Case Study: #NHL Tweetup

1. Integrating Social:
How the #NHLTweetup
Added a New Marketing Dimension
to the Stanley Cup Playoffs
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2. The Stanley Cup Playoffs = Best Hockey of the Season
• The “hardest trophy
to win” in team
sports
• The best 16 teams
• The best players in
the world
• Unrivaled intensity
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3. But NHL fans don’t always activate nationally
• NHL fans skew more
tribal
• High incidents of
displaced fans
• Local vs. National TV
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4. Our marketing inspires them to think bigger
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5. But it takes more than marketing
• Launched thePORTAL microsite
− Playoff Obsession Raised To
Another Level
• Conducted traditional media
launch
• Tasked with making it “larger
than life”
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6. The power of social: few can sound like many
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7. The importance of social inducement
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8. Social doesn’t have to mean no media allowed
“One of the best Tweetups ever … I was pleasantly
surprised to see so many REAL hockey fans in
attendance, not just the social media/tech crowd
jumping on a Tweetup to promote and network … I
never would have had a chance to bond with the
aforementioned group if the NHL hadn't seen value in
gathering its Twitter-using fans together in one spot to
have longer than 140-character conversations.” – Kelly
Samardak, MediaPost
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9. And the media can help tell other parts of the story
Cover Story: Brands Take Social Media Into Real Life
“The menu of McDonald's and Bud Light
wasn't exactly haute cuisine. It was
enough, however, to satisfy the 150
hockey fans who got together last week
in New York as part of a series of parties
organized online by the National Hockey
League to celebrate the start of the
playoff season.
The NHL held what is probably the most
extensive "Tweetup" to date, using the
service to hold parties in 23 U.S. and
Canadian cities. They ran the gamut of
large and small, with some like the one
in Regina, Saskatchewan, drawing 350
attendees and others, like the one in
Edmonton, Alberta, attracting just 10.
The NHL and other brands are taking a
page from political groups that use
social-networking tools to help their
constituencies organize themselves.” –
Brian Morrissey, AdWeek
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10. And provide a longer shelf life for the story
NHL Hosts Tweetups for Hockey Fans
League Has Been One of Sports' Most
Aggressive Users of Twitter and Other Digital
Media
“Continuing its aggressive use of Twitter, the National Hockey League
is hosting 21 „tweetups‟ -- real-world get-togethers of Twitter users -- to mark
the start of its playoffs tomorrow …
“The NHL has generally been among the most aggressive sports
leagues in terms of its digital offerings and efforts, including an online
subscription service that offers live broadcasts of every NHL game. The league
said its fan base tends to be younger and more digitally inclined than those of
the other big leagues and, as such, more likely to be dialed in to Twitter and
other social media.” – Jeremy Mullman
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11. Some other results from #NHLTweetup
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