Free text exchanges are becoming a big part of the NHL’s marketing strategy and are being used by some teams to offer free advertising and/or free video.
Free text is a very common tactic for businesses and the NHL is using it to attract new customers to the game.
“There’s not really any specific value to the free text.
You’re just offering a free service,” said Gary Bouchard, VP of communications for the NHL.
“If you can get people to go through the process and then the data and see the quality of the service that you provide is what really matters.
If you’re just using a free text service, that’s great, but the real value comes from actually connecting people to a team.”
Bouchard said the NHL recently launched a new program called the NHL Draft Rewards program which offers free, in-person draft picks to players who have won Stanley Cups and won a gold medal.
The program also offers up to $1,000 in prizes for players who play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The NHL Drafts Rewards program is being used to offer a $100 credit towards an NHL ticket, but Bouchart said it doesn’t offer anything special.
“The biggest thing is that the ticket is free and it’s a way to get in the game,” Bouchardsaid.
“So that’s the biggest thing.
But there’s other stuff as well.
The NHL is really taking advantage of this opportunity to get some more eyeballs on their product.”
A lot of players have been making free text exchanges, Boucharsaid, and that’s something the NHL could use to help grow its brand.
“I think the league is a great example of how to use these free texts to grow and really grow our brand and to help our brand grow,” Boulard said.
The free text program was first rolled out in 2009 when the NHL expanded from 20 teams to 50.
It’s now one of the league’s fastest growing marketing efforts, Boulardsaid, with a new ad campaign launched earlier this month that includes more than 60 free text offers from NHL teams.
The idea behind the program is simple: if someone signs up for a free online account with a hockey team and then sends a text, they will receive a free ticket, Boudard said, or an NHL player can receive up to a $1 and $5 tickets, depending on how many tickets are in the player’s account.
Boudard believes the NHL will continue to expand the program as more teams sign up for it.
“It’s going to grow as more and more teams participate and it’ll expand as the league grows,” Boudardsaid said.
“It’s definitely going to expand and we want to be a part of it.”
The NHL is also working to build partnerships with more social media platforms to offer more free texts.
“We’re always looking at ways to improve our business,” Boughard said of the free texts program.
“We’re really excited about the possibilities that we’re seeing now.
Hopefully we’ll continue to see more and better partnerships like that and really continue to grow our game.”
