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The NHL’s Winter Classic: A Brand Building Success StoryJanuary 3, 2012 at 6:36 pm by Ted MininniThe NHL’s Winter Classic is a huge event born of a simple idea. An NHL hockey game played outside once a year reconnecting fans to the heritage of this great sport. Of course, over 100 years ago, hockey was always played outside. Frozen ponds and homemade skating rinks hosted many heated contests among hockey players of every age and every talent level. While we’ve pretty much taken all of our hockey games inside, there are still avid players and fans who love playing hockey outside. The NHL Winter Classic is a huge treat for fans. The league does an incredible job promoting the event, generating excitement and hype for the game as it positions the NHL as a global brand. Remember: this truly is a global brand with players – and fans – from Canada and the U.S. as well as from all over Europe and Russia. The league wisely leveraged all of the hype, generating significant revenue from the sale of jerseys and apparel designed specifically for the Winter Classic as well as countless collectibles commemorating the event. Smart thinking.  Yet with all of this hype, the Winter Classic is nothing more than a glorified regular season game. Think about it… a regular season NHL game turned into an internationally televised mega-event that the league refers to as its “Super Bowl”. From a brand development standpoint, it’s simply genius. Fast forward to this year’s game. The Philadelphia Flyers hosted the New York Rangers in the fifth Winter Classic, which was played yesterday, January 2nd at Citizens Bank Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies. Because I’m a long-time Flyers season ticket holder, I landed some sweet seats to the game. Unfortunately, I witnessed my beloved Flyers lose to the New York Rangers 3-2 in a dramatic come-from-behind victory before a boisterous crowd of more than 47,000 fans. But the Winter Classic isn’t about one game. It’s about a weekend. It’s about creating a connection among hockey fans and about a memorable experience with a brand: the NHL. 45,000 fans attended the December 31st game featuring Flyers and Rangers alums: heroes of the past. That was certainly something to relish. Something I had an opportunity to share with my 17 year old son. I’m 46, yet I had never attended a Flyers game as a child. So, this was an incredible opportunity for me to see the legendary “Broad Street Bullies” play together one last time. I welled up instantly at the sight of Bernie Parent donning his old leather pads and iconic white goalie mask. Memories were made that day. Memories that will be shared among long-time Flyers and Rangers fans over quite a few beers, for years to come.  So far, the Winter Classic has created great experiences for Buffalo, Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, their teams and their die-hard fans. So, why only one outdoor game per season when most franchises are clamoring for more? NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, when interviewed by ESPN, stated: “There has been considerable debate, both outside my office and within the league and from the clubs. There are a number of clubs who say, 'I want this, and even if I've hosted it, I don't want to wait 10 years to get it back. So let's do more and more and more.' Other people say this has become a special event, because it's special, it's unique and that's something that, over time, we'll probably continue to wrestle with. But I don't think we are going to change the format in the short term." Let’s hear your thoughts:
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