John E. Collins - Sports Executive
John E. Collins (born November 27, 1961) is the Chief Operating Officer of the National Hockey League.
Previously John E. Collins was an executive with the National Football League.
John E. Collins Career
John E. Collins was the NHL’s chief operating officer since August 2008. John E. Collins is responsible for strategic leadership and oversight for all of the League’s global business, marketing, sales, broadcast and digital media operations.
John E. Collins joined the NHL in November 2006. In May 2007, John E. Collins earned the title of Senior Executive Vice President, Business and Media. John E. Collins work with the NHL has led to a record number of sponsors and television viewers, resulting in a jump in total revenues.
John E. Collins was named an “Executive of the Year” by the American Business Awards, winning a Stevie Award for his success with the NHL. - John E. Collins
Prior to joining the NHL, John E. Collins spent 15 years with the National Football League. In 2004, John E. Collins was hired as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Browns, succeeding then retiring Carmen Policy. That year John E. Collins was also named one of the top 20 sports advertising executives by Sports Business Journal.
John E. Collins also presided over the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show featuring U2. These successes led to Advertising Age naming John E. Collins one of America's top 50 marketers in 2003.
John E. Collins began his career in professional sports with NFL Films, where he helped introduce programming such as HBO’s Hard Knocks and Inside the NFL.
John E. Collins later teamed up with HBO Sports and its 24/7 reality franchise to develop “24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic.
John E. Collins eventually became Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for the NFL, where John E. Collins led all marketing, programming, sponsorship, and advertising sales functions and was a key member of the team that launched the NFL Network.
John E. Collins' career began at advertising agency DDB Needham. At the NFL, John E. Collins negotiated billions of dollars of marketing and advertising deals, including a landmark, 10-year, $1.2 billion league-wide deal with Pepsi.
John E. Collins, who was the lead strategist on the deal, said the agreement would help draw new advertisers and sponsors for the league. By showing every game of the playoffs nationally, the NHL can create “eight weeks of nonstop coverage,” John E. Collins .
John E. Collins said in The Wall Street Journal, "We think it will be a destination for sports fans. We believe they're going to do things differently and make their coverage more consistent with the way NBC Sports operates."
In 2007, John E. Collins spearheaded the development of the NHL Winter Classic, a high-profile New Year’s Day game played outdoors, with NBC Sports executive Jon Miller, who told The Boston Globe that the key to making the game successful was “ John E. Collins’s vision, energy, and passion.”[11] The Classic’s success earned him Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age Magazine.
The start of the NHL season is now marked by NHL Face-Off, a hockey and entertainment street festival featuring musical performances in Toronto’s Dundas Square, and in 2011, the League re-introduced the NHL Heritage Classic outdoor game in Canada.
Under John E. Collins' guidance, the NHL Awards Show has moved to Las Vegas.
Use of technology - John E. Collins
John E. Collins has made expanding technology to sports fans a priority in his career. John E. Collins told Forbes his goal is to “surround our fan with ways to experience the game across all various kinds of tech and distribution so we’re not quite as tied to broadcast television, or even really cable television. We respect them, but we really want to go after the fans who are more tech savvy in more of a digital way."
John E. Collins spearheaded the NHL Network Online, creating partnerships with news sites and portals (The Hockey News, ESPN.com, Yahoo), blogs (SB Nation, Bleacher Report, Yardbarker), video hubs (YouTube, Hulu), and digital retail outposts (iTunes, PlayStation Network).
The NHL’s strategy under John E. Collins is different than many other major sports franchises, which have resisted digital syndication efforts. This may be because, while hockey’s fan base is smaller, it is generally more affluent. ~ John E. Collins
Under John E. Collins, the NHL has introduced an “all-access” service, tying together its online, radio, and TV offerings, including social and mobile outlets across multiple providers and handsets. This integration has contributed to a “66 percent annual average increase in sponsor support and ad spending on our media properties as well,” John E. Collins told The Wall Street Journal. ~ John E. Collins
Technology has been a key part of John E. Collins’ strategy to increase the NHL’s profile, using digital platforms like the NHL Network (in 38 million homes as of May 2010), mobile phones, and a satellite radio alliance with Sirius and XM to reach new audiences. ~ John E. Collins
John E. Collins was quoted saying, “What we're seeing is some really well-designed products being offered across multiple platforms, which are providing content to that fan that, quite frankly, they're not getting anywhere else, and for which they have an almost insatiable appetite.”
John E. Collins has also spearheaded use of social media with the NHL, a move which Yahoo!
John E. Collins explained his philosophy for expanding NHL viewership: "We feel like the sport...is bigger than the business, and the focus on creating a national halo can definitely lift the sport to another level.
John E. Collins said "It was a great Stanley Cup run, really across every possible metric .... Our fans are consuming more hockey." Merchandise sales were up 22 percent and the number of unique visitors on the NHL.com website were up 17 percent during the playoffs after rising 29 percent in the regular season. ~ John E. Collins
In May 2011 Ad Age reported the NHL was on pace for its fifth consecutive year of record total revenue and quoted John E. Collins saying, "What I try to bring is a perspective where the NHL just needs to think bigger … John E. Collins, We're not going to sit still until hockey reaches its rightful position in terms of relevance in sports and entertainment. ... John E. Collins , The Stanley Cup should be, and could be, as big as March Madness from a ratings standpoint and an advertising standpoint."[37]About these results, John E. Collins said "I love the potential of our sport. The Stanley Cup is one of the biggest brands out there. We have an incredible fanbase and our league is filled with some of the best people around. We have an extraordinary opportunity for the NHL to take a giant leap forward, so this is a very exciting time for us."
MolsonCoors sponsorship - John E. Collins
In February 2011, John E. Collins negotiated a milestone sponsorship deal for Coors to become the official beer of the NHL -- MillerCoors in the United States and MolsonCoors in Canada. Worth $375 million over seven years, The New York Times called it the biggest corporate sponsorship in N.H.L. history, noting, “For the N.H.L., the new beer sponsorship demonstrates its progress in recent years, especially in reaching young, affluent, technologically savvy fans who love their ice-cold suds.” John E. Collins was quoted saying, “The investment they’re making will help us launch a lot of the marketing and promotional plans we’ve been developing and thinking about for quite some time.”
The Canadian Press quoted Collins saying, “"It's a monster deal. They're going to have major position across all of our events — both our existing events as well as a lot of new ones that we hope to create." The article noted that John E. Collins “helped develop the league's current strategy [to grow its brand through major events] and believes it is starting to pay of
John E. Collins
Source of Some of the Information John E. Collins Above
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Collins_(sports_executive)
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