NBC Sports' Long Form ‘Face To Face With The Stanley Cup’ NHL Final Promo

NBC Sports is promoting its coverage of the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup with a spot showing just what happens when unsuspecting hockey fans come face-to-face with the Stanley Cup trophy.

The reactions range from excitement and delight, stunned shock, jaw-dropping awe and even a few tears.

This powerful fan-reaction film, narrated by Hollywood actor and huge hockey fan Liev Schreiber, reinforces just what the name, the cup and the competition means to hockey lovers.

Launched online a week before the final series starts, this three-minute video was developed by NBC’s own in-house creative team along with Stun Creative in Los Angeles.

It uses a set of hidden cameras to capture real-life reaction an footage as they seemingly stumble upon the biggest trophy in world sport.

The fans were not pre-warned about the presence of Lord Stanley’s Cup – a trophy that dates back to 1892 – and according to NBC, they were simply told were being interviewed as part of a hockey fan focus group for the broadcaster.

Dressed in their various team jerseys, the fans answer a standard set of questions about why they love hockey: discussing everything from speed and skill, to family bonding and passion.

Then they are asking specifically about the meaning of the Stanley Cup itself

Comments range from the Cup being ‘living history’, being the ‘be-all and end-all’, ‘the ultimate goal’ and ‘the Holy Grail’.

Then, on their way out of the building, the broadcaster asks the focus group attendees to step into a side room and sign off on some paperwork and they walk into a room where, sat on a raised dais, is the Cup itself.

The unscripted reactions are powerful enough to speak for themselves.

The spot aimed to boost Stanley Cup ratings and was launched to coincide with NBC’s coverage of the conference finals game 7 matches on 29 and 30 May with The New York Rangers facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final and The Chicago Blackhawks battle the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.

The puck drops on the hockey finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning on 3 June.

‘We knew NHL fans are passionate about hockey and their teams,’ comments Stun Creative partner Brad Roth. ‘But we didn’t fully anticipate how emotional and excited they would be in the immediate presence of the Stanley Cup’.

It follows previous NBC Sports spots released to promote the 2015 NHL playoffs such as 27 May’s ‘Kiss’

and 9 May’s ‘We Want The Cup’.

Comment

Good commercial partners understand that providing fans with a unique experience that enhance their passion for the property is key to successful sponsorship activation.

Great sponsors know that spontaneous, truly unfettered fan emotion is the best engagement of all.

This Stanley Cup mini-film is just part of NBC’s current sports marketing strategy which is focused on go beyond the usual 30-second commercial spots.

‘More and more we’re thinking outside of the lines of 30-second and 15-second promos to do longer-form things,’ explains NBC Sports senior VP of marketing Bill Bergofin.

‘We’ve done it with NASCAR and Premier League. Certainly our YouTube and Facebook social platforms have been great mediums for us to speak with our fans.’

Other recent examples of this tactic saw NBC Sports run a two-minute video with comedian Nick Offerman (of TV show ‘Parks And Recreation’) right after the final whistle of its Super Bowl XLIX coverage in February to promote its upcoming NASCAR coverage.

This followed in the footsteps of a similar promotion approach for its Premier League coverage when it leveraged its long running Saturday Night Live show with alum Jason Sudeikis fronting a set of comedic videos as ‘Coach Ted Lasso’.

The initial four-minute film – featuring Sudeikis’ American Football coach finding himself out-of-his-depth trying to coach soccer – was a huge viral hit racking up 10 million YouTube views.

Links

NBC YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/2012NBCOlympics

NBC’s NHL Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/NHLonNBCSports

NBC Sports Google +:

https://plus.google.com/+NBCSports

NBC Sports Website:

http://www.nbcsports.com/

NHL YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/NHLVideo

NHL Website: