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Post by wingman on Sept 12, 2007 16:34:42 GMT -4
Screens may not put more asses in the seats and it may not be the deciding factor in keeping them in the seats, but it does add to the game as a fan. If they had never installed them in the first place it wouldn't be an issue. But they put them in and the fans enjoyed it and got used to them. Bad PR to do something, get people hooked on it and then yank it away from them.
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Post by countryboy on Sept 12, 2007 17:19:46 GMT -4
Connolly has a tough job. I don't envy for one moment the position he is in. He always needs to be the positive front man for an organization that made some cost cutting decisions they deemed necessary but didn't do an overly good job justifying to fans why such was being done. It's all tied into that feeling that we're being nickeled and dimed, as was mentioned.
I appreciate the fact that Connolly is very loyal to the hockey team and I truely can say that I know he wants to see the team successful. Personally, I don't talk to him, nor am I looking to talk to him, but people I know who chat with him always talk about how he's optimistic and looking forward to seeing the team be successful on the ice.
But you can't ignore the record and the significant decrease in the number of people in the stands from 2003 until now. At some point, he needs to be accountable for the job that he does as marketing director.
To me, it makes sense to have someone from the community in that type of power position... someone who has a good pulse on the comunity.... specifically the hockey community and the business community. The Rocket didn't come in with that philosophy.
The irony of it all is that they took Connolly with them from the Montreal operation. The Montreal operation was unsuccessful in attracting enough fans to support the team. So why continue to use the same marketing director in a city he doesn't know when the team was unsuccessful in a city he did know? To boot, I get a kick out of how "employment with the Montreal Expos" is listed on his CV... Not exactly a successful franchise model. In fairness, he may have worked for the Expos when they were widely successful in the Montreal area, even in their crappy building.
There would be qualified people on PEI for filling the role (probably for a cheaper price). I'm thining of someone along the lines of Kent Hudson... who scouts for Lewiston. I think he's worked in a lot of golf enterprises and worked in the AHL and has lots of coaching experience on PEI. That's one name I can think of right off, but the type of people for this job are more behind the scenes people that aren't always household names.
I'm trying to be fair to Connolly in my post, but at some point you have to accept it as fair to call a spade a spade and look at the team's marketing strategies that we as fans have watched over the years.
cb
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Post by rocketrumble on Sept 12, 2007 19:00:26 GMT -4
at some point you have to accept it as fair to call a spade a spade and look at the team's marketing strategies that we as fans have watched over the years. cb What marketing strategies? Raising beer prices every year? |
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Post by Score on Sept 12, 2007 19:02:29 GMT -4
at some point you have to accept it as fair to call a spade a spade and look at the team's marketing strategies that we as fans have watched over the years. cb What marketing strategies? Raising beer prices every year? and ticket prices.  |
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Post by rocketman27 on Sept 13, 2007 9:08:40 GMT -4
exactly they keep marking things up and takling thigs away, it is unfortunate but I think the writing is on the wall if things keep going the way they are the Rocket will be gone and they will blame the fans instead of looking with in.
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Post by bois on Sept 13, 2007 10:01:37 GMT -4
exactly they keep marking things up and takling thigs away, it is unfortunate but I think the writing is on the wall if things keep going the way they are the Rocket will be gone and they will blame the fans instead of looking with in. Quite possibly true.. but when you repeatedly fail in multiple markets I think it's obvious something within is amiss and it ain't the "fans" |
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mikey
Draft Pick
Posts: 19 
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Post by mikey on Sept 13, 2007 10:15:37 GMT -4
at some point you have to accept it as fair to call a spade a spade and look at the team's marketing strategies that we as fans have watched over the years. cb What marketing strategies? Raising beer prices every year? I've paid the same price for a beer ever since I was going to the Rocket games, each time they raise the price, it's the cart girls tips that have been getting smaller! |
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Post by dogpound on Sept 13, 2007 11:01:02 GMT -4
What marketing strategies? Raising beer prices every year? I've paid the same price for a beer ever since I was going to the Rocket games, each time they raise the price, it's the cart girls tips that have been getting smaller! I see. That means that if the beer prices keep going up, eventually the beer girl will have to tip you! |
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Post by Krang7 on Sept 13, 2007 11:03:58 GMT -4
The beer girls deserve all the tips they get and then some. I felt obliged to give the one girl that we saw most often last winter an extra $10 at the end of the season for her service. I was feeling pretty good at that point, so it's probably lucky I didn't have a $50 in my pocket or something.  |
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Post by dogpound on Sept 13, 2007 11:10:42 GMT -4
exactly they keep marking things up and takling thigs away, it is unfortunate but I think the writing is on the wall if things keep going the way they are the Rocket will be gone and they will blame the fans instead of looking with in. I disagree. If the Rocket leaves, we should blame a) the building, first and foremost - no team can survive long-term in such an awful building b) the so-called, mythical, "great Island hockey fans", most of whom never bother to show up at a game unless they're given a free ticket. Don't get me wrong - there ARE great hockey fans on the Island, and many of them post here on the forum, and are loyal season-ticket holders. However, there simply aren't enough of them. Just calling a spade a spade. |
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Post by bois on Sept 13, 2007 12:46:38 GMT -4
So you'd place no blame on declining ticket sales on the organization Dogpound?
I somehow don't believe you
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Post by rocketman27 on Sept 13, 2007 12:59:37 GMT -4
Lets take a look at the big picture, why are the sponsors not coming back, why are the fans not coming back. I know we all have answers but The Rocket org must look at this they are allot of major sponsor not coming back on there must be a reason.
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Post by dogpound on Sept 13, 2007 16:19:12 GMT -4
So you'd place no blame on declining ticket sales on the organization Dogpound? I somehow don't believe you Not at all - organization, or lack of it, is in large part responsible for the decline in season ticket sales (and overall attendance, which translates to the same thing). I still think the rink itself is the biggest problem. Regarding the second point, real fans should come to the games, even if they don't like the rink and don't get along with Attila The Rocket. That's what I do, and hockey is only my third-favorite sport. It's still the best hockey we've had on PEI in the last 35 years, at least, and it'd be a shame to lose it and go back to watching river hockey played indoors. |
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Post by wingman on Sept 13, 2007 17:52:23 GMT -4
Regarding the second point, real fans should come to the games, even if they don't like the rink and don't get along with Attila The Rocket. I agree that more fans should come to the games, but the team has to go out and make that sale. Even though it is a sporting event, it is still the business of selling a product. If you ask anyone who owns a business they will tell you that you have to market and sell your product because people are not going to beat a path to your door on their own. That's everywhere, it's not just an Island thing. It seems like the team expects people and sponsors to shell out their money to the team just because they are the big ticket in town. I've heard some corporate people who have had dealings with the Rocket say that the team comes across like they are a charity who feels like that people owe them something. That's an impression that I have heard on more than one occaison from people on the corporate side. If these people and also other people have had negative dealings with the Rocket, you can be sure that other people are going to get that same impression. The Island is a small, close knit community where word travels quickly and easily and the Rocket have to realize that. That's not the fan's fault, that's where the Rocket have to get off their arses on the PR end of things to show people that the Rocket are worth spending their money on. They can't just rely solely on the on-ice product which hasn't had the best track record either. |
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Post by North Shore on Sept 14, 2007 9:38:20 GMT -4
I've heard some corporate people who have had dealings with the Rocket say that the team comes across like they are a charity who feels like that people owe them something. ... They can't just rely solely on the on-ice product which hasn't had the best track record either. To add a different perspective I spoke with a Corporate Box holder who had very favourable comments on dealing with the organization. The Club was accommodating and the food and beverage service for the Box was great. Their big issue was the on ice product and the difficulty in getting clients/customers to fill the seats on a regular basis. |
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