From Hockey Rinks to Boardrooms: How I Used Sports Hype Tactics to Launch Sealed Air’s First PIM System

The Unlikely Connection Between Hockey Highlights and Product Data

Years ago, I blasted AC/DC’s Thunderstruck while editing highlight reels for minor league hockey games. Little did I know that splicing crunching checks with pyrotechnics and crowd roars would become the blueprint for rallying corporate stakeholders around. a Product Information Management (PIM) system.

When Sealed Air tasked me with launching its first PIM – a technical tool for managing product data – I faced a challenge far trickier than explaining offside rules to new fans: How do you make internal teams care about data taxonomy?

The answer came from the arena

Why PIM Launches Need More Than PowerPoint

Product Information Management systems are the unsung heroes of commerce – silently ensuring accurate product details flow to websites, retailers, and supply chains. But try generating excitement about "centralized data governance" in a leadership meeting.

At Sealed Air, our PIM implementation with Akeneo promised transformative benefits:

• 80% faster product catalog creation for channel partners

• AI-driven content generation from technical specs

• Consistent branding across multiple markets

• Aligning product content across multiple channels

  
  

Yet spreadsheets and process diagrams alone wouldn’t spark urgency. We needed emotional engagement – the kind that makes hockey fans leap from their seats.

Speed = EnergyScreen recordings of the PIM interface (sped up 400%) created visceral urgency – mouse cursors flying through dropdowns, SKUs auto-populating. Paired with pulsating electronic music, it felt less like software and more like a mission control launch sequence.

Borrow Sports Production Tricks

• Impactful Text: Bold, motion-animated phrases like “EVERYTHING WE SELL AND HOW WE SELL IT” (in team colors)

• Sound Design: Loud pulsing music that builds energy, with subtle swooping SFX as a stinger at close

Lessons for Driving Adoption

Find the Human Pulse

Even technical tools solve people problems. Our video promised “you’ve never seen our products like this” Speed Isn’t Just for Sports Fast-paced edits (under 2 mins) respect busy schedules while creating FOMO.

While the video focused on emotion, supporting materials highlighted:

• Over 150,000 products being managed

• Easily and quickly filter, sort and visualize SAP data

• A complete digital catalog of everything sold

Your Turn at the Power Play

Whether you’re launching AI tools or ERP updates, ask: “What’s the hockey highlight reel here?”  As I seek my next challenge, I’m energized by opportunities to:

• Transform technical roadmaps into compelling narratives

• Build cross-functional alignment through experiential demos

• Leverage AI for hyper-personalized stakeholder engagement

• Finding ways to surprise and delight every audience
  

Because in the end, every launch is a bid for attention – and I’ve yet to meet a team that doesn’t respond to a well-timed “HEY!” and airhorn blast.

Ready to turn your next project into a crowd-pleaser? Let’s connect and brainstorm how experiential storytelling can drive your goals.