Even if the NHL saves its season, retailers and marketers
are not certain they will be able to "resuscitate puck-related
campaigns." Nye Lavalle, President of Sports Marketing Group, a
company that counsels corporations on where to spend their
marketing money: "This has been a near fatal blow. The NHL is on
life support awhile after this. All the money's getting
reshuffled, and hockey's left out of the equation." Lavalle said
sponsors have found other areas to spend their money, such as
figure skating. Retailers have also lost out on revenue, but
some retailers claim NHL merchandise sales has continued to sell
despite the work stoppage (Kathryn Hooper, FT. WORTH STAR
TELEGRAM, 1/11). According to Bob Williams, President of Burns
Sports which helps find marketable athletes for advertisers, "it
will take time for hockey to jump back into the limelight,"
because of the lockout. According to some analysts, several NHL
players stood to get more endorsements this season until the
labor problems (Terry Armour, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/11).
