Daily Pin All About Sabres Marketing, Branding, Promotions, P.R.

[That Aud Smell]

I feel like I should start a thread for stuff about the Sabres' P.R. (in-game experience, social media, overall marketing, etc.).

 

Anyway, for those who follow the team on Twitter, you may have noticed that the feed has been using #Blueprint as a hashtag this summer in connection with posts regarding the team's prospects. Have a look yourself:

 

https://twitter.com/...eprint&src=hash

 

The hashtag started to annoy me when I saw it for the 4th or 5th time and realized it was, you know, a thing. Reason being: No one has a feckin' clue whether the current stable of prospects is, in fact, a blueprint for future success. Maybe one or two of them will become top-line/pairing players in a few years. Maybe a few others will become contributors over the same period of time. Maybe some of them will be moved to bring in NHL role players who will contribute to a team looking to sneak into the playoffs. Maybe most of them won't stick in the NHL. Maybe a lot of things.

 

And as a guy tweeting as 3rdmanin noted:

 

#Blueprint = Florida Panthers marketing campaign in 2011. #Blueprint = @BuffaloSabres idea of original marketing in 2013. #goodjobgoodeffort

The Sabres really are just blowing chunks in the marketing department this offseason aren't they?

 

I think we should definitely have a thread dedicated to PR. I bet this forum could do the job much better.

 

I suspect it's because the offseason. But I find myself so frequently posting content about the Sabres P.R. in so many other threads that I thought I would start a new topic about it.

 

At a minimum, this will keep me out of other people's threads with my whiny rants about the Sabres Twitter feed, ill-advised marketing slogans, and such.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Spndnchz

[darksabre]

Our first order of business should be taking this #blueprint thing to task. As has been noted, it's already been done before.

 

The Sabres number one selling point right now is "the future". If you want to get fans excited about what is arguably a very good up and coming talent pool, how do you do it?

 

Obviously we want to involve social media, but the Sabres are failing at that task on a number of points. Maybe the first step is coming up with a better tagline for this year's campaign to promote the youth movement/rebuild. This has to be something unused in the last 10 years and something easily pushed on social media forums.

[That Aud Smell]

#thefuture?

 

#thefutureisnow?

 

#thefutureishere?

 

+++

 

#prospectsaplently

 

#pipelineofplenty

 

#fullcupboard

 

#thepipelineisfull***

 

 

*** i mostly typed that one because i love how it would be ripped with rejoinders regarding what the pipeline is full of.

[SwampD]

Haven't the Sabres been selling us "The Future" since Black Sunday? This isn't new, either.

[TrueBlueGED]

I know it's not new or creative, but I do like the "blueprint" campaign--I think it effectively gets the message across.

[darksabre]

#thefuture?

 

#thefutureisnow?

 

#thefutureishere?

 

+++

 

#prospectsaplently

 

#pipelineofplenty

 

#fullcupboard

 

#thepipelineisfull***

 

 

*** i mostly typed that one because i love how it would be ripped with rejoinders regarding what the pipeline is full of.

 

:lol:

 

Another thing to add, why didn't the Sabres make the third jersey a reflection of the #blueprint campaign? I'd think some white on blue linework/graphic inlays might have looked cool. Imagine the "cape" with a bit of a Tron look behind the number?

[...]

I know it's not new or creative, but I do like the "blueprint" campaign--I think it effectively gets the message across.

 

...that they're into the Tron look? Because that's all I get out of it.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Haven't the Sabres been selling us "The Future" since Black Sunday? This isn't new, either.

This is why I don't buy it for a second. Same people making the decisions. In the horse game, the easiest way to string along an owner is to pay big money for really young horses...weanlings and yearlings, or to breed yourself. You see, when you fail at having success with horses of racing age who are 3, 4 and up.....and the owner gets frustrated.....your out is to say, "Oh, these horses just weren't talented enough. If you went after higher priced horses, we would be winning a lot more!" But the problem is if the owner spends it on 2 year olds or horses already winning, then the trainer is under the gun to show results right away. If you get a stable that won't be ready to run for 2 or 3 years, the owner already spent all that money, and will be more likely to stick with you until all those horses are running. Then it will probably take another 2 years to prove that you can't train those suckers a lick either. Meanwhile....you have income for 4-5 years for boarding, training, etc. In the hockey sense, Regier has pretty much sold Pegula on the same plan. He has entrenched himself for the next 4-5 years before you get to see the full results. There's just as good of a chance they will stink as there is of success. Meanwhile Darcy collects another $8 million in salary. He already paid up for veterans on his own team and free agents....up to and over the cap on a cash outlay, and it was horrible. This scenario is why I will always be a skeptic of Darcy, not only for his talent evaluation, but for putting his survival over success.

[darksabre]

 

This is why I don't buy it for a second. Same people making the decisions. In the horse game, the easiest way to string along an owner is to pay big money for really young horses...weanlings and yearlings, or to breed yourself. You see, when you fail at having success with horses of racing age who are 3, 4 and up.....and the owner gets frustrated.....your out is to say, "Oh, these horses just weren't talented enough. If you went after higher priced horses, we would be winning a lot more!" But the problem is if the owner spends it on 2 year olds or horses already winning, then the trainer is under the gun to show results right away. If you get a stable that won't be ready to run for 2 or 3 years, the owner already spent all that money, and will be more likely to stick with you until all those horses are running. Then it will probably take another 2 years to prove that you can't train those suckers a lick either. Meanwhile....you have income for 4-5 years for boarding, training, etc. In the hockey sense, Regier has pretty much sold Pegula on the same plan. He has entrenched himself for the next 4-5 years before you get to see the full results. There's just as good of a chance they will stink as there is of success. Meanwhile Darcy collects another $8 million in salary. He already paid up for veterans on his own team and free agents....up to and over the cap on a cash outlay, and it was horrible. This scenario is why I will always be a skeptic of Darcy, not only for his talent evaluation, but for putting his survival over success.

 

Isn't this what most GMs do, and with legitimate reason?

[SwampD]

Isn't this what most GMs do, and with legitimate reason?

Yes, but for some reason, they get removed after 4 or 5 years when it doesn't work.

[darksabre]

 

Yes, but for some reason, they get removed after 4 or 5 years when it doesn't work.

 

I think Sabres ownership history has more to do with Darcy still being here than Darcy does. In his defense.

 

Additionally, I think a stable ownership provides the biggest threat to Darcy yet. Pegula may finally be the guy who owns the team long enough to get tired of Darcy.

[That Aud Smell]

check the team's twitter feed. foligno at the fort erie tim hortons on garrison; hodgson et al. up in st. cat's; alumni leading an event in nf, ontario.

 

has there always been such a concerted effort to court the team's (hockey) fans across the border?

 

in all events, i think it's good business.

 

#Blueprint

 

#RussBrandonsplaybook

[IKnowPhysics]

Maybe they want to show videos of the new guys, maybe because they think fans will be interested and will want to learn about all of the new faces on the team, since there are quite a few.

 

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and not a penis.

 

 

Also, neat, a thread devoted to keeping PR discussion focused and out of other threads immediately gets trampled by anti-DR discussion that invades all threads. #Dwight######sUpAgain

[nfreeman]

I'm not too fussed about this, but I will say that "#Blueprint" seems, IMHO, a bit self-congratulatory for a team that has missed the playoffs the last 2 years.

[spndnchz]

I heard the construction guys at HarborCenter were asked what they thought the next campaign should be.

 

Blueprint narrowly beat pneumatic dent puller #blueprint #pneumaticdentpuller

[That Aud Smell]

I'm not too fussed about this, but I will say that "#Blueprint" seems, IMHO, a bit self-congratulatory for a team that has missed the playoffs the last 2 years.

 

Thanks for articulating it - that's part of what sticks in my craw, I think.

 

And as metaphors go, it's a poor one. A #blueprint is something that is foolproof (or is supposed to be) because it's a document of a technical nature that, if followed, unfailingly leads to the correct result.

 

Building an NHL roster? A much more hit or miss proposition.

[darksabre]

I heard the construction guys at HarborCenter were asked what they thought the next campaign should be.

 

Blueprint narrowly beat pneumatic dent puller #blueprint #pneumaticdentpuller

 

:lol:

[PASabreFan]

Want a good one? Islanders. "A Shift in Power" Clever play on a hockey term and more than a bit of hubris.

[IKnowPhysics]

Thanks for articulating it - that's part of what sticks in my craw, I think.

 

And as metaphors go, it's a poor one. A #blueprint is something that is foolproof (or is supposed to be) because it's a document of a technical nature that, if followed, unfailingly leads to the correct result.

 

Building an NHL roster? A much more hit or miss proposition.

 

Semantics. I can draw blue print for a house that falls down when built because I designed it wrong. Blue prints are far, far from foolproof. Calling something a blue print isn't self congratulating. It just indicates that somebody put a plan on paper; it's no guarantee of success. It perhaps carries a connotation that there's some aspect that's attempted to have been well-thought out, but that's still not self-congratulating.

 

Maybe they went with that because they're blue chip prospects.

[That Aud Smell]

Semantics.

 

We're sorta down a rabbit hole of figurative language, but it is a thread about PR. So what the heck.

 

I can draw blue print for a house that falls down when built because I designed it wrong.

 

You could. So could I. Are you a licensed architect or structural engineer? I am not, but I assure you that such professionals create blueprints that are based on hard science and are intended to provide those skilled in the art with a foolproof means of reaching the contemplated result.

 

It just indicates that somebody put a plan on paper; it's no guarantee of success.

 

I'm guessing you've never had a house built. I'd love to see a project architect come in and say, "Here's what I put down on paper. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. No guarantees, as they say."

 

There's a reason that the idiom a blueprint for disaster exists; it's because the existence of a blueprint indicates that, if the plans are followed, there is a certainty of getting what's been put down on (the blue) paper.

[spndnchz]

We're sorta down a rabbit hole of figurative language, but it is a thread about PR. So what the heck.

 

 

 

You could. So could I. Are you a licensed architect or structural engineer? I am not, but I assure you that such professionals create blueprints that are based on hard science and are intended to provide those skilled in the art with a foolproof means of reaching the contemplated result.

 

 

 

But can that licensed architect build the building and run the hotel? Isn't that what some are saying that they are correlated?

 

And FWIW, PR is different than commercializing or promoting. It's simply to make the public aware of who's who and what's what and get some goodwill. We're talking about them and any news is still news, so...

[That Aud Smell]

But can that licensed architect build the building and run the hotel?

 

Maybe. That's a talented sorta architect if s/he can. That's not the point. The point is: An architect can draft a plan, on paper, that will predictably and reliably yield or create the end-product that the owner requested.

 

And FWIW, PR is different than commercializing or promoting. It's simply to make the public aware of who's who and what's what and get some goodwill. We're talking about them and any news is still news, so...

 

As soon as I posted the Topic, I wanted to modify it to be broader (marketing, promoting, and such). But I can't recall/figure out how to edit Topic titles. Can I do that?

Edited September 10, 2013 by That Aud Smell

[LGR4GM]

Maybe. That's a talented sorta architect if s/he can. That's not the point. The point is: An architect can draft a plan, on paper, that will predictably and reliably yield or create the end-product that the owner requested.

 

[/size]

 

As soon as I posted the Topic, I wanted to modify it to be broader (marketing, promoting, and such). But I can't recall/figure out how to edit Topic titles. Can I do that?

You need to go to your first post in the thread and edit that, than click on Use Full Editor or whatever is, you should be able to do it that way

 

 

As for the Blueprint thing, I really don't care what they call it, it is nice to have Sabres out in the community doing stuff

Edited September 10, 2013 by LGR4GM

[That Aud Smell]

You need to go to your first post in the thread and edit that, than click on Use Full Editor or whatever is, you should be able to do it that way

 

thanks, liger.

 

and i agree, that it's good work on their part to have players out in the community (they've been out in force the last week or so).

[IKnowPhysics]

We're sorta down a rabbit hole of figurative language, but it is a thread about PR. So what the heck.

 

Got it. So, anyone who calls anything a blue print needs to be a licensed professional, because to call something a blue print necessarily requires accredited professionalism with regard to the project being planned.

 

:w00t:

 

 

Petey and Hodgson were chilling with sick kids at a Niagara hospital the other day and someone took pictures. What self-congratulating thing did they call that?

 

As for the Blueprint thing, I really don't care what they call it, it is nice to have Sabres out in the community doing stuff