NHL debuts on Foursquare

NEW YORK, NY – The National Hockey League (NHL®) today became the first professional sports league with a full-time, dedicated presence on Foursquare, providing fans with another social touchpoint with which to interact with the League.

The NHL, named among the top social brands in the world by Vitrue, has integrated Foursquare, one of the leading location-based social networking services, as a key component of its social media strategy, which seeks to shorten the distance between the League and its fans by interacting with them on their favorite sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The launch coincides with NHL Face-Off™ the October 7 opening day hockey and entertainment festival at Dundas Square in downtown Toronto featuring performances by Hedley, Down With Webster and Hey Rosetta!

NHL fans attending NHL Face-Off in Toronto can use their mobile device to check-in via Foursquare.  Tips and clues available on the Foursquare mobile application will provide 'insider' information to fans, and will also point them to secret locations in Dundas Square where NHL representatives will give away prizes such as free subscriptions to NHL GameCenter LIVE.

Fans checking into the NHL Face-Off on Foursquare are eligible to receive a Swarm badge after 50 fans check-in, as well as a SuperSwarm badge after 250 fans check-in. The NHL will encourage fans via Facebook and Twitter to help earn these badges. 

Throughout the 2010-11 season, fans who check-in at select NHL games and events will have access to tips and facts featuring memorable moments in NHL history, as well as other unique content, discounts, incentives and rewards. 

"Whether watching at home with a few friends, or attending a game with a few thousand, sporting events, by their nature, are social," said Perry Cooper, the NHL's senior vice president of digital media.  "Social media platforms like Foursquare are bringing down the geographic walls around the social elements of the fan experience."

The campaign was developed and conceived in coordination with social media marketing agency RocketXL.

What Is Foursquare?

Foursquare is a mobile application that makes cities easier to use and more interesting to explore. It is a friend-finder, a social city guide and a game that challenges users to experience new things, and rewards them for doing so. Foursquare lets users "check in" to a place when they're there, tell friends where they are and track the history of where they've been and who they've been there with.