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Sounds like Kevin is a bit excited about NHL-branded BlackBerry Storms headed for Bell. He’s Canadian, so I’ll give him a break. Yet I wonder, with baseball season starting in just a few weeks, why couldn’t Verizon pull a similar promotion for MLB? Americans love baseball like Canadians love hockey, so this could be a marriage that works. After the jump, a few details on the Bell NHL Storms, plus what I would do for MLB-branded versions.

Of course, it’s just a regular Storm with some extras. This includes an NHL team skin and a preloaded microSD card with videos, including highlights. So there’s really not much to it. Since the price is the same as the normal Storm, it makes sense. There is an additional promotion, though, wherein contestants can win airfare for two to an NHL Stanley Cup team city, two nights accommodations, $500 cash, and two tickets to a game. The entry fee is $8 per month, which covers the subscription to Unlimited NHL.

So it’s a decent promotion, with a few low-level freebies and a premium contest. Here’s what I’d do if this were a baseball promo:

First, in addition to the team skin, I’d make sure both the MLB.com quick-launch and the team quick-launch were included. This shouldn’t pose much of a problem, since stores can stock up on teams from their region. Yeah, I’d hate to walk into a Verizon dealer that only had Mets Storms left in stock, but thems the breaks. Yes, I’d include the multimedia on an SD card, most likely the last year’s team highlights and clips of the World Series.

How else would I sweeten the pot? How about setting up MLB Gameday Audio on the device. Offer the service on the cheap, say $5 per month for BlackBerry subscribers, or at least for the owners of the branded Storm. That’s some incentive there. Then I’d make the MLB.tv package available on the Storm (if that’s even possible, though I think it would be) for a discount. They’re already lowering the price this year, and I don’t think giving a small break to BlackBerry Storm users would be that bit a deal. It would be extra revenue for them in the form of more users.

Maybe it’s a bit outlandish, but I can see a lot more licensing deals like this going down in the future. Companies are always looking for ways to expand their brand, and many are targeting mobile as a means to that end. This is just a different way of integrating both the BlackBerry and the MLB/NHL brand. RIM wins because they might sell a few more Storms, and MLB wins because they might gain more subscribers to their premium services.

Anyone else kinda pumped at this idea?

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