個案資料

The National Hockey League’s (NHL’s) Carolina Hurricanes (i.e., the Canes) were struggling on the ice in 2017–18. The team had not made the playoffs since 2008–09, attendance was at the bottom of the league, and rumours regarding the team relocating were circulating. At the time, the team was not very relevant across the hockey universe, and elements of the Hurricanes brand had been harshly critiqued. A change in ownership that became finalized early in 2018 opened up the possibility of using the long dormant logo and jersey of the Hartford Whalers, who had relocated to become the Hurricanes in 1997. While trends around alternate jerseys and the popularity of all things retro seemed to support embracing the Whalers identity, would any effort placed here be diverted from fixing the underlying issues with the Hurricanes brand? This teaching note guides leadership of a case discussion including themes of branding and secondary brand elements, organizational focus, customer experience and the importance of fun to an organization and its customers. An online assignment challenges students to use artificial intelligence to develop brand elements. Several multimedia resources are suggested to support instructors delivering this case.

The case is suitable for either undergraduate or graduate marketing, sports marketing, or management students. The case is intended for core graduate-level marketing courses or undergraduate or MBA marketing strategy courses and will also fit well in courses on branding, marketing research, sports marketing, or management. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<br><br><ul><li>Deeply consider the state of a brand and whether overhaul is needed, as well as think about secondary brand elements within a set of brand assets.</li><li>Learn to intentionally consider an organization’s focus.>/li><li>Learn to set goals in a challenging, fast-changing, complex marketing environment.</li><li>Develop the ability to evaluate and alter the customer experience.</li><li>Consider the marketing intelligence challenge faced here within an understanding of the market research process.</li></ul>

• Branding
• Organizational Focus
• Metrics