Branding the Purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes
May 6, 2009 at 2:57 pm | Posted in Branding, Social Media, Sports Marketing | 5 CommentsTags: Branding, Jim Balsillie, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Sports Marketing
As the sports news and blogs light up with Jim Balsillie’s offer to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes on condition of the ability to move the team to “southern Ontario”, I want to focus on the accompanying website, www.makeitseven.ca.
The idea behind makeitseven.ca is rooted far more in PR than social media, but one can only wonder if the Make It Seven Facebook Page is far behind – or if @makeitseven is already snapped up on Twitter (at the time of writing, neither was).
What makeitseven.ca is essentially doing, is building a brand around the purchase attempt. This is being positioned as something “for” Canada, for hockey fans, for the good of us all. I have “signed up” and am looking forward to seing exactly what will come my way via email from the Balsillie camp.
While I am certain there are countless opinions on whether or not this deal makes sense, or the conditions of the agreement are valid (let alone legal), what I am looking for here is the branding element of this story.
What do you think about the idea of branding this potential sale as it is?
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Carson McKee,
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I like the concept of building the brand around the “make it seven” tag line, but will the efforts in branding be worth the final outcome? What would be the long term value to having this as a brand?
The NHL is going to decide this situation regardless of how much $ Balsillie throws around and how many people take to the streets chanting “make it seven.” They are the ultimate keepers of the brands within their league, and I expect the team will either stay in Phoenix, or go to another market that has been on the short list – Kansas City, Portland, and dare I say it… Winnipeg (go Jets!).
Comment by Howard Brodwin— May 6, 2009 #
Definitely a short term value here – I agree… I think that it is interesting that this campaign reaches out to hockey fans as I’m not sure what impact that will have on the outcome as you state. Thank you for your comment, Howard.
Comment by Carson McKee— May 7, 2009 #
Hmnn, I dont think “make it seven” is a brand or would be developed asa brand.
Positioning statement ,maybe, “Call to action” assuredly .
The website needs work…it looks hasty and objectives havent been thought through. If you are the head of RIM and you announce to National media about the site, better to have more of your ducks in a row. If Steve Jobs ( Apple) wanted lets say an NFL franchise in Cupertino I would doubt this would even be near his approach.
Lastly, while Jim wants to play this out in the court of public opinion as opposed to making “nice” with Bettman, again its a flawed strategy.
While Jim was recently inducted to the business Hallof Fame , he may want to hire a seasoned PR executive and team to better formulate a more coherent communications strategy.
Sadly we dont get to vote, only Bettman and the league does, so he should better start appeasing them long before he makes a case to us .
Comment by Harry Teitelbaum— May 7, 2009 #
Thanks for all your points here Harry – a call to action for certain… I don’t see it being developed as a long term brand either, but it certainly has legs right now.
Comment by Carson McKee— May 7, 2009 #
Hey are using WordPress for your site platform?
I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and
create my own. Do you need any html coding knowledge to make
your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!
Comment by muscle maximizer— November 23, 2012 #