#IsItOctoberYet is a fan-generated hashtag that rapidly became a rallying cry for hockey fans everywhere awaiting the puck to drop on a new 2014/15 season.
It spread from a Twitter trend to a consumer creative movement.
Hockey lovers created their own online films, of varying quality, and shared them across YouTube
and smartphone-shot spots and Vines
as they counted down to the NHL face off.
But unlike so many other property owners, the NHL didn’t turned to protective legislation or ask its lawyers to fire off cease and desist letters.
Instead it embraced the consumer campaign and when then calendar finally flipped to October it participated in the initiative itself with @NHL taking to Twitter and and posing a new question to hockey fans.
And several NHL franchises also jumped on the hashtag bandwagon to leverage their own new season promotions.
Comment
With several thousand Retweets and Likes the NHL’s attitude certainly seems to be supported by fans.
This approach is a refreshing change.
After all, so much of what we read about the sponsorship industry is about property owners turning to legislation to artificially squeeze out ambushers (both brands and fans) – arguing that they need to protect their sponsors’ rights.
(Think about the NFL’s recent draconian ban on players wearing Beats By Dre headphones after signing its new deal with Bose.)
You can’t legislate the consumer headspace around a property, so why not embrace it?
Links
NHL Twitter
@NHL
NHL Website
