So I'm in Tampa. It's made me realize what a mess our marketing is.

Step

It's been a tough year...
Nov 9, 2007
4,104
22
Ottawa
I've spent the week staying in downtown Tampa to visit friends and family. My first visit here has absolutely blown my mind . These banners are EVERYWHERE. On small buildings, on large ones, on bus shelters and on countless homes.

AVB_Hattricks_GoBolts_Banners-1-1.jpg


AVB_BOABridge_GoBolts2.jpg


3NO29cC.jpg


I was inside a random mall with my nephews. Every single door had player profile pics like this showing name/face/position...

LjxMuPg.jpg


These are on all the interior lights...

YDmR4HT.jpg


They even have lots of these up, where you can learn who the players are and measure your height against them and their mascot...my 9 year old nephew knows all of the players because of this stuff.

AoA35Do.jpg


Oh yeah, and one of their highest skyscrapers, The Sun Trust Building, lights up like this when the Lightning are playing.

7024576053_c6f2eaf203_b.jpg


As Ottawa residents (and owners of a marketing firm), my wife and I were blown away. The whole city seems to be wearing Lightning shirts and hats, they have kids' events all week and seem to have a proper connection with their fanbase. This is sports marketing done properly. I'm not sure what the hell we're doing back home.
 
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mysens

Registered User
Apr 9, 2013
782
625
Are they not selling out every game? I am not sure and I am not to start something, but if they are, the owners/franchise has money to spend. They have an amazing product on the ice and I sincerely doubt when the playoffs start they will not have one empty seat in this place. And this is Florida, we are in so called hockey country, had an incredible product on the ice last year and the players have to beg the fans to come to games during the playoffs and then after an amazing run the senators have to tarp off sections of the arena. So, no butts in seats equals, no money, no advertising and cut salaries along with fans who blame the owner and not themselves. Good one Ottawa!! Tampa fans in sunny florida get it.
 

mysens

Registered User
Apr 9, 2013
782
625
I go down to Saint Pete's a few times a year, and you're bang on. I'm always amazed how much more visible the Bolts are than us. Bumper stickers, flags and signs everywhere year round. They do have an awesome owner though, so it makes sense.
Sure, they all know the owner personally, they all are going to games and putting bumper stickers on the cars, flying flags and signs because they love the owner.....great insight.
 

Fandlauer

Registered User
Apr 23, 2013
6,714
3,903
Ottawa unless it becomes a disaster
Are they not selling out every game? I am not sure and I am not to start something, but if they are, the owners/franchise has money to spend. They have an amazing product on the ice and I sincerely doubt when the playoffs start they will not have one empty seat in this place. And this is Florida, we are in so called hockey country, had an incredible product on the ice last year and the players have to beg the fans to come to games during the playoffs and then after an amazing run the senators have to tarp off sections of the arena. So, no butts in seats equals, no money, no advertising and cut salaries along with fans who blame the owner and not themselves. Good one Ottawa!! Tampa fans in sunny florida get it.

Ya Florida just has better fans. Makes sense. Let's see if that coincides with gate receipts? Woops.

Florida 16 million
Arizona 20 million
Carolina 24 million
Colorado 29 million
New Jersey 30 million
Columbus 34 million
Islanders 37 million
Tampa Bay 37 million
Dallas 38 million
Buffalo 40 million
Detroit 44 million
Ottawa 46 million
 

BonkTastic

ಠ_ಠ
Nov 9, 2010
30,901
10,092
Parts Unknown
Are they not selling out every game? I am not sure and I am not to start something, but if they are, the owners/franchise has money to spend. They have an amazing product on the ice and I sincerely doubt when the playoffs start they will not have one empty seat in this place. And this is Florida, we are in so called hockey country, had an incredible product on the ice last year and the players have to beg the fans to come to games during the playoffs and then after an amazing run the senators have to tarp off sections of the arena. So, no butts in seats equals, no money, no advertising and cut salaries along with fans who blame the owner and not themselves. Good one Ottawa!! Tampa fans in sunny florida get it.

This seems like a chicken / egg reasoning, though. What comes first: the fans to pay for the advertising, or the advertising that attracts the fans?

Honestly, in every business on earth, it's the opposite of what you suggest. Advertising attracts the fans. If you already had the fans, you wouldn't need the advertising, but the inverse does not hold true.

Blaming fans for being the cause of the lack of advertising needed to attract those same fans... that's some paradoxical, fallacious reasoning right there.
 

DaveMatthew

Bring in Peter
Apr 13, 2005
14,507
13,180
Ott
Jeff Vinik is a model owner and has turned the Lightning into the model franchise in the NHL. What he's done with that team and community is nothing short of outstanding, and it underscores how important it is to have a stable, committed ownership and management group. Compare Tampa from the Oren Koules/Len Barrie days to now. It's crazy. It's unfortunate that we're much closer to Koules/Barrie than Vinik.

Cue the Melnyk brigade with the "It's not Eugene's fault, look at taxes in Florida!!!!" argument.
 

DaveMatthew

Bring in Peter
Apr 13, 2005
14,507
13,180
Ott
Are they not selling out every game? I am not sure and I am not to start something, but if they are, the owners/franchise has money to spend. They have an amazing product on the ice and I sincerely doubt when the playoffs start they will not have one empty seat in this place. And this is Florida, we are in so called hockey country, had an incredible product on the ice last year and the players have to beg the fans to come to games during the playoffs and then after an amazing run the senators have to tarp off sections of the arena. So, no butts in seats equals, no money, no advertising and cut salaries along with fans who blame the owner and not themselves. Good one Ottawa!! Tampa fans in sunny florida get it.

In 2009/2010, Tampa had the 5th worst attendance in the NHL, averaging 15,497 fans per game.

Vinik bought the team in 2010. Did he come in and rip on the fanbase? Did he talk about how he'd have to move the team if fans didn't buy tickets?

Nope.

He invested in his management. He invested in hockey ops (his first big hire? Steve Yzerman). He invested in marketing. And he invested in community outreach.

What happened? Fans invested in the team.

2008/09: 16,497
2009/10: 15,497
Vinik takes over
2010/11: 17,268
2011/12: 18,468
2012/13: 19,056
2013/14: 18,612
2014/15: 18,823
2015/16: 19,092 (sellout)
2016/17: 19,092 (sellout)
2017/18: 19,092 (sellout)

And it's not just because of on-ice performance, since the Lightning missed the playoffs in 3 of the last 7 season.
 

Step

It's been a tough year...
Nov 9, 2007
4,104
22
Ottawa
In 2009/2010, Tampa had the 5th worst attendance in the NHL, averaging 15,497 fans per game.

Vinik bought the team in 2010. Did he come in and rip on the fanbase? Did he talk about how he'd have to move the team if fans didn't buy tickets?

Nope.

He invested in his management. He invested in hockey ops (his first big hire? Steve Yzerman). He invested in marketing. And he invested in community outreach.

What happened? Fans invested in the team.

Great post. Totally agree.
 

Sensung

Registered User
Oct 3, 2017
6,101
3,357
In 2009/2010, Tampa had the 5th worst attendance in the NHL, averaging 15,497 fans per game.

Vinik bought the team in 2010. Did he come in and rip on the fanbase? Did he talk about how he'd have to move the team if fans didn't buy tickets?

Nope.

He invested in his management. He invested in hockey ops (his first big hire? Steve Yzerman). He invested in marketing. And he invested in community outreach.

What happened? Fans invested in the team.

2008/09: 16,497
2009/10: 15,497
Vinik takes over
2010/11: 17,268
2011/12: 18,468
2012/13: 19,056
2013/14: 18,612
2014/15: 18,823
2015/16: 19,092 (sellout)
2016/17: 19,092 (sellout)
2017/18: 19,092 (sellout)

And it's not just because of on-ice performance, since the Lightning missed the playoffs in 3 of the last 7 season.

Great post, hopefully those ripping our fanbase and ignoring the real problem will read it and begin to understand the situation.
 

mianjo

Registered User
Jan 16, 2009
15,360
6,833
Just back myself from Madeira Beach, Fla and yes there are banners all over the place, there is even a huge banner on the side of a building next to the I 275 just before the Howard Franklin Bridge. All the games are on tv, merchandise in lots of stores even Walmart. Things are very different from when i first went down to the Tampa/St. Petes area, i went to a Sens -Tampa game when Tampa played in the Thunderome which is now called Tropicana Field and is the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of MLB, i went up to the ticket office and asked for a ticket, there reply was where do you want to sit, so i said as close to the ice as possible, so i get to my seat and it is right beside the boards, unfortunately when i sit down i realise my head is below the top of the boards and all i can see is the heads of the players as they skate by, so i ended up moving back into the stands probably about 4-5000 people in attendance. A few years later the Lightning moved to what is now known as the Amalie arena, i attended a game there and for $40.00 i had 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs and 4 cokes, there was probably about 10,000 at the game, today all the games are basically sellouts.
 
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Knave

Registered User
Mar 6, 2007
21,627
2,226
Ottawa
It's because people think hockey can just sell without effort in Canada because Montreal and Toronto have huge fanbases.

American markets don't have that confidence or arrogance and they work for their fans and nurture their fanbase (for the most part with some exceptions).
 

Do Make Say Think

& Yet & Yet
Jun 26, 2007
51,157
9,904
I agree that that looks sweet and all but the unfortunate truth is that a significant chunk of people here are Habs and Leafs fans.

Also Bell and Rogers are important shareholders of MLSE.

That is so messed up, I still can't believe it.
 
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CanadianHockey

Smith - Alfie
Jul 3, 2009
30,547
513
Petawawa
twitter.com
Are they not selling out every game? I am not sure and I am not to start something, but if they are, the owners/franchise has money to spend. They have an amazing product on the ice and I sincerely doubt when the playoffs start they will not have one empty seat in this place. And this is Florida, we are in so called hockey country, had an incredible product on the ice last year and the players have to beg the fans to come to games during the playoffs and then after an amazing run the senators have to tarp off sections of the arena. So, no butts in seats equals, no money, no advertising and cut salaries along with fans who blame the owner and not themselves. Good one Ottawa!! Tampa fans in sunny florida get it.

Generally, companies advertise to bring in business. You seem to be implying NHL teams should only advertise if they are selling out?
 

AchtzehnBaby

Global Matador
Mar 28, 2013
15,017
8,898
Hazeldean Road
I am pretty sure that Ottawa Senators organization is not allowed to advertise in Ontario or Quebec due to the Leafs and Habs owning all rights to advertising in this hemisphere.
 
Last edited:
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Spartachat

Registered User
Aug 2, 2016
2,154
2,136
Ottawa
I am pretty sure that Ottawa Senators organization is not allowed to advertise in Ontario or Quebec due to the Leafs and Habs owning all rights to advertising this hemisphere.

I guess that is why all the stores in Gatineau carry more Habs gear than Sens gear.
 

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