Wendy's continues to establish itself as the NHL's most active sponsor. Following All-Star ballot distribution last fall, Wendy's International Inc. will back the league's "Cup Crazy" postseason marketing platform with a promotion that a league official called the largest any NHL sponsor has ever undertaken.
A "Cup Crazy" peel-off game, placed on fries boxes and soft-drink cups, will offer NHL trips and merchandise, as well as food items, as prizes. Although the promotion is structured on a regional basis by Wendy's, the league said it is being adopted nearly systemwide. It kicks off prior to the NHL playoffs, which begin in April.
A major partner in the promotion is the Coca-Cola Co., the fountain supplier of Wendy's. Fast food chains and soft drink companies have long been partners on sports-themed marketing ventures, but the NHL, which holds an annual summit meeting for all its sponsors, has been trying to get other types of companies to run cross-promotions leveraging their NHL relationship.
To that end, NHL sponsors Dodge and Quaker State Corp. have teamed up for an offer and contest now appearing on Quaker State cases. A scratch-off card inserted in cases offers a chance to win a new Dodge Dakota truck, while consumers can mail in proofs-of-purchases and receive free NHL licensed merchandise.
The NFL has a new sponsorship agreement. But this time, the league is the sponsor, backing The Komen Race for the Cure, a series of 5K fitness runs/walks that raises money for breast cancer research.
League officials termed the sponsorship part of an "ongoing commitment to its female fans and their families." Cancer research has become the charity of choice in the sports world. The NHL, the WNBA and two college basketball-related efforts — Coaches vs. Cancer and the Jimmy V Foundation — have collectively raised millions for cancer research.
Hershey Foods Corp. will bring back the Million Dollar Kick contest at this week's NFL Pro Bowl in Honolulu. For two years running, contestants have successfully kicked a 35-yard field goal and walked away with $1 million each. This year, the distance has been moved back to 40 yards, but Hershey is still probably hoping for a winner. After a Tennessee man walked away with the prize in 1998, Hershey received more than 30 million media impressions nationwide on monitored electronic broadcasts alone, according to its public relations agency Hill & Knowlton. That figure does not include print impressions and an estimated 300 broadcast hits that were not monitored. Most companies that stage these contests maintain they are not meant to generate media exposure, but that they are all about improving retail shelf space and generating incremental sales. But then again, they also unleash a p.r. frenzy when prizes are awarded, and send winners around the country on media tours.
