#OskarStrong is a case study on the power and efficacy of organic, authentic cause-related marketing.

Some things are bigger than the game of hockey. This was one of them.

In December 2019, the Philadelphia Flyers - a division rival of the Rangers - announced that 24-year-old Swedish defenseman Oskar Lindblom had been diagnosed with bone cancer and would be sidelined indefinitely. There are some things in life that are bigger than the game of hockey, and bigger than our club. This was one of them, and rivalry aside, I wanted our organization to get involved in a big way. I dug in to the story and found that an unaffiliated third party, Biscuit Tees, was selling #OskarStrong tees, with all proceeds benefiting the NHL's beloved Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. After getting the blessing of the Rangers' PR department, I reached out directly to Kim Parent of BiscuitTees.com.

I had a vision.

In that vision, the rival Rangers would show up in Philly to face the Flyers just before Christmas, and they'd be wearing #OskarStrong shirts in a show of support for Lindblom.

I wanted the impact of this to be big. I wanted to generate awareness for Lindblom's fight and for Hockey Fights Cancer, and I wanted to help raise money for the cause. The Rangers, as a brand, deciding to support #OskarStrong wouldn’t be as impactful as, say, a fan-favorite Rangers player getting his entire team behind #OskarStrong.

So a few days before the Rangers were set to play the Flyers, I approached Mika Zibanejad — a Rangers captain, a fellow Swede and a friend of Lindblom's — and told him I had an idea that I wanted him to run with. “I’ll get the shirts,” I told him. “I’ll get them to the rink. I'll get the rest of the guys on board. I’ll get a photographer during pregame. All I need is for you to post the photo of you all wearing the shirts from your own social accounts.”

I got Mika's buy in; I got the rest of the leadership group's buy-in; I got the organization's buy-in. We were all systems go.

There were logistical hurdles to vault. For one, Kim - the tee producer - would have to rush production on the shirts, which weren’t due to be ready to ship until after the holidays. Even with rushed production, she wouldn’t be able to get them to me until hours before the game. I even had to get PR’s permission for Mika to post the photo on a game day, within two hours of puck drop - which generally went against the club’s social media policy. (The exception was made.) 

But together, we made it happen. Kim personally delivered the shirts to the Flyers equipment staff at the Wells Fargo Center hours before game time. With minutes to spare before the pregame power play meeting, we got the players into the shirts and into the hallway. Together, Mika and I crafted copy in his voice that was succinct and heartfelt, and he posted the photo to his Instagram.

Fundraising

Most importantly, we accomplished our goal of creating awareness for #OskarStrong and for Hockey Fights Cancer. Within an hour of Mika's post, Kim reported that she'd received $2,000 in donations. Within three days, she had met and exceeded her goal of raising $150K for Hockey Fights Cancer.

Earned Media

With the hook of Mika serving as the perceived mastermind behind the idea, we generated significant print, web and broadcast coverage, including a full 30-second hit during the broadcast of the Rangers-Flyers game (shown here). Here was a fellow Swede and a friend of Lindblom's putting aside the game in pursuit of a bigger, much more significant goal. It was a beautiful story and became so much more impactful with Mika's name associated with it, rather than the faceless identity of the Rangers brand.

Brand Affinity

Overwhelmingly positive brand sentiment for the Rangers in the aftermath of the project was a nice side effect. Below are some of my favorite social media responses to the gesture.