One notable strand of Steve Mayer, the NHL’s Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer’s strategy since he joined in 2015 is to integrate music into the hockey experience and as the puck drops on the new season the league launched the next evolution of this strategy in a cross-platform partnership with Green Day.
The tie-up leverages both the start of the new NHL season and the release of new music from the Grammy Award winning band.
The spearhead activation sees Green Day’s yet-to-be-released song ‘Fire, Ready, Aim’ (the title track from their new album) soundtrack the opening sequence for NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Hockey.
NBC Sports produced the first show of the season to open with the band playing the song on a hockey rink with footage cut with action shots of more than a dozen NHL stars.
These rock icons are taking it to the ice.
We're excited for @rockhall inductee @greenday to be the sound of Wednesday Night Hockey! #NHLGreenDay pic.twitter.com/FfDbbj0XEO
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) September 30, 2019
The song is also featured on some of NHL’s own broadcasts during the season and other tracks from the new album will run on game highlights, broadcast bumpers, tune-in campaigns, and also on team and TV content on in-arena giant screens across the league jumbotron.
Plus Green Day will perform at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game on 25 January in St Louis.
The initiative is also being amplified by the band across its own channels.
Should we trade in a tour bus for a zamboni on the @hellamegatour?! #WNH #NHLGreenDay pic.twitter.com/DsHRItLDqq
— Green Day (@GreenDay) September 30, 2019
Mayer describes the tie up as an evolution of the way the NHL is working with musicians and how music is incorporated across the league’s platforms.
“We view this as a win-win for the NHL and Green Day, and frankly would be a win-win for any artist – there’s a lot we can do with a musical artist,” Mayer said.
“We think we’ve evolved the way we’ve worked with music, and as we as a league have become more popular with musicians, it has switched to where musicians, labels, agents and management are saying, ‘hey NHL, how about us? We don’t view the NHL as being about one genre of music, whether that’s rock, or country or hip-hop. Ultimately we view this as an opportunity to speak to people in Green Day’s world of more than 10 million fans that aren’t NHL fans, as well as to people in ours that aren’t Green Day fans.”
The deal came about after Mayer and his team went to NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood who gave the idea a green light within seconds. NBC’s contribution to the alliance included budget and dedicating people to producing the creative.
“Steve [Mayer] came to us at the start of the summer saying he had an opportunity to work with a group that obviously is iconic in that space. And we think it fits really well with hockey. The song the way it’s been executed will be a lot of fun,” added NBC Executive Producer Sam Flood.
“We’ve had other options in the past but nothing to this level that we felt would have an impact and be a signature item at the top of the show. Obviously Sunday Night Football, with what we’ve done there and [NBC’s Sunday Night Football executive producer] Freddy Gaudelli and the Sunday night group, this is a different direction. We think it’s going to be a lot of fun and are pleased that the opportunity came through the NHL to make this happen.”
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The Grammy Award winning band’s background to the relationship goes back to 2016 when Green Day were booked to perform at the World Cup of Hockey, but had to pull out due to illness.
While Mayer himself joined the league from IMG Productions where his work ranged from traditional sports events, through ceremonies, network variety specials and documentary shows such as the Battle of the Network Stars.
A further sign of the blending of the entertainment industries as sport, music, film, fashion and culture break free from their traditional silos.
This has included concerts led by the likes of The Killers and Lenny Kravitz (during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey) to star acts such as Lil Nas X, Panic! At The Disco and Sting perform alongside the Stanley Cup Final.
Links:
NHL
https://www.youtube.com/user/NHLVideo
Green Day
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