring to that? It’s also really important to me that there’s a consistent thread among the activations that makes it feel like’s it all one.”
That said, the NHL is baking a lot of variety into the Fan Village that aligns with team-related themes. An Abba cover band might play to celebrate Team Sweden, for instance, and Swedish meatballs will be offered as well, Mayer said.
This marks the first time in 12 years Toronto has hosted the World Cup of Hockey, noted Kyle McMann, the NHL’s group vice-president of integrated sales. That puts the city, via the Fan Village, in a cosmopolitan light to celebrate teams and players from around the world.
“Sport brings the world together and this is a way for us to really build on that spirit of multiculturalism,” he said. In fact, part of the activities in the Fan Village will include a citizenship ceremony for more than 100 new Canadians.
McMann said while the NHL would be conducting its own research on how initiatives such as the Fan Village drive consumption of its content, boosts unaided awareness, favourability and other metrics, brands activiating in the space will look to the NHL for insight on the impact of their sponsorship as well.
While the Fan Village will only exist for a limited time, Mayer suggested it has long-term value in starting the journey to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 100th anniversary in 2017.
“How often can you build this kind of incredible momentum into a regular hockey season and beyond?” he said. “We’ll basically be celebrating all year.”
