On first glance, sports branding seems to have filled every crevice in broadcasting imaginable. Dodge has managed to find one sitting right under our noses.
Notice the “TSN TradeCentre Tweets Presented by Dodge Ram.” Taken March 4, 2014
ESPN leads the way on this front, as their “Sunday NFL Countdown” has six companies with branded segments, while “Monday Night Football” programming has 14. Their college football pre-game show comes complete with a coach bus that drives around splattered with The Home Depot’s logo.
Maybe it shouldn’t be any surprise that ESPN’s sister station to the north has upped the ante.
TSN’s one-day TradeCentre program, which basically provides breaking news, analysis, and predictions on the NHL’s annual trade deadline, is one that has helped the network stand out as a premier hockey authority. Featuring a panel of some of the top hockey analysts, often seen furiously typing away on their smartphones, it’s not surprising the show draws sponsorship.
Seeing the massive following that their analysts have amassed on Twitter (as a result of their hockey authority and knowledge, mind you), Dodge has decided throw their sponsorship behind individual tweets and “personal” accounts.
Kyle Brown 