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

[SPF6ty9]

The contortions performed in the mental gymnastics some posters go through to "defend" all things Senator related is truly impressive. Gumby would be proud.

I understand sometimes some of us get wound up and swing too far in the negative, but in this case there is absolutely no question the Senators marketing sucks. The team logo and player pictures should really be out there, heck even a dictator style portrait of Melnyk plastered all over the city would do.

In Tampa they work hard to sell hockey, here we need to work hard to sell the Senators. It's Canada so most of us will be hockey fans regardless, but if there's no buzz and excitement created by the team, then where's the connection to follow them when the internet makes it just as easy to follow another team? Or geography makes it almost just as easy to follow Montreal or Toronto? Saying the Sens marketing department doesn't have their work cut out for them couldn't be further from the truth and the team needs to do a way better job to prioritize this.

 

[Micklebot]

I think the biggest problem with the Sens marketing department is they, and the team in general, buy into the mentality that they don't need to market the product because "we're a Canadian club". After that, it's probably just a lack of funding...

 

[aragorn]

When it comes to marketing with this organization we can lump it in with everything else about this org & that is a lack of money in all areas. It seems more evident this yr than in past yrs that EM has slowly cut from every inch of the organization in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Ottawa has the smallest front office in the NHL & I would assume that marketing, scouting, ticket sales, cleaning staff everything & everywhere within this organization has been cut to the bare bone in some vain attempt to save money.

Why is anyone's guess but we have been hearing for a few yrs now that he is losing money left & right in business, divorce & with the Sens. Not sure what that means for the future of this organization or the Lebreton Flats deal but the optics look bad. I assume that this summer could be a turning point, if they decide to trade Karlsson because they can't afford to re-sign him & then what will fans do? I bet he tries to hang on until the Lebreton Flats project gets done anyway he can & at that point decides whether he can still afford the team or sells it & takes the money back to the Barbados.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

The Sens might be the same as Columbus though, and I assure you, Columbus does a far better job marketing having been to the city a ton of times.

The thought process that the Sens don't need any type of advertising boggles my mind.

This organization is not infallible, there are some serious criticisms you can put against it. But, I've said my opinion about the Sens marketing for years, it's abysmal, and I never see it getting any better so it is what it is. No use in beating a dead horse.

You never did answer my simple straight forward question, though.

Never said the Senators did not need to do any marketing, just saying they don't need to do what Tampa does, as was suggested, and not what McDonalds does either.

There are only a handful of home-games left this season, and I agree something needed to be done differently if they want to sell more tickets to see the Sens, a while ago, once it was evident that the playoffs was impossible.

 

[Engineer]

just saying they don't need to do what Tampa does, as was suggested, and not what McDonalds does either.

Yeah, they definitely shouldn't do anything like Tampa; heaven forbid they try do emulate successful marketing.

Oppositional defiant disorder - Wikipedia

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

I think the tarping off of entire sections of seats was possibly the worst idea anyone has ever had in marketing a sports team. It's so bad that it's baffling. There was absolutely no possible way that tarping off seats would drive demand. None. And it sent negative signals about the state of the club and created uncertainty and anxiety. Just a terrible, terrible idea.

It was done with the thinking that after a deep playoff run last spring, was going to enough to keep fans interested in coming to games, with the thought that the Sens were going to be a playoff team again, and yes the then President said it was done to in the hope ithat by reducing seating capacity at the arena, it could create a “scarcity,” prompting more fans to buy season tickets or to no longer wait until the last minute to buy game-day tickets.


Senators reducing Canadian Tire Centre seating by 1,500

But once it became clear, as of US Thanks giving, that the Senators were not going to be in the playoff hunt, taking the tarps off was not going to increase ticket sales.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

don't agree completely... this organization has rarely targeted the spenders in the city... the late teens early 20s... then again maybe they simply don't want that crowd at the game... its not just about selling a winning product.. itd about selling a good time.

I don't know about your observations, but I've noticed that a lot of "late teens early 20s" don not drive their own cars, and rely on OC Transpo a lot more than previous generations ........ and the CTC is not OC Transpo user friendly.

For the handful of remaining games, perhaps they could look at group sales to young hockey teams in the region, at a sizeable discount, and in most cases a parent or two would consider accompanying their sons or daughters to a game.

There needs to be some sort of tie in for STH to get a priority ranking to select new seats for Lebreton. It's STH sales that directly affects how the team will budget itself for the upcoming season, as they can't depend on the "walk up crowd" to be sizable enough to forecast costs for the season.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

tbh, I've actually liked the view I get of the game better in the 300's than the times I've been in the 100's, but it might be a hard sell to convince people there's a premium experience available in the "nosebleeds".

I've been to "The Ledge" and was surprised at the experience, and would consider going again. So some sort of Club Bell Lite sections in the 300 might be worth trying.

 

[thinkwild]

Of course advertising is just one component of marketing. Pricing is another. But of course the best marketing is done by winning.

As die hard fans we do have an obligation to support the team through good and bad times if we want to keep that designation. But die hards arent likely to sell out the place.

I wonder if Tampa would have as much advertising about if they were in last place. I remember Ottawa during the Cup Finals run and the city was covered in Sens signs, car flags, and banners. I remember the Blue Jays during their World Series runs and the buzz created incredible demand. As die hards, we tend to look down our nose at such casual fans. Buts thats probably a pretty charmingly naive snootiness.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

I don't know about your observations, but I've noticed that a lot of "late teens early 20s" don not drive their own cars, and rely on OC Transpo a lot more than previous generations ........ and the CTC is not OC Transpo user friendly.

For the handful of remaining games, perhaps they could look at group sales to young hockey teams in the region, at a sizeable discount, and in most cases a parent or two would consider accompanying their sons or daughters to a game.

There needs to be some sort of tie in for STH to get a priority ranking to select new seats for Lebreton. It's STH sales that directly affects how the team will budget itself for the upcoming season, as they can't depend on the "walk up crowd" to be sizable enough to forecast costs for the season.

Most early twenties have a car. Or one of their friends have a car whom they are attending the game with

 

[Deku]

They had a horrible segment tonight during a tv timeout where they “profiled” a tickets sales rep. I really can’t see that helping much

 

[Beville]

Tampa is about an hour from Orlando, and in Tampa's broadcast rights area IIRC. Miami is more like 4 hrs. Makes sense.

Oh really? I never bothered to look to be fair makes sense haha.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

The Sens marketing has always sucked.

I am surprised this seems to be news to some of you.

We are now starting to see the effect of it: lots of kids in the Ottawa area aren't fans of the local team and the god awful marketing is more than likely a big reason.

The team cannot coast on the whole "we have an NHL team in Ottawa" effect and we aren't a regular season powerhouse anymore.

Civic pride in Ottawa is essentially non-existent (and I like that, let MTL and Toronto be proud of their "world class" dumps) but that is another hurdle to clear for a fanbase culture to blossom.