Wayne S. Roberts is senior principal with Blade Creative Branding of Toronto, the agency he founded in 1991
Despite the naysayers who argue Rogers overpaid for NHL hockey rights, make no mistake, they got a bargain for just $5.2 billion.
That’s because they took the long view and already knew how they were going to get all that money back, and enjoy a hefty dividend, too. The major off-ice call the folks at Rogers made probably went something like this:
Rogers Guy: “Let’s hip Hockey Night in Canada up by hiring a hip guy who is fluent in hockey, appealing to all sorts of people who aren’t male, white, angry and over 60, and will open the door to a wicked big audience with money, who just might want to like hockey again.”
Other Rogers Guy: “Right! An audience that would definitely like hockey more if the broadcast team didn’t appeal mainly to knuckle draggers and angry white guys who think Don Cherry is a genius.”
Rogers Guy: “I think I just said that. But we just need the right cool guy.”
Other Rogers Guy: “And that guy is…?”
Both Rogers Guys: “STROMBO!”
Strombo—cool name and an overall cool factor that make Ron and Don look like Abbott and Costello. With Strombo, it will no longer be Hockey Night in Boring Old Fart Land.
Hockey Night in Canada is an entrenched, wildly profitable and terminally boring institution. It is a senior citizen, showing its age and resting on the laurels of being the repository of hockey memories for generations of Canadians.
In buying NHL rights for the next 12 years, Rogers knew it could not afford to distance itself from this core of the brand community. But it also knew future growth was going to have to come from a younger, hipper and more demanding audience expecting more variety and more fun.
Enter Strombo—younger, more urbane, tuned-in and connected to people who are comfortable sharing their stories with him. He’s also good at getting those people to talk about all kinds of stuff. He’s also a challenging and surprising conversationalist who creates moments of tension that command attention and, even better, sharing.
The shift to George Stroumboulopoulos will immediately target a younger audience. That’s a no-brainer. But he will also reach the sought-after, affluent and influential LGBT market, too. The game has let Cherry shut out these folks for far too long, and he can’t be the one who brings them back (were they ever there?).
Canada’s Boyfriend is also going to attract women because he’s cute and he talks to people who are even cuter, like rock stars, writers, actors and other luminaries women love to watch—and talk about to other women. Women do not talk about Ron and Don. Ever.
Veteran freelance sports broadcaster and journalist Glenn Gingerich predicts: “Strombo is going to be what Drake has proven to be for the Toronto Raptors. Cool factor embodied. Relevancy assured. Engagement boosted.”
Gingerich knows his sports. As a longtime contributor to The Sports Forecaster and TSN, as well as the commissioner of multiple online fantasy leagues, he has covered and marketed to professional league sports for over 30 years. He says HNIC’s current mix of personalities is still well-liked, but there is no growth potential with this crew.
“Strombo will add more than just his own attributes of youth and coolness,” says Gingerich. “He’ll change the business model by bringing new audiences representing a broader cross-section of the population.”
Viewers can expect George to broadcast live from more than just a studio or an NHL rink, says Gingerich. He’ll show up at a rock concert, a hip nightspot or in the home of a very famous celebrity, and they’ll watch the game together while George reports.
In just the first few weeks of his tenure, George will make hockey seem cool—fights and other on-ice mayhem notwithstanding. And when George gets the exclusive interview with the first openly gay NHL player, the league will get the type of coverage Rob Ford would envy.
Best of all, George is likable, naturally. The NHL is not, normally. And George loves hockey like a kid, plays it like a regular guy and is a fan of the game. Okay, he’s a fan of les Canadiens, but that’s not really going to register much—everybody else hates Toronto, too.
But the NHL and Rogers are going to love Strombo. He’s the rainmaker who’s going to make that $5.2-billion ticket a winner. Hockey with earrings. Who knew?
