On Today’s Agenda:
The NHWL Rebrand
What We’d Like To See This Season in the NFL
Canada and USA Soccer Will Make Some Noise
A New Federation
The NWHL Rebrand
Source: victorypress.org
After a very exciting finish to the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship last week (big shoutout to Canada and the 🐐 Marie-Philip Poulin), the buzz around hockey during the NHL offseason has been focused on the women’s side - and headlines continue to be made.
The National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) has officially rebranded into the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), dropping the “women’s” label from their organization’s name. In an interview on the 31 Thoughts Podcast, commissioner Ty Tumminia cited the recent growth and major changes behind the scenes as the spark for the rebrand. The league had a very impressive bounce-back during the pandemic - hitting new highs in viewership, partnerships, including a broadcast partnership on NBC for the 2021 Isobel Cup. Heading into their 7th season, the salary cap has also doubled to a record high, which is another indicator of the growth of the league.
Tumminia also mentioned that this change can be summed up with the phrase “No labels, no limits” - removing the label of women on the athletes and just labeling them as hockey players. Additionally, it was important to be more inclusive of all their players, with respect to the diversity of gender identities in the league. This strong social statement with the rebrand comes with a new logo that pays homage to the W from the NWHL, unveiled over social media.
The PHF becomes “first professional women’s sports league in North America to lift the word ‘women's out of its title”, and sports fans should be excited at the social change taking place, and the steps being taken to recognize professional women’s sports as equal to professional men’s sports. With last week’s newsletter referencing the rise of female athletes like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka as the most marketable athletes, the numbers clearly don’t lie. Also, the momentum is not slowing down, as the Baylor Bears announced that they will drop the label “lady” from their women’s basketball program, and call both teams the Bears. The modern athlete is bold, outspoken, and not afraid to show their true colours - and leagues and organizations are beginning to recognize and reflect that in their branding.
Note: an underrated part of the rebrand that Commissioner Tuumminia also mentioned on 31 Thoughts: The Podcast was the international recognition that the name “Premier Hockey Federation” gets. With players from all over Europe and North America playing in the league, it was important to select a name that reflects the professional status at a global level - an eye-opening perspective on the importance of branding beyond the North American bubble.
The Return of Sunday Night Football
What We’d Like To See This Season in the NFL
Source: cleveland.com
Thirty. It has been exactly 30 Sundays since the last meaningful NFL game was played on February 7th, 2021. But fear not, the NFL returned last night with Thursday Night Football featuring the Cowboys and Buccaneers. With games finally being played after a long off-season here are some items, we’d like to see more of in the NFL this season.
The Typical Cheesy NFL Commercial
Only one game has been played at the time we write this, and I cannot tell you how many of the typical insurance, food, or streaming commercials, I’ve already seen! To make matters worse, we’re in Canada, so I can only imagine what Americans are being hit with on their local broadcasts. We’re all for players ‘getting that bag’, but at what cost? At times It’s apparent that major corporations forget that over-exposure is an issue too. Think back to last year’s Super Bowl, leading up to the game the big companies are already spewing out their commercials but come game time on February 7th, you’re already cringing at the sound of a commercial beginning because you’ve seen it so many times. How we’d change that going forward is to make these partnerships more experiential or story-based. For example, Progressive should make their commercial a reality. Host a Progressive x Mayfield garage sale outside of the stadium where you can buy actual things from Baker (possibly his own merch, always be plugging) and within this garage sale have interactive activities like crash dummies, a smashed corner, or whatever, else that would result in people making an insurance claim. This way fans are interacting with the partners’ product, you’re growing the athlete’s personal brand, AND dare I say it, potential consumers are having a positive engagement with your product/ service.
More Slime
I know we just covered that the NFL needs to cut out the cheesy stunts that they always perform in ads BUT we’re here for the slime. Look if you’re over 16 and you grew out of Nickelodeon, it’s not helping the street cred of the NFL but who cares. They aren’t doing it for us older people, they’re doing it to engage with the next generation of fans. What other league is doing this? None off the top of my head. Think back to when you were a kid, assuming you aren’t born in the 2000s and have grown up with a streaming, but when there were designated channels that you watch regardless of the show. For me, TVO kids & YTV were the big ones growing up, that’s all I’d watch. Now think about it, if YTV started playing curling but people were getting slimed, I’d be intrigued. Not only that but it builds my awareness and recognition for the sport. So, as time went on, I’d begin to build a connection with a team maybe even at a base level it is with the team that always caused the slime to drop (the team that scores the most). That’s how fandom starts and builds. I don’t have the exact stat with me but there was a study done and the logo of a team that is on a child’s hat at the age of 9, has over a 90% likelihood of becoming their team for life. Conclusion? Slime well spent.
Fan x Player Interaction
There are lots that can be said for this point, but I’ll try and keep it brief at three items: James Robinson. Fantasy Football and sports betting. First, James Robinson. I absolutely love what he did with his recent number change from 30 to 25. To ensure, fans do not have a negative sentiment and to show that he cares, he sent out a tweet telling fans if you have one of his number 30 jerseys to DM a picture of it the Jaguars and they’ll set up a time for James to sign your jersey, as a sign of appreciation. This is top-notch. It’s showing fans he appreciates them when they spend nearly $200 for his nameplate and that even though it’s an older jersey now, it still holds value. Second, Fantasy Football. The seasons have started, drafts have been made and bets amongst friends are being placed. In past years, you would hear of players bashing fantasy and saying they don’t care if you pick them on your team. WRONG MINDSET. This platform that the NFL has created, is an unreal engagement tool for fans to interact with their product, and buying into that can go a long way. Like James Robinson, show fans you care. Tell them drafting you won’t be a bad decision because regardless of fantasy players should be wanting to put up numbers so leverage that as both the fan and players’ objectives are aligned. Lastly, sports betting. I know there are still some grey areas, and it’s a big no-no for athletes to be involved in it. But a simple interaction that can go a long way, with the rise of legalized sports betting acknowledgment. Think about how simple it be for a player to quote tweet fans’ earnings, and say congrats on the win, I hope I win you more money this season, and don’t forget to bet on your favourite team. Pretty simple. Not too sure about the legal restrictions on all states or leagues but you get just.
With all of this said, these are just a couple of thoughts that we, the white whale mktg writers for The Sport Marketeer, have regarding the return of the NFL this season.
The Rise of North America in the World of Soccer
Canada and USA Soccer Will Make Some Noise
Source: CBC
Over the past few decades, we have not seen a successful North American national soccer team, whether it’s Canada or the United States. Both teams have been consistently beaten by the world’s superpowers whether it’s losing to Brazil, Germany, Argentina, England, etc. But sometimes not even making it to that stage and losing to teams like Honduras, Cuba, Mexico, etc.
But it’s 2021 now…. Previously both national teams relied on the few players they had who played outside of Continental America, like Landon Donovan and Julian De Guzman, who were exceptional players for their nations, but honestly, somewhat average for top professional teams across the globe. It’s a different story in this new generation.
Alphonso Davies: Champions League winner, Bundesliga winner, DFB Pokal winner, Canadian
Christian Pulisic: Champions League winner, Super Cup winner, DFB Pokal winner, American
Weston McKennie: Champions league appearances, Coppa Italia Winner, Supercoppa Italia winner, American
Jonathan David: Ligue 1 winner, Europa League appearances, Trophee des Champions winner, Canadian
That’s only 4 of the 24 players combined in both the current US and Canadian national team squads who play outside of North America.
More and more we are seeing players from Canada and the US playing at the top level and being highly successful. Over the past decades, we haven’t seen this level of high-quality players in the national teams.
It will be extremely exciting to see both the United States and Canada qualify for the 2022 World Cup and then jointly-hosting the 2026 Cup with Mexico. With already so many talented players, the future is bright for the next decade, inspiring this next generation to be the best and bring success to Canadian and American soccer.
From a marketing perspective, the opportunity to increase the soccer viewerships and followership market in Canada and the US that are currently football, hockey, and basketball dominated, the possible success of the two teams in the years to come can make soccer one of the most viewed sports in the continent. If both teams were to make it to the world cup, it would be certain that many people would tune in to see how their country does.
We could see never before seen investments into North American soccer, and eventually, see that investment cause North America to compete with the rest of the world for world domination in the sport.