Coca-Cola is launching a national promo to leverage its
NHL sponsorship around its PowerAde brand, called the
PowerAde/NHL Challenge. Set to run through December 31, the
promo features both an instant-win sweeps and a skills-based
contest. Consumers use game codes found behind the labels
of 20-, 24- and 32- ounce packages of PowerAde and can enter
the contest via powerade.com or 1-800-888-4ADE. ESPN's
Steve Levy will be featured on the toll-free number. Prizes
for the instant-win game include ticket packages to the 2000
NHL All-Star Game, PowerAde/NHL screen savers and other
premiums. The grand prize for the skills competition is to
spend a week with the NHL team of the winner's choice. The
promo will be supported via a multi-million dollar marketing
campaign including national and local NHL-themed TV, radio
and print ads, as well as Internet ads on NHL.com, MTV,
Sony, The Globe and Yahoo! (Coca-Cola). BRANDWEEK's Theresa
Howard reports that the budget for the effort "is estimated
at" $5M and that McCann-Erickson, N.Y., handles the
campaign. The promo, targeted toward male teens, "revs" the
PowerAde brand "prior to a big Olympics push next year"
(BRANDWEEK, 9/20 issue). The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Andy
Bernstein calls the effort PowerAde's "largest NHL-themed
promotion ever" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/20 issue).
NHL IS NATIONWIDE: With the NHL season set to begin
October 1, BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton reports that OR-based
Wieden & Kennedy is "crafting a campaign" for the NHL that
"will be seen" on ABC's and ESPN's NHL coverage and
"possibly elsewhere." The "creative brief" for the campaign
"states the mission as one of converting local fan avidity
into a national passion" for the league. NHL Commissioner
Gary Bettman, on the effort: "Nationally, we are a salmon
swimming upstream because of the fragmentation in TV
viewing. But our local fan base is strong enough that a
more focused effort to convert them into national NHL fans
can work." New NHLE President Richie Woodworth adds, "We've
been knocked for being too regional, and to continue to grow
we need to get very consistent in terms of our message and
imagery." Lefton writes that "even with declining" TV
ratings, corporate sponsorship progress is "evident," as
league execs say that "sponsors will commit" $300M to NHL-
themed ads, up 20% from last year. Dodge runs its first-
ever hockey-themed TV ads this season (BRANDWEEK, 9/20).
