...In Canada, the sponsorship pits rivals Coke and Pepsi in positions familiar to hockey fans who pay attention to such things: Pepsi sponsors the league; Coke sponsors each of the six NHL teams. There are benefits to both approaches, but Brian Findlay of Stellick Marketing Communications is inclined to give Pepsi the upper hand. A national brand doing national promotions is better off with national rights, he says, and league rights with NHLPA rights offer Pepsi a wide range of possibilities for point-of-purchase inducements.

He points to McDonald's, a Stellick client, and its self-liquidating promotions - hockey cards, mini-jerseys - that it runs thanks to a combination of NHL and NHLPA rights. That having been said, if share of heart with the local community is vital to your marketing strategy, then team sponsorship is more flexible, less costly, and far more effective.

...Findlay says a company like The Home Depot Canada, another Stellick client, can take advantage of that by entering into team sponsorships and using to support, for instance, its backyard rink program. The Home Depot sponsors a good number of junior hockey teams across the country, and in those cities it invites contest entries from owners of backyard rinks. The prize? A game of shinny in your backyard against the local team. The Home Depot also runs a national backyard rink building contest that leverages its Canadian rights as an NHL sponsor.