1. Individual Assignment #3
The CWHL: Internal Executive Summary
Miranda Diez
500744637
Sport Marketing and Promotion
RTA 231-011
05/12/2016
3 pages

2. To: Brenda Andress, CWHL Commissioner
From: Miranda Diez, Sponsorship Marketing Manager
Date: December 5, 2016
Subject: Internal Executive Summary
The CWHL is a growing league with fourteen current sponsors offering financial support. This document
outlines an evaluation of all fourteen sponsors as well as a proposal for a new category, partner, and
marketing activation.
After completing the audit of the current partners of the CWHL it is clear that some partners are very well
suited for this partnership, while others do not align with the league’s brand. Some of the most successful
partners are Scotiabank, Canada’s Dairy Farmers: Fuelling Women Champions, Bauer, and Porter.
Scotiabank is a strong financial sponsor that offers image compatibility through the promotion of hockey,
and has given the CWHL many promotional opportunities through events such as the Scotiabank Girls
HockeyFest. Canada’s Dairy Farmers: Fuelling Women Champions is a strong sponsor of the CWHL
because they support female athletes, which is also an important component to the CWHL’s brand. They
have previously included CWHL athletes in their commercials and promotions, exposing the CWHL
league to consumers. Bauer caters to fans and player’s needs through high quality hockey equipment
and merchandise. CWHL and Bauer’s brands align through hockey and desire for players to be
comfortable, confident, and safe. Lastly, Porter has been a very supportive sponsor of the league so far.
They fly players to out of province games, they have a Canadian heritage and provide convenient,
affordable flights for CWHL fans.
The strongest partners of the CWHL, support and agree with the league’s current sponsorship packages
and proposals, which consist of financial and in-kind partnerships. The benefit of these packages are that
they involve sponsor support, which helps the league grow in terms of finances and reputation with
sponsors. However, the drawbacks from financial and in-kind partnerships is that the CWHL’s marketing
activations and campaigns need to be very creative and effective in order to compensate for the partner’s
donation.
The sponsors that are less effective are Bridgeforce, Gruppo Campari, and Gongshow. Bridgeforce is not
a very well known company and their insurance service does not necessarily relate to the sport or the
fans of the CWHL. Gruppo Campari has not analyzed the CWHL’s audience composition, which is made
up of families. This partner’s products cannot be consumed at regular spectator seats as the liquor
content is too high.(Steinbach) Also, there is no obvious connection between the product and the sport of
hockey. Lastly, Gongshow has the potential to be a strong partner, however, their products are
overshadowed by Bauer. The only CWHL products that Gongshow currently sells are baseball caps,
which does not expose the CWHL brand to consumers very well. Overall, most of the current sponsors of
the CWHL are the right sponsors, with the exception of the three mentioned above.
Although there are currently fourteen categories designated to various partners of the CWHL, laundry
detergent is key category with an untouched market. Laundry detergent is an essential product for every
household, especially those with adults or children who play hockey. Gain is currently the second most
popular laundry detergent brand, and does not currently sponsor any sports leagues. (Category Update)
Gain is also best known for its pleasant smelling detergents and fabric softeners, allowing it to easily
eliminate the sweaty smell that is associated with hockey uniforms. Women are typically the target
audience for laundry detergent campaigns, suggesting that they do the family’s laundry. (Marketing
Laundry Detergent) However, our activation is not limited to women, as this category can apply to any
guardian who wants their child’s hockey uniform to smell better. With Gain as our prospective partner, we
have created a marketing activation that highlights Gain’s products, creates fan interaction, and will most
likely improve fan consumption of the product, while collecting consumer data.
Before the puck drop during the last game of regular season, Gain and the CWHL will implement the
marketing activation. There will be an interactive activity set up for CWHL fans, enticing fans to participate
by offering them the chance to win a signed jersey. The activation involves 5 steps; fans smelling freshly
washed CWHL jerseys, voting for their favourite scent, completing a survey on laundry habits and CWHL
enjoyment, receiving a free sample of the products, and lastly being entered for a draw to win a signed

3. CWHL jersey. This activation will involve assets and products from both partners. CWHL will supply arena
space, a total of 9 jerseys (one of which is signed by the whole team), and allow their league logo and
team marks to be used on promotional posters. Gain will supply the detergent to wash the jerseys, give
free samples to fans, provide 12 iPads on which fans will participate in the surveys, hire Gain
representatives to supervise the activity and lastly, supply posters for the promotional advertising. This
activation allows fans to experience Gain products in a hockey setting, helping them imagine using the
products in their own lives. In terms of partner benefits of this activation, both Gain and the CWHL will
collect valuable data regarding fan interest and enjoyment. This data can be analyzed and interpreted in
order to make necessary changes to their campaigns and brands. This activation would be a great
starting point for this partnership to succeed and hopefully expand over time.

4. Works Cited
Category Update: Laundry Detergent. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05, 2016, from http://
www.sponsorship.com/iegsr/2012/11/05/Category-Update--Laundry-Detergent.aspx
Marketing Laundry Detergent | Understanding consumer psychology and marketing laundry
detergent ... (n.d.). Retrieved December 05, 2016, from http://www.marketing-schools.org/
consumer-psychology/marketing-laundry-detergent.html
Steinbach, P. Sporting Events and Booze a Volatile Mix - Athletic Business. Retrieved
December 05, 2016, from http://www.athleticbusiness.com/drugs-alcohol/drinking-games.html