Literature Findings

Throughout the term Emily and I have been researching what different professionals and scholars have to say about how organizations are using the internet to market their brand, and so for this post we would like to share some of our findings.

Daniel Mason, who writes for the International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship says that, “sports leagues and media providers are constantly seeking new ways of improving the consumption experience of viewers”. He goes on to say that, “the widespread convergence of sport and media technologies has resulted in a desire to create and provide new ways for fans to experience and consume sport.”

As displayed in our previous posts, Emily and I are really interested in how the NHL covers hockey online and so when we came across this quote from Adam Acone, who is the VP of broadcasting for the NHL, we were interested to hear what a professional had to say. Acone says that the goal that the media has for the coverage of hockey is, “to bring fans closer to the action and help them feel the speed and power of the game. We also want to broaden the audience by bringing the viewers closer to the players.”

In his article Mason discusses that one of the earliest challenges with watching hockey on the internet was the price, but as we’ve learned through our research of NHL GameCenter Live and NHL Vault, they have developed a way to make this service affordable for fans everywhere.
We also had a chance to review another scholar’s work, Norm O’Reilly and Ryan Rahinel who, like Mason, writes for the Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship. O’Reilly and Rahinel provide insights into the growth and expansion of televised hockey, and their report features the importance of forecasting the future of media technologies in hockey. They review five major technologies identified as, “high definition television (HDTV), interactive television (iTV), video on demand (VOD), personal video recorders (PVRs), and mobile multimedia devices (MMDs).”In their article they also discuss how HDTV is one of the newest forms of technology that currently has the greatest potential to influence the way in which fans choose to watch hockey, and through out research we have learned that this feature is now available online. This demonstrates how the NHL has taken care to keep on top of the evolving technologies so that they may effectively market the sport online.

James Santomier discusses that through the, “integration of new media technologies has changed the manner in which sport is produced, marketed, delivered, and consumed.” This article makes the important point about the ways in which new media digital technologies are imperative when it comes to the consumption of sports.

In his book, “Twitter Power: How to dominate your market one tweet at a time”, Joel Comm discusses how organizations are able to market their brand through social media sites. The NHL and its teams have embraced these social media sites as a way to market the league and provide updates to its fans. In hockey, one of the most important things of the game is building a network of fans. In order to do this the NHL or the specific team must market the game to each demographic that makes up their audience. Members of the younger generation are beginning to use social media sites more than ever before, which means that the NHL must now too communicate through these mediums. The Pittsburgh Penguins, for example, use Twitter as a means to update fans on trades, injuries, lineups, in-game updates, and general news about the team in a clear, concise manner. This tells fans that the Penguins are dedicated to providing up-to-the-minute information about the team in the simplest way possible. In a society where people want information fast, Twitter provides organizations with the ability to report events more quickly and accurately than other media outlets and, as Comm says, “it’s clear that the future belongs to those who embrace social media as a regular part of their lives.”

Through these articles Emily and I have discovered how the NHL is using the internet to market the league and increase its viewers. We think that it’s really interesting how an organization as big as the NHL has embraced the internet to this extent, and how because of this, they are able to better communicate with hockey fans around the world. Society is clearly moving forward in its use of technology, and we are excited to see where this technology will take the NHL and the hockey community in the future.