For someone who sold one of the first (if not the first) interactive ad campaigns, this is big news. As an early evangelist of this new medium, to see advertisers and businesses embracing the medium and the ad dollars following consumer usage is a great sight to behold. To my fellow Redgate employees: If you remember in 1986 I said, ”In less than 25 years, 1 billion people would have an interactive connection; a new media company would become the biggest and most important media company; and interactive advertising would be the most important way marketers reach consumers.” Who knew how right we would be?
If you remember 1986 was the year we launched Interactive News Networks and soon thereafter published our white paper called “New Rules – New Media”. To see online advertising now pass cable advertising in market size is remarkable.
Thinking about it, there is one huge marketing area that should be explored. That is the fan base and viewership of the NASCAR “Nation”.
Several years ago as Commish Bettman and owners were lamenting the viewership and overall turn out at NHL games, there was the unexplored area of NASCAR car sponsorship that was just waiting to be snatched. I wonder if anyone in the NHL Front Office ever thought of it yet.
A partial sponsorship for maybe just 4 of the biggest television viewed races by buying “Hood space” to put the NHL shield logo or even advertisement on the wall at say turn 4 of Daytona, would open up the NHL to a complete new fan base.
The NFL did it a couple of years ago.
Just out of the box thinking.