SME was hired by the Boston Bruins to develop a brand strategy aimed at attracting fans and partners back to the brand after the cancelled 2004-2005 NHL season and to develop a new long-term positioning based on the notion of teamwork, home, tradition and loyalty – hallmarks of the Boston Bruins brand.

1. YEARS OF BUILDING BRANDS
To attract fans and partners back to the brand after the cancelled In the past three seasons, the Boston Bruins have become a
2004-2005 NHL season and to develop a new long-term position- transformed organisation both on and off the ice. The 08/09
ing based on the notion of teamwork, home, tradition and loyalty – season has seen record increases in attendance and team
hallmarks of the Boston Bruins brand. performance.
The Boston Bruins engaged SME to develop The Hub of Hockey
brand campaign, a compelling platform re ecting the team’s rich In developing a more consistent, concise, and effective brand for
heritage and placing the Boston Bruins brand at the epicentre of Boston Bruins, SME employed the following services:
all things hockey in New England. The Hub of Hockey is scalable to
grass roots and youth initiatives, to high school/collegiate hockey,
to NESN, the Bruins’ RSN, and to partner activation opportunities.
The Hub of Hockey was inspired by the words of Oliver Wendell
Holmes, “Boston is the hub of the universe.” The campaign’s visual
expression was in uenced by the patriotic spirit of those words,
intensifying the emotional bond for fans and making the brand a
destination of the heart.