February 2008

Slap, shoot, score!
Creating a direct connection to fans scores big
for the Montreal Canadiens.

Sports fans are a fickle bunch. They can love their team one day and hate it the next. All it takes is one bad play and they can revert from calling the object of their affection “my team,” to labeling it “that team” with a bunch of disparaging adjectives tacked on in between.

On or off the rink, connecting with fans through the good times and bad is important for any sports franchise – no matter what last night’s score was. The challenge lies in keeping fans engaged throughout the year. With all the competition for fans’ attention online, this is no easy task.
Twenty-four time Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Canadiens, wanted a way to remain top of mind with their fans throughout the year, while also increasing site traffic, revenue and overall brand loyalty. The franchise knew that if it could provide a simple way for fans to access the team’s most popular information, such as game scores, stats, video clips, etc., it could strengthen those relationships.

What was needed was an online marketing tool that would be compelling but not intrusive to fans. The franchise found its answer in a branded, on-demand, community toolbar platform from Conduit that could be fully customized with the team’s personalized content, gadgets and applications. Subscribers simply download the toolbar and it appears in their browser, creating a direct, always-on connection between the Habs and their fans.

If you build it, they will connect
Using the Conduit platform, the franchise was able to easily build its own branded toolbar– one in English and one in French– and customize it to reflect fans’ needs.

After downloading the toolbar for free, fans get direct access to the latest Habs news, game scores, player stats, and video highlights. The toolbar also provides access to the Canadiens’ Fan Forum, where fans can build their connection with the team and other fans. Virtually everything a fan would want to know about their team and more can be accessed via the toolbar.

To keep them engaged year round, the sports organization is able to push out instant alerts to its own toolbar users and provide regular updates and news previews. Alerts, such as live scores during a key playoff game, ticket information or specials, player trades, instant updates about injured players, etc. can all be pushed out to toolbar subscribers as an added incentive to stay connected.

The franchise also liked the toolbar’s analytics. By tracking usage and statistics for every gadget and link on the Conduit toolbar, the business is able to constantly tweak and improve the user experience–by removing the less popular links and replacing them with those features that are more appealing to fans.

While connecting with fans and offering them easy access to the information they care about on the Web site, the franchise also sells tickets and NHL merchandise through the toolbar. This one-click access from toolbar to online store serves as another revenue channel for the team.
“Creating a community of rabid hockey fans offers so much more than just simple promotion because community members are not only fans, they are also evangelists for attracting new ones,” explains Adam Boyden, president of Conduit. “By adding this simple tool, the Montreal Canadiens opens up the connection with their fans, further strengthening their bond with them.”

Slap shot to great results
Since launching the community toolbar in May 2008, thousands of fans have downloaded it in both English and French.

Although this online marketing program is still relatively young, the Montreal Canadiens franchise has already witnessed a significant increase in Web site traffic. Further, the toolbar is generating two new actions per user each day. In other words, fans using the toolbar are checking scores, reading rosters, chatting on the forum, and watching highlights more than any other fans. In effect, toolbar use has fueled fan engagement and created a category of Montreal Canadiens “super fans,” the team’s most valuable and loyal clients to help sustain the franchise.

Adding a toolbar to its marketing mix has proven an effective and smart play for the Montreal Canadiens. By incorporating another means of connecting with fans–one that is always-on and available as well as fun to use– the Habs are staying close to their fans and remaining top of mind throughout the year.

For Web publishers, Conduit provides Web site syndication solutions that increase site traffic, revenue, and brand loyalty while simplifying access to the content, communities and applications that subscribers care about most. More than 180,000 publishers have joined the the network worldwide. For more information, please visit www.conduit.com. To download the Montreal Canadiens toolbar, (French) visit www.canadienscom.ourtoolbar.com or (English) visit www.canadiensencom.ourtoolbar.com.