Amplifying Fan Engagement with the NHL

Introduction

How the NHL used F2P Games to drive revenue through Sponsorship Activation

The National Hockey League is one of the most recognisable leagues on the planet, with millions across the globe following the Greatest Show on Ice.

The competition has attracted an average viewership of 1.1million per game on the ABC network in the United States during the 2022-23 season, while last season’s Stanley Cup saw a viewership rise of 82% in comparison to the 2021 edition.

With the NHL recording $5.4billion in hockey-related revenue in 2021/2022, the league continues to be one of the hottest properties in sport.

The Task

TO AMPLIFY FAN ENGAGEMENT AND DRIVE REVENUE THROUGH SPONSORSHIP ACTIVATION

With social media engagement around the NHL growing by a whopping 221% year-by-year, the league had ambitions of building a further connection with their ever-growing fanbase.

The NHL already had a number of free-to-play games but were looking for a partner to revamp and reimagine these as well as well as innovate new products to engage fans.

All were to be designed to optimize 1st Party Data Capture as well as have the ability to plug in commercial partners to digital activate sponsorship agreements.

THE SOLUTION

BUILD A GAMEZONE OF F2P GAMES AROUND THE NHL SCHEDULE

Utilizing our game-changing gamification suite, Low6 delivered a vast array of free-to-play games for the NHL in a quick timeframe. This included:

NHL BINGO

A unique second screen experience which allows fans to match game events listed on their digital bingo cards with what’s happening in-game.

PEPSI ZERO SUGAR NHL GOALIE CHALLENGE

An innovative interactive game that allows fans to choose which goalie’s they think will perform best during contests. Fans earn bonus points by dragging a Pepsi can onto the goalie who they think will earn a shutout.

ALL-STAR FAN VOTE

A first-of-its kind interactive voting technology. Hockey fans get to pick and drop players into line-ups to create their very own NHL All-Star roster.

NHL – PREPLAY (PRESENTED BY BET99)

A predictor game which sees fans compete against each other in mini-leagues to take on their friends and family as well as daily, weekly, monthly and season-long global contests.

NHL STATS STREAK

The latest game to be dropped is the NHL StatsStreak, which gives players a chance to test their stats knowledge and vote which player has a higher total in a specific.

"From the start, Low6 has hit the ground running. A fun group to work with that is always laser focused on getting things done to propel the partnership to the next level. My experience with this team has been nothing short of impressive since day one.

Their standard is set high and their goal is to provide the best possible experience to fans who participate in their games – both Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. This is an efficient group that understand how to get the job done and I look forward to continuing to see them climb the ladder of success!"

Michael LaPlaca

Digital Media Specialist at Cincinnati Bengals

The Result

Tens of thousands of fans engaged

The games have proven to be a hit among hockey fans, with over 285,000 users signing up to play at least one of the F2P games.

The All-Star Fan Vote has proven to be the biggest success to date, hauling in over 26 million votes from users across a 13-day period.

While the games are purely focused for audiences in the United States and Canada, the All-Star voting system was utilised across the globe, with users from 141 countries registering votes.

Case Studies