Is there a chance that the city of Los Angeles will forget about the LA Kings?
The LA Kings won the Stanley Cup for the first win last spring after all of the other Staples Center teams had been beaten out of their respective playoffs series. In winning the cup, it cemented Los Angeles status as a hockey city. Or so we thought…
The NHL lockout delayed the start of the 2012-2013 season. There is a worry that with the season, went all the momentum that the Kings had worked so hard to build. ESPN was even starting to remember what they’re logo looks like.
As it stands today, the Kings are one of the most successful clubs in the United States, outside the Original Six. Forbes Magazine lists the club’s value in the neighborhood of $276 million dollars.
Kings captain Dustin Brown recently spoke with ESPN.com regarding this matter. Brown, like many, is worries the NHL may be blowing a great opportunity in California.
Brown, who is currently playing hockey in Zurich, Switzerland, explains, “At the end of the day, it’s unfortunate timing for a lockout. “I mean, lockouts are always unfortunate but, considering our market in California, it’s really hard to get momentum. And to lose that momentum due to a lockout is frustrating.”
Yet, even if the LA Kings lose a year, will it really change the way the city feels about them?
The most successful franchise in LA is the Los Angeles Lakers, who achieved this status by winning. This is the same way that the Kings captured the city. The Kings have been in California for years and never before garnished the attention that they did last year.
It was the Lakers arena. The Kings and the Clippers just played in it.
The Kings will in fact probably have a much easier time getting their city to fall back in love with them than the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers will. Fans in New York City and Montreal are passionate and feel let down by the lockout.
In addition, the Kings are owned by a giant corporation, the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which has a ton of money to put into marketing and advertising to help recapture the momentum built last year.
On the topic of marketing and advertising, the Kings social media is the best in hockey.
Many companies and brands take a conservative stance on their social media content. However, the end result of this is generic tweets, that don’t fulfill their purpose, which is to promote the club.
The Kings on the other head take a different approach to social media. The Kings have great one liners and are beautifully bias.
Their tweet feed is a balance between interesting, entertaining and offensive. They’ve found the happy medium between Paulina Gretzky and being boring.
The Kings social media connects with their fan base.
While, in the beginning, the celebrity section of the Staples Center might be a little bare as Kings tickets won’t be the hottest ticket in LA anymore, the Kings have all the tools to put their team back together again.