Would You Buy A Three-Wheeler From Mark Messier?

Who enjoys hitting the open road on a stylish three-wheeler? Those who are adventurous, but not too adventurous. Those midlife crisis victims past age 40 who are getting bored with their cars, but don’t quite have the stomach for a motorcycle. Looking for some speed and action, but…under control.

What major sport delivers that demographic? Hockey. At least that’s the bet that BRP, the official shortened name of the company once known as Bombardier Recreational Products, maker of the Can-Am Spyder and other recreational vehicles, is making.  Canadian-based BRP has signed on with the National Hockey League as official sponsor for the league’s outdoor events and playoffs. Retired NHL great Mark Messier is on board as a endorser - he’ll be a major Can-Am brand ambassador, making appearances at this year’s Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, Michigan and at the plethora of additional outdoor games the league has scheduled this season, including two at Yankee Stadium.

“I’ve been an outdoorsman my whole life since growing up in Edmonton,” says Messier, a licensed pilot whose endorsement portfolio was limited during his playing days. “I think it’s important to be authentic.” The six-time Stanley Cup winner becomes Can-Am’s second major athletic endorser, following Danica Patrick.  More will follow soon, according to BRP Marketing Director Tom Riley.

“We want to attract those people who aren’t motorcyclists but who want to get out on the open road, the NHL demographic lives up to that,” Riley says.

It’s an aggressive push by BRP to grow sales in year-round vehicles like the six-year-old Can-Am Spyder, which have been relatively flat in an otherwise good year for the company. On Thursday, BRP announced that third quarter net income rose 52% to $48.2 million from the same period a year ago on an 18% jump in revenue to $866 million. Shares shot up more than 6% on the news. The company, taken private a decade ago by Bain Capital and the Bombardier family, among other investors, spun off a public offering in May. Its’ shares are up about 25% since then.

Driving recent revenue growth has been seasonal products like snowmobiles. Trying to boost interest in year-round vehicles, Riley has gotten the green light to sign celebrity endorsers. He’ll be displaying his Spyders outside football-turned-hockey and baseball-turned-hockey stadiums this winter, and even buying up space on the sides of the zamboni machines, where those fans not running back under the stands for warmth between periods will see it.

“We’ve got a big priority on this brand,” says Riley. If he gets a crowd gathered around a Spyder at Yankee Stadium even when Messier isn’t standing nearby, he’ll know he’s guessed right.

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