Do you really think teenagers are going to suddenly start attending CFL games in droves to find out who these guys are on the CFL version of Madden Football? It’d be like having EA Sports do a version of NHL '13 using players and teams from the East Coast Hockey League and expecting attendance at ECHL games is going to skyrocket because of it.
Having a bunch of no-name Canadian musicians play for 5 minutes at halftime will have zero effect on increasing attendance. Same with whatever genre they decide to have playing over the PA system. Nobody goes to a CFL game to hear their favourite tunes.
Couldn’t agree more.
The only time there’s any noise at Argo games is when the promo team throws a few cheap t-shirts or mini-footballs into the stands. One of these games I’m going to pick up a couple dozen of those ugly neon t-shirts from the dollar store, and then just for sh!ts and giggles I’ll start pitching them as soon as the t-shirt toss starts.
Toronto sports fans are notorious for having no emotion or enthusiasm. Remember last year when Leaf fans finally had enough of that deadbeat coach and started the “Fi-re Wil-Son” chant? Being loud and boisterious and critical of the home team was unprecedented in Toronto. No different with the Argo games.
Before you can increase the attendance you have to improve the atmosphere at Argo games. If you want to draw the 18-30yr old male demographic out to Argo games the surest way for that is by serving $2 beers. Do that and I guarantee the atmosphere is going to be A LOT louder than it is now. Probably be some fights in the stands and a few people might even make a swear, but it will generate a younger crowd for sure. If they’re worried about things getting too rowdy, just designate a few sections throughout the stadium for the $2 beer promos.
I agree with this. I was at Friday night’s game vs the Eskimos and there were several times during Esks’ drives when it got really loud - the hit by Marsh on Stamps in the endzone also comes to mind. However, when I watched on PVR the next day, it seemed decidedly more subdued; they just don’t capture the atmosphere and noise.
quote=“the_guy”
1) Advertise properly. If you don't put the word out, people will not know. I know this is not a problem where I am (Saskatchewan) but I have heard this is a huge problem in places like TO. You have to promote like the other sports players on the scene or you will get lost. I hope Braley and Rudge make this happen. If Rogers won't let the Argos operate properly in Rogers Centre (Argo banners outside the stadium, semi-consistent game times etc...) they will always be climbing uphill. I hate Rogers :twisted: still... Radio Adds, TV Adds, Billboards everywhere, Internet Adds, Tweets and Facebook posts.Advertise properly? Not sure what you mean? Do you mean spending millions to advertise on TV? These days advertising is expensive and is it worth spending money and trying to appeal to non-sports fans? Not sure what more Braley can do with the Argos he is spending big bucks now on advertising and the CFL is spending $500,000 in the TO area
2) Run the teams like a business. The CFL is sometimes treated as a joke because some franchises run/ran their business side like a joke. Spend money on good business people and focus on expanding the business model. You need proper game coverage, game day experience, merchandising and sponsorship tie ins. Saskatchewan used to run like a joke. Part of the turn around in the teams fortunes was when they started running like a business (winning always helps!!). Winnipeg has caught on (mechandise, lottery tickets!!) and Edmonton has always been strong.Run the team like a business? That’s what they are trying to do but when you don’t have enough fans in places like Toronto that’s difficult. So we have rich owners actually subsidizing tickets. You say run like a business but then you go on to say that tickets are too expensive – a business is run on the free market, supply and demand. The Ticats have stated that they need $60 a ticket average to break even.
3) Do everything to trend the demographics younger. The number of "older" people in some stadiums is alarming. The average age looks like it's 50-60. It needs to be 20-30. All children under 12 should get in free. Parents with kids should get a good discount. It may pay off in a decade or so. We need to leave that lost NFL only generation behind. We need a generation that sees them as dinosaurs.Trend demogprapics? The problem is the majority of Canadians are between 46 to 66 and they are the ones with the money!! They maybe dinosaurs but they are still willing to come out to the games. The young people are in front of their games consoles and won’t attend live games. They do a great job now trying to attract young people but make sure you don't turn off the 46 - 66 years old, they are the ones that are spending the money. Stadiums have to make sure they cater to the boomers - comfortable seats, turning the music down etc
4) Lower ticket prices in larger stadiums. This has the greatest potential to backfire or not work so I am cautious with this idea. The part I miss the most in some CFL stadiums is the atmosphere. If I could bottle gameday at Mosaic and sell it to some of the weaker teams I'd be rich. Tickets in the nosebleeds (upper bowl corners) should be $5. However, as someone may point out, ticket price may not be what is keeping people away.As I said above you don't make sense- you say run like a business?? but then you say "lower ticket" prices or have someone else pay for them, that's not running like a business that's "socialism"
5) Price corrected season ticket prices. The idea would that season ticket prices would get cheaper the more you sold. Sell 10,000 season tickets at $400. If you get 20,000 season tickets the price for everyone drops to $200. This would "hopefully" entice people to commit to the season and not 1-2 games a year. Teams should build the atmosphere so that people want to come back. Don't be greedy now. Pick a break even profit and strive for it in a way that puts the most people in the stands. Once you have built the fanbase, you are in a position to strive for profit.Again you are saying run it like a business but then telling owners that they are "greedy" should sell "cheap" season tickets?? not sure what more the owners can do, the season ticket prices are very reasonable when compared to other sports.
7) Get some games on CTV. There has to be some room there without stepping on their sweet NFL thing. One game a week, non Sundays. If CTV/TSN won't budge try and find another partner (CBC Global) to do this on the next TV contract.[/quote] Why have games on CTV, when they are on TSN? I don't get it, people will just turn from TSN to CTV. How does this help the CFL? same with CBC or Global, us fans will just watch the channel that football is on. It will make NO DIFFERENCE to ratings whether it's on CTV, CBC or Global. Over 96% of Canadians have access to cable/satellite or the internet where they can watch CFL games.
Yup...CBC was more relevant a decade ago when cable was not a common place...everyone had access to CBC. Now, the few people who don't have cable, for the most part, are not a demographic you are after, as many do not have disposable income. I realise some choose not to have cable, but believe that if you surveyed those without it that many would like it.
But those without cable may have a satellite dish, if they don’t have cable or satellite dish then they probably have the internet. TSN is available on basic Cable/satellite/internet, if you don’t have any of them, then you are probably in an area that won’t even get over the air TV. The tiny minority of people that don’t have access to cable, satellite or internet are probably not into football either.
The trend these days and it’s true in the US is “Sports networks” Football and other sports belong on Sports networks such as TSN, Sportsnet, ESPN etc not on regular networks. The regular networks are for news, comedy, drama etc not sports.
Sports programing, live programing, is expensive as well and it is a speciality type of service. Agree it should be on sports channels, people shouldn't have to pay for something like this if they don't want to. News, on the other hand, is much more universal as well as regular shows.
See a more "pick and choose" model is being looked at albeit with no reduction in cost to the cable subscriber.
[url=http://o.canada.com/2012/07/22/canadian-tv-viewers-gain-greater-control-of-the-dial/]http://o.canada.com/2012/07/22/canadian ... -the-dial/[/url]I am an old guy and yet I agree with you. Mother Mother, Dan Magnan, New Pornographers, etc would be great to hear.
The but is, whenever a discussion happens about Grey Cup bands or even what song to play when a team comes out all I usually see mentions are things like ACDC, Loverboy, etc. To me when I was in my 20’s, that would have been like having Bing Crosby and Fess Parker played at the game, old boring stuff.
Heck look at the crap that many people threw at the league for putting on the Black Eyde Peas. Ok they might not be the most leading edge, or Canadian but at the time they were a group that was big with the younger demographics.
The problem is that the teams would loose the gate revenue. Not sure about other teams, but for the riders that would be over a million dollar reduction in ticket revenue alone, plus concession sales.
Plus what places have a stadium? Plus, do not forget that unlike Hockey or Baseball, there are only two pre-season games.
You know you can’t alienate the older crowd too. Playing today’s crappy music is turning off a lot of thenlongbtime loyal fans now. You need a medium…
How about getting some former CFLers to do TV spots on their time in this league... get Moon, Wake and Ricky Williams to put a positive spin on their time in the league... after all, Williams did say it was the most fun he's had in football... that would be great PR for this league.
Has anyone mentioned about an all CFL channel, in this day and age of a thousand channel universe?
I thought the extra yard was great...it would be nice to see more of that type of coverage. Perhaps cover 2 teams a year...or a team a week, or something like that...air it before games on Friday.
Wonder what ratings were like?
These are all great ideas.
The one problem with T.V. / radio / news paper advertising is that it is very , very expensive.
$500,000 , just doesn't go very far in some CFL markets.
The NFL can afford to spend millions and millions on ADs. The CFL can't.
I had no idea the CFL brand was built by Ways. What a guy!
You hit the nail right on the head in identifying the problems marketing the league currently. In the US, they have cameras on cranes that literally hover over the crowd providing some spectacular shots of fans in the stands (especially in college football). Mics in the crowds is also used in US broadcasts, but seem to be lacking north of the border. All these things add up to greatly enhancing the product which would go a long way to attracting the casual sports fan. If more fans are attracted, then finally the broadcasters will have no choice (at least one would assume), of talking football in the summer months rather than previewing fictitious trades and free agent signings for the NHL in the middle of August!!
Finally, gotta agree with you in regards to the Argo game-day presentation. The Argos were the only CFL team with a larger stadium to use proper tarps in order to make Skydome look and feel more intimate. Now, the tarps are only sporadically placed throughout the stadium (too cheap to buy more i guess) which only cheapens the fans’ experience which in turn makes them less likely to return to the stadium at a future date.
NFL cameras or network cameras cost about $1 million EACH in the U.S.
They have $multi million budgets for each game.
The only problem with that is you can see none of that at a live game.
I have been to 4 NFL games and they were complete bores.
Take away the $million dollar budget for T.V. and you have very little.
But what does this have to do with ways to build the CFL brand?
If you thought the NFL was boring why did you attend 4 games?
well… they did have the CFN…
but perhaps down the road when the league is earning a lot more for $$ they could look at a CFL-TV channel where during the season it shows highlights, games, interviews, practices, training camp coverage,
during the off season it can do pre-season stuff.