Halifax Mooseheads Playoff Marketing Fail

Last week Brittany and I headed to the Halifax Metro Centre to watch the Halifax Mooseheads  playoff game four against the Montreal Junior. Down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Mooseheads were facing an up hill battle against one of Canada's top CHL clubs (ranked 4th nationally) and an older squad, the Montreal Junior.

Despite the unbalanced match up of the clubs on paper, we headed into the game with no expectations except that the atmosphere would be great seeing that it is a playoff hockey game and we are in Canada. However, we were quickly disappointed with even that expectation.

I don't know if the Mooseheads organization realize this but a lot people don't just go to a game for the home team to win; you can never guarantee that in sports. What fans go for is to be entertained and hope to witness something special like a game four victory when the home down is down 3 games to 0. But instead we were treated to a game that felt like it was over before the puck even dropped. Not to take away the performance by some of the Mooseheads players. Goaltender Federic Piche had arguably one of his best games in my opinion since he was acquired via trade in January. You could feel how badly he wanted to win.

But the organization as a whole received a failing grade at playoff hockey 101. Lesson one is ticket sales. A playoff hockey game is a great way to lure in potential season ticket holders for next season and to increase revenue that isn't in the budget (you should never bank on playoff revenue, because not every team makes it). Ticket sales for Game 3 and 4 were 6,500; combined! The rink seats 10,000 and the last game of the regular season drew 8,900! Major fail. These were the lowest attended games all season! Obviously the ticket sales department didn't put any emphasis on selling playoff tickets or the Halifax fans knew ahead of time that organization was already booking their tee off times.

Maybe the fans forgot there was a game.

Lesson two is to get the fans excited. There are a few reasons why teams compete for home-ice advantage in the playoffs and one of them is the fan support. Fan support is crucial to a playoff game and can give the home team a slight edge in momentum.The introduction video shown on the JumboTron was a movie montage of clips from dozens of movies like Braveheart, Old School, and Rudy. Great movies and a decent montage, but what it did was make the crowd laugh more than get them hyped. Imagine how the players feel before they step out on the ice for the biggest game of the year and the crowd is laughing. Buzz kill. No special effects, no dimming of the lights, and mediocre music selection.As the players took the ice, Brittany said "Feels like organization isn't taking this game seriously."

This is a very important lesson as it sets the tone for the game. Fans should be able to feel the electricity in the air as the players explode onto the ice to the perfectly timed music and special effects. This intro was more of a limp than an explosion.

Lesson three, keep the fans excited. No matter the score, the fans should be getting their dollars worth in entertainment on and off the ice. The Mooseheads try to do this by relying on the old JumboTron. It takes more than just videos, it takes face time and interactions. How about product giveaways? Contests? Funny fans? Trivia? Even an autographed jersey is better than nothing. The only giveaways were a T-shirt toss during the second intermission and 6 foot sub to the loudest section (and I don't even think they gave that away!)

On a positive note, the Mooseheads relied on an old trusted entertainment technique, little kids playing hockey during the first intermission. Always fun. I also enjoyed the Moose Minutes where players were interviewed to answer funny questions and impersonate the player with the best dance moves.

Overall, very disappointed in a franchise that has so much marketing potential. Everyone knows that the Mooseheads are arguably the best sports show in town, and the way the Mooseheads market the team they know it too.

I'll finish with a positive note that the club at least has ears. Fans have been upset with the coaching of the team for a while now. Checking the Mooseheads website you will notice that the entire coaching staff has been let go, except the goalie coach. Now if only they could work on marketing and this club could be one of the most successful franchises in the CHL.

Now, some intro videos:





Frölunda Opening 2011 from bladini on Vimeo.



SønderjyskE Intro from Sundaystudio.com on Vimeo.