The NHL hockey drought has advertisers scrambling, says the New York Times. Advertisters are at a loss when it comes to finding ways to connect with men, who tend not to tune to other shows in big numbers. They may want to take a hint from advertisers of products for teens and twentysomethings, who’ve learned to use stealth marketing and cool hunting to connect with teens. The advent of Tivo, Bit Torrent, MP3s, email and instant messaging means advertisers have lost opportunities to market to youth through traditional channels, such as radio and TV. That’s why teams of youth marketers show up to hand out goodies on Robson Street, in movie theatres, and at concerts. Advertisers may start exploiting similar subversive marketing tactics to reach men.

(c) 2004 by Andrea Coutu. Vancouver Marketing Consultant. All rights reserved.