As Lockout Continues On, Some NHL Sponsors Turn To Plan B
As the NHL lockout continues on, some of the league's largest sponsors are scrambling to reallocate marketing dollars. Today, the Global and Mail is reporting that Kraft will cancel its successful grassroots activation program, Hockeyville, for 2013 instead choosing to allocate $1 million to minor hockey associations across Canada.
“We’re re-investing our sponsorship dollars to recognize the game is going on – from Victoria to St. John’s,” Kraft spokesperson Kathy Murphy told the Globe and Mail by e-mail.
The lockout is creating headwinds for another major sponsor, Molson Coors. According to CEO David Perkins, the company is actively looking for substitute marketing opps.
"Hockey generates a lot of beer occasions in Canada, whether it's in bars, in home or in the venues and it's a really important part of how we activate behind our power brands, Coors Light and Canadian," Perkins said on the company's third quarter conference call. "So we're obviously working to replace the hockey programming."
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