By Barry Janoff
March 23, 2012: As part of its activation as an official partner of the NHL, Discover Financial Services is taking the most symbolic part of the playoffs and offering it to fans and consumers.
Beginning today, people can tell the NHL and Discover why they deserve a day with the Stanley Cup by entering a "Day With The Cup" contest. The promotion will be supported by multi-media marketing, including TV, print and Internet.
TV ads scheduled to break during hockey broadcasts on March 25 will feature Phil Pritchard, one of the men charged with the handling and care of the Stanley Cup. Discover and the NHL also will unveil videos of Pritchard and the Stanley Cup offering "unique insight on the Stanley Cup’s history and travels throughout hockey-centric towns in the U.S."
Now through April 12, marketing will direct people to a dedicated Web site, where they can submit an original photo "that best demonstrates their passion for hockey, along with a 1,000-character or less description that answers the question, 'I deserve a day with the Stanley Cup because . . . '” (Full details here.)
Visitors will also be able to vote for their favorite submission, with the top three moving on to the final competition.
From April 17-21, visitors to the Day With The Cup Web site will be able to vote on the three submissions that have received the most votes, with the winner to be unveiled on May 6.
A two-minute documentary showcasing the winner of the "Day With The Cup" will be revealed in June during Game One of the Stanley Cup finals. 
Discover has been the official card of the NHL since 2010. This past season, the deal was extend for five years. The alliance has been featured in TV ads in which Peggy, an inept customer service rep from a fictitious rival company, is unable to help such NHL players as Tim Thomas (pictured) and Patrick Kane.
"Our alliance with the NHL has been terrific," said Jennifer Murillo, vp-brand communications for Discover. "There is a lot that we have in common, starting with the loyalty that fans have for the NHL and that cardholders have for DIscover."
This year's activation is a follow-up to the 2011 Discover "Your Kid Could Win a Day with the Cup” social media video contest.
“We wanted to expand upon last year’s contest and to leverage our relationship with the NHL to make this 'Day With The Cup' even bigger and better," said Murillo. "We expect the involvement of fans over the next two months to be pretty amazing. And that is exactly what the NHL and Discover are looking for."