Hockey Boards...

Hockey boards are plastered with advertisements.  These logos, pictures, and catchphrases cost a lot of money.  But who are they intended for?  The fan in attendance or the TV spectators?  And how effective are they I wonder?  While both in-house and TV fans alike are exposed to the ads, I'd argue the TV fan barely notices a lot of them, and the fan in attendance has too many other things to pay attention to.  AND even if they do notice them ad, is the recollection of the ad even effective?

The Boards and TV:  When watching the game on TV you notice how quickly the camera moves to follow the puck.  I challenged myself to try and actually read and recognize some of the logos.  While I could figure out what a lot of them where, there were many that had I not had a few opportunities, or previous knowledge of who some of the sponsors are, I would still be trying to figure it out.  The issue came down to that the camera was either zoomed out so far to watch the play that some logos were too small, zoomed in on a close-up that you could only see bits and pieces, or the play was simply too fast. 

At the game: While at the game the issues are similar in that hockey is a fast-paced game.  You rarely look at one section of the ice for an extended amount of time.  Add into the numerous sponsorships and ads throughout the arena, and game as a whole, it's tough to really pay attention or care about what is going on aside from the game itself.  I would  argue that there is a saturation of advertising causing the consumer to be able to easily tune it out in hockey arenas, if not all sporting events.

Kevin Lane Kellar in The Journal of Consumer Research © 1987 (1), discusses the consumers likelihood to retrieve an advertisement from their memory based off of what they felt or saw during the time they saw the advertisement.  So let's say the PENS win a game, Highmark is an ad I saw on their boards, I was excited during the game.  I find out after the game I'm fired from my job and need to find my own health insurance coverage.  Does the excitement of winning and the feeling of hope tie into the getting insurance, and being able to afford good coverage through Highmark, or does the excitement of winning tie into the fact I lost my job and now have more expenses.  Change the situation and the PENS lost the game, I need insurance for the same reason, now I'm recalling Highmark based off a bad situation, will I really think highly of Highmark?  It's a tough question advertising researches must face when placing these ad's on the boards.  A sure thought of association for most people is "I like the PENS.  The PENS are associated with Highmark.  Thus I like Highmark."  A simple concept and train of thought.

But the boards cost a lot.  There are different exposure times depending on who is meant to see them and where in the rink they're located, while the speed of the game makes you constantly change where you're looking. does the memory retrieval work and even out the cost to put a giant sticker on the boards?






1. Memory Factors in Advertising: The Effect of Advertising Retrieval Cues on Brand Evaluations.  Kevin Lane Keller. The Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Dec., 1987), pp. 316-333. Published by: The University of Chicago Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2489494