All things Lions Marketing/Promotions 2014

[sj-roc]

It certainly speeds up the process by eliminating the pouring. Methinks it's just a matter of time before they go back to serving them in cups. All it takes is some drunken yahoo to throw the cans onto the field.

I sit in cheaper seats where I still see people drinking from cups. Maybe there's some "profiling" going on whereby high rent folks are deemed a low security risk and get cans?

Depends on the product. Draft is still available at many of the food concessions and the Beer Innovation stands. My first wobbly Friday was a Shock Top draft from Beer Innovation then it was Kokanee cans the rest of the way. I think where cans are offered the customer may still request a cup if they prefer.

Wow it's barely a year since I quit beer and it's like the whole experience has completely revolutionised since then. LOL

[TheLionKing]

If the Lions want to drive up ST holder numbers and make a Lions game a go to event, they have to drive up demand. There are many ways to do this, but one of them is limiting available seats. Yes, you could possibly be turning away people and take a small gate hit. The idea is you limit the available seats and then the casual who comes to a game only once or twice a year, tries to buy a ticket to discover the nearest game is sold out. This puts the person in the mindset of "I'll need to buy my ticket ahead of time next time." This makes people commit to a ticket long before the date. Currently you can buy a ticket at the door with no worries. This removes the financial obligation to attend for someone who prebought a ticket. Currently you can wait till the last minute and if someone comes up (which often does during our summer months) there is no negative for them to not go to the Lions game.

The Lions need to limit the available seats so they get the "fake" sell-out and NOT raise prices. they do not want to have just enough seats available, they need to have just not enough available until that forces the demand to open some more sections that will also sell-out.

Supply & Demand 101. Lions need to create a demand, but currently the supply is too high

The casual fan can just as easy say "heck with it" and go watch it at home or a bar.

[Hambone]

It certainly speeds up the process by eliminating the pouring. Methinks it's just a matter of time before they go back to serving them in cups. All it takes is some drunken yahoo to throw the cans onto the field.

We're talking Vancouver here not Regina. Providing beer in cups only is definitely the exception to the rule in all stadiums and arenas across North America. BC Place and Rogers Arena may have been the last holdouts for not selling suds in cans. The only place that immediately springs to mind as a place I've watched a game that didn't serve beer in cans was Notre Dame Stadium where beer isn't available in any form. And they call themselves Irish.

[Solar Max]

Speaking of late Larrys does your usher do a good job of holding people back when Lions are on Offense. I have people walk right by thinking its their right to block your view. Contrary Ive heard Canuck ushers painfully keep people back till a stoppage. Thnx BB

Section QQ is a bit different, Bob. I never saw anyone get up except at halftime last Friday. Not even the Prime Minister. Russ Jackson went down to the field at halftime though. He, the PM and Commissioner Cohon were just to our left.


Southside has a reputation as football intense. It's not an event to be seen at a football game...these guys and gals don't care about that. They haven't had football in nine years, so they aren't budging.

The ushers were there, but they didn't have to do much.

It's the Northside (sucks) folks that tend to do the social butterfly thing in Ottawa.

[notahomer]

The 'social butterfly thing' described here almost had me toss in my season tickets a few years ago.

I have moved to the centre of the row but its still a problem. Thankfully its a lot less than when I had aisle seats.

As a football junkie, I'm baffled at shelling out even $15 bucks (my tickets are more) and then not watching the game because you wanna get up, come back, get up, come back, get up, come back..... But I guess we are each entitled to use our tickets how we want

I like the latest attempt at getting an old chant back....the BBBBBBBB CCCCCC chant that used to haunt the airwaves when all I could afford was to listen to JP and Larshied on the radio.

[Lions4ever]

Your comments remind me of when Don Cherry took umbrage at those PSAs aimed at overzealous hockey parents, shaming them for tarring all the parents, although it must be said Grapes has rarely come close to choosing his words as carefully as you have here to make a valid point.

Man, I'd hate to be put along side Don Cherry cuz I kinda can't stand that guy....although I tuned him out (literally and figuratively) many many years ago. No question the Lions are on the right side of this issue (and particularly in recent light of that douchebag Ray Rice getting a slap on the wrist from the NFL, which now look like they don't take this issue seriously enough) but in terms of marketing (to women I would guess) I think it would be great if this were a league-wide CFL campaign about "breaking the silence". I'm sure this isn't a BC only problem.

[Hambone]

The 'social butterfly thing' described here almost had me toss in my season tickets a few years ago.

I have moved to the centre of the row but its still a problem. Thankfully its a lot less than when I had aisle seats.

As a football junkie, I'm baffled at shelling out even $15 bucks (my tickets are more) and then not watching the game because you wanna get up, come back, get up, come back, get up, come back..... But I guess we are each entitled to use our tickets how we want

I like the latest attempt at getting an old chant back....the BBBBBBBB CCCCCC chant that used to haunt the airwaves when all I could afford was to listen to JP and Larshied on the radio.

I'm kind of the opposite. For the first couple of years I had STs after BCP opened I sat on the aisle in Sec 44 Row PP. Then I reallocated to Sec 43 Row DD. I sat on the aisle in both locations. I never minded having to stand up to let somebody out but hate having to interrupt others to stand up to let me out during the game. If I do get up at any time other than halftime it's because nature has called and isn't about to wait for the half. Maybe I was spoiled with 43 as it was literally turn around, go up 2 steps and I was heading down the steps to the concourse. With that new can only beer express line outside 242 and 243 if I still had those seats it would be easy during any TV time-out to zip out, take a squirt, buy a beer and be back in my seat without missing a play. Being 15 rows lower and 7 seats off the aisle it's now an exercise in bladder management.

[dupsdell1]

Is there anyone phoning in tom for skulskie on 1040 ?

i am sure he is going to get a lot of price is to high to attend games questions and comments

[Qman]

If the Lions want to drive up ST holder numbers and make a Lions game a go to event, they have to drive up demand. There are many ways to do this, but one of them is limiting available seats. Yes, you could possibly be turning away people and take a small gate hit. The idea is you limit the available seats and then the casual who comes to a game only once or twice a year, tries to buy a ticket to discover the nearest game is sold out. This puts the person in the mindset of "I'll need to buy my ticket ahead of time next time." This makes people commit to a ticket long before the date. Currently you can buy a ticket at the door with no worries. This removes the financial obligation to attend for someone who prebought a ticket. Currently you can wait till the last minute and if someone comes up (which often does during our summer months) there is no negative for them to not go to the Lions game.

The Lions need to limit the available seats so they get the "fake" sell-out and NOT raise prices. they do not want to have just enough seats available, they need to have just not enough available until that forces the demand to open some more sections that will also sell-out.

Supply & Demand 101. Lions need to create a demand, but currently the supply is too high

The casual fan can just as easy say "heck with it" and go watch it at home or a bar.

Agree with above. You have to limit supply!
The Lions are selling to different type of experiences i) live experience - with 26,000 squished into the lower bowl going nuts which you pay money for; and ii) watching it a home for free. Both are providing revenues to the lions: tickets (direct through purchase $7-10m) and TV (via TSN rights fees of $5m/team)

[Hambone]

Wow it's barely a year since I quit beer and it's like the whole experience has completely revolutionised since then. LOL

See it was all your fault sj. All those years we were forced to drink out of cups with limited options due to BCP's fear you'd go wild and run amuck naked in there.

[David]

Well, I hope people that call into Skulsky are a little more thoughtful than "tickets cost too much." Yes and no. Obviously, they don't have trouble filling seats between the goallines so the price point is right (would I like to be paying less for mine? Sure, but someone else would snap them up). The corners, end-zones and most of the upper deck are a different story.

I think it's a mistake to open lower bowl only. This is not hockey - I don't know that there is an appetite for a bowl configuration among football fans. There is no guarantee that people who are upstairs will be willing to sit in the corner endzone. Like we saw at Empire Part II (aka Tempire), unless these sections are heavily discounted, they'll sit mostly empty.


DH

[Ballistic Bob]

Is there anyone phoning in tom for skulskie on 1040 ?

i am sure he is going to get a lot of price is to high to attend games questions and comments

Im phoning in. Its the Sked. All over the place. Lions were the first tenants. Shouldnt all games be Saturday at 7. Just saying. Thnx BB

[sj-roc]

Well, I hope people that call into Skulsky are a little more thoughtful than "tickets cost too much." Yes and no. Obviously, they don't have trouble filling seats between the goallines so the price point is right (would I like to be paying less for mine? Sure, but someone else would snap them up). The corners, end-zones and most of the upper deck are a different story.

I think it's a mistake to open lower bowl only. This is not hockey - I don't know that there is an appetite for a bowl configuration among football fans. There is no guarantee that people who are upstairs will be willing to sit in the corner endzone. Like we saw at Empire Part II (aka Tempire), unless these sections are heavily discounted, they'll sit mostly empty.


DH

The Ssk game on Aug 24th, for which all of the sideline upper deck sections behind the visitors bench will be open, might provide some clues on this. If there's high uptake in this area while the cheapest endzone seats remain relatively empty then it might indicate that these fans are sensitive not so much to price as to location. They probably want a better view than the end zone offers and are willing to pay a premium for it while the end zone wouldn't interest them no matter how low the price. The problem as Hambone has already mentioned is that these things can be tough to gauge as the delay from when you implement these changes until you get market feedback doesn't help much. Other gate-driving factors will make the role of the seating arrangement difficult to isolate.

[DanoT]

Is there anyone phoning in tom for skulskie on 1040 ?

i am sure he is going to get a lot of price is to high to attend games questions and comments

Im phoning in. Its the Sked. All over the place. Lions were the first tenants. Shouldnt all games be Saturday at 7. Just saying. Thnx BB

Should TSN, who is paying the CFL what is it?...something like $42M for TV rights, get some input into the schedule? How about the other 8 teams? Do you think that they have any scheduling rights?

[sj-roc]

Is there anyone phoning in tom for skulskie on 1040 ?

i am sure he is going to get a lot of price is to high to attend games questions and comments

Im phoning in. Its the Sked. All over the place. Lions were the first tenants. Shouldnt all games be Saturday at 7. Just saying. Thnx BB

I think the sked is mostly down to TSN's whims and the Lions won't have as much control over it as they would prefer as long as TSN keeps handing over the big fat cheques for broadcast rights.

As I've said many times before, FNF is their flagship CFL broadcast so it's inevitable that we (and everyone else) have to host a few of these.

I don't know if the Lions' "seniority" gives them any right-of-first-refusal-style preferential treatment from PAVCO. I suppose the terms of their lease, as well as TSN's own restrictions will govern how well they can get the dates they want. And I could be wrong but I suspect the Lions are likely not in the driver's seat on dictating these terms. They're in the building for about 20 days per year (10 gamedays plus a day of walkthrough the day before) and don't really have any other options on where to play. I'd say the Lions need PAVCO more than PAVCO needs them.

Here's something I'd like to know: MLS is always several months ahead of us on the yearly scheduling cycle. By the time our schedule is set in early March, the MLS season has already started, with their schedule having already been set in January or earlier. If I'm not mistaken their 2014 schedule came out last November, not long after or perhaps even shortly before GC. To what extent does this edge in the cycle help them and hamper us?

Overall I'd say getting a favourable schedule is a problem with many moving parts and one that won't always be solved to a satisfactory extent.