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Bar Down: New Blackhawks Promotion Offers Rewards For Fans Watching Games At Bars

The Blackhawks last month "quietly rolled out a new rewards system through which fans can win prizes for watching games at bars," according to Danny Ecker of CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS. The "'Official Blackhawks Bar Rewards Program' works like this: Each official team bar -- there are now 345 of them in all, including 13 out of state -- gets a unique code for every game." Fans can "check-in" at that bar by "entering the code on a specific page within the official NHL mobile app, earning 10 rewards points each time they do." Fans then become "eligible for certain prize drawings based on the number of games at which they check in." Like most Blackhawks "marketing gimmicks, it's aimed at boosting fan engagement with the team." However, it is an "especially logical addition for a franchise on a 333-game sellout streak looking for a way to help make more fans that don't or can't afford to attend games to feel connected to the team." The Blackhawks "launched their bar program" in '09 as a "tactic to help pull the storied franchise back to relevance in Chicago." It began by "promoting those partner bars and giving them Blackhawks decor in exchange for them showing Blackhawks games on at least half of their TVs with sound and -- most important -- offering special deals on brands" represented by team Owner Rocky Wirtz' alcohol distribution business, Breakthru Beverage Group. Since then the number of bars in the program has "more than tripled." Blackhawks VP/Marketing Pete Hassen said the team "may add another 100 to 150 bars to its network over the next couple years" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 12/1).

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