Canada’s 24-hour sports channels are less than two weeks away from what is arguably their biggest head-to-head showdown of the year: the National Hockey League’s trade deadline.
A day when even a journeyman forward or depth player is thrust into the national media spotlight, the trade deadline is rife with “we-reported-it-first” bluster and incessant on-air chatter designed to fill the frequent lulls between trades. Yet that hasn’t stopped advertisers from lining up to associate themselves with what has become one of the signature events on the NHL calendar.
Leading the way is Coors Light, which has signed on as presenting sponsor of Sportsnet’s Hockey Central Trade Deadline coverage in what is being billed as a “groundbreaking” five-platform deal that includes TV, radio, digital, mobile and print.
“The way we approached the market is very much how our brand has been redefined – as a brand and not just a TV network or website,” said Jamie Michaels, the former CBC marketing executive who joined Sportsnet last fall as director of brand integration. “We were looking for a partner that could join us across every platform that a fan would consume the trade deadline on.”
In addition to traditional media elements, Coors Light has also been “baked in” to the Hockey Central Trade Deadline coverage, said Michaels. The beer brand is included in both the Trade Deadline logo as well as on-set graphics. “They travel wherever our Trade Deadline brand is travelling,” said Michaels.
The premium-priced sponsorship package, assembled with Coors Light’s media agency MEC Canada, also includes TV billboards, sponsorship of a digital “trade tracker” and a preview ad in the Feb. 27 issue of Sportsnet magazine.
Boston Pizza, Hampton Inn and Tim Hortons are also on board as sponsors for Hockey Central Trade Deadline coverage, while Michaels said the channel is still “in discussions” with other potential advertising partners.
“There’s a lot of demand,” said Michaels. “Everyone’s trying to reach the consumer in a certain sort of way and trying to follow them across all the platforms. I think this sort of thing is really coveted.”
TSN, which first started bringing all-day coverage of the trade deadline to fans in 2000, wouldn’t confirm which sponsors it has lined up for its trade deadline coverage program, TradeCentre.
However, a spokesperson for the network told Marketing: “As a result of our leading coverage, trade deadline day is clearly of increasing interest to advertisers.” The spokesperson said that advertising revenues for TradeCentre have increased every year since its inception.
TSN averaged 268,000 viewers 2+ for its TradeCentre ’11 coverage according to BBM Canada, a 42% increase over the previous year. Audience levels for the channel’s coverage peaked at 524,000 viewers at the close of the trade deadline at 3:01 p.m.
The five busiest days in the history of TSN.ca have all come during the trade deadline, and the site recorded 14.9 million page views in 2011.
