• by Aaron Baar , April 12, 2010

Hockey is more than a sport in Canada; it's a near-religion. Seeing a wide-open opportunity, LG Canada has signed a deal to become the National Hockey League's first electronics partner in at least five years.

While the promotional and marketing aspects of the partnership are now limited to Canada, the NHL currently has no electronics sponsor in the United States, although the Canadian alliance gives LG a leg up on the U.S. market, says David Lehanski, vice president of integrated sales and marketing for the NHL.

"Our overall strategy is to establish a North American partnership," Lehanski tells Marketing Daily. "Given this category, it lends itself to broadcast integration and content. We wanted to get our feet wet with a partner who's really excited to be involved in the NHL and see where it goes from there."

The opportunity could be a strong one. Hockey, more than any other televised sport, seems to benefit most from the proliferation of HDTVs, which can follow the fast-paced action better than standard definition broadcasts could in the past.

"The aspect ratio provides tremendous benefit for hockey fans," Lehanski says. "Given the dimensions of a hockey rink and the camera placement, it provides so much more. There's no doubt it's a huge part of what we do."

As one of the league's official partners, the NHL will use LG technology in its Hockey Operations Headquarters in Toronto, which reviews in-game action nightly. Although no formal marketing activation behind the use of LG screens in the video replay room is expected just yet, "hopefully, the role will be to take the name of that and distribute it across other properties" in the future, Lehanski says.

LG will also have access to NHL player images and likenesses for advertising and promotional purposes and will be the presenting sponsor of a top 10 weekly highlight package that airs on the NHL Network in Canada. The brand will also have activation and promotional opportunities with other properties, such as the NHL Winter Classic, NHL Awards, NHL Entry Draft and NHL GameCentreLive broadcasts.

As it has currently been worked out, the LG sponsorship is scheduled to run only through the end of next season. But even now, LG can take advantage of the new partnership timed right for the league's playoffs and Stanley Cup finals.

"It's a great time of the year for us and hockey fans," Lehanski says. "They wanted to take advantage of the playoffs from a retail standpoint."