In 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks emerged
from a long slumber, advancing to the NHL’s Western Conference Finals and
filling their home at the United Center.
Only a year before, the United Center had often been more than
half-empty – the ‘Hawks had announced crowds of as little as 8,000, with the
actual headcount of fans in seats totaling a much smaller number. In 2009, as they simultaneously
returned to competitiveness and changed ownership, a
long sellout streak that remains active.
But at that point, their fan base was still mostly their hard-core
loyalists returning after a long time wandering in the metaphorical desert.
In
the off-season, the Blackhawks came up with an ingenious way to reach other
fans. They would market themselves
by creating initiatives through some of Chicago’s other sports teams. They started a “Blackhawks
Day” with the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and a yearlong partnership
with the American League’s White Sox.
But
the big move was to try to partner with the NFL’s Bears. The Blackhawks’ then-Vice President of
Business Operations said the idea was borne from a meeting of NHL executives in
May, when someone noted that 92% of NHL fans are also fans of the NHL. “I remember writing the word ‘Bears’
and circling it,” Blunk told the Chicago Tribune in October of 2009. “The Blackhawks are an up and coming
brand on the move. But the Chicago
Bears are an iconic international brand.
So when it came to attaching our brand to something with great
credibility and great reach, there was no bigger fish than the Chicago Bears.” (Rosenthal, 2009).
The
Blackhawks paid to make the ads and buy ad time. The Bears arranged for some of that ad time to be made
available at no cost through programs that they owned, both on line and over
the air. The Bears also loaned
their star athletes to shoot promos with Blackhawks stars, so linebacker Lance
Briggs teamed with defenseman Brent Seabrook to compare how hard hits cause
turnovers. Hawks’ sniper Patrick
Sharp helped Bears’ kicker Robbie Gould take target practice at a net strung
from between the NFL goalposts.
The spots were more clever than funny, but it gave the Blackhawks
additional credibility to be seen with the more established brand in town.
Except,
the spots were never seen at all.
The National Football League stepped in and put the campaign on
ice. The NFL requires a
three-fourths vote of approval from the league’s 32 teams to allow the use of
its’ teams’ marks to promote another sport. The Bears believed their support of the Blackhawks was
“within the framework of the spirit of what the rule was,” according to Bears’
senior director of corporate communications Scott Hagel. “They felt differently, and we have to
respect their decision.” (Rosenthal, 2009).
The
result here is, on the surface, somewhat disappointing. Clearly, there was no malice
aforethought here. The Blackhawks
needed to expand their fan base into the reach of more general sports fans and
casual hockey fans (they would accomplish this the next summer, when they won
the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years, and drew some two million fans
to their parade). The Bears sought to be supportive of a
like brand with which they didn’t really compete head-to-head, to jump onto the
rising bandwagon of the Blackhawks’ popularity, and to promote Chicago sports
in general.
But one can also see the other side. Just because the Blackhawks have
friendly relations with the other sports teams in Chicago, doesn’t mean that
similar relationships exist in other cities. Sometimes teams in the same cities become enemies because
they are competing for limited public dollars to finance projects, or consumer
spending dollars to buy tickets and merchandise. Sometimes ownership groups in the same cities simply don’t
like each other. Were the NFL to
allow this kind of agreement, it could open a Pandora’s box of issues which
could lead to misuse or misrepresentation of their marks.
Ultimately, leagues and teams need to be
vigilant about protecting their brands and safeguarding their reputations. The overall long-term credibility and
integrity of any league, franchise or governing body is larger than any single
issue. In a league as powerful as
the NFL, they are better off erring on the side of caution.
RESOURCES
1.
Brennan,
E. (2009, October 15). Bears, Blackhawks team up for ad campaign.
Retrieved from nbcchicago.com
2.
Fisher,
E. (2008, April 7). White Sox, Blackhawks form far reaching marketing
sponsorship. Retrieved from sportsbusinessdaily.com
3.
Ourand,
J. (2009, October 14). Bears, Blackhawks partnering on rare joint ad
campaign. Retrieved from sportsbusinessdaily.com
4.
Rosenthal,
P. (2009, December 04). NFL intercepts Bears-Blackhawks ad. Chicago Tribune.
Retrieved from www.chicagotribune.com
