Ahem. Sorry about that. Bloody Team 1200.
Ever wondered what it's like to do business with a professional sports franchise? TUC's friend Steve Ladurantaye of The Globe and Mail recently conducted an interview with Ottawa Senators COO Cyril Leeder on that very subject. Here's a clip:
What can a small company do to better tailor its business pitches to pro sports teams?
Cyril Leeder: Be brief and specific. Be prepared to be competitive. If we make a commitment to use your service, you had better be prepared to make a commitment to be a season-ticket holder and sponsor of the hockey club.
Want more? Go here.
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I had heard that pro sports teams are famous (or infamous, as it were) for trying to do contra deals with suppliers, i.e. they want to pay you in tickets instead of cash. Leeder never comes right out and says that, but he certainly hints at it pretty broadly. It's pretty clear that there would be no profit margin at all in being a supplier to the Sens, or any other pro sports team -- the expectation seems to be that you are "paid" in the cachet of being able to call yourself a team supplier.
A lot of big corporations will do that to consultants and suppliers also - they expect you to work very cheap, because they believe you get a value out of being able to say you have Disney, Starbucks, etc., as a client. That's nice, but it sure doesn't pay many bills.
Anonymous
11:20 a.m.
Batman! I mean, Leeder! I love the Leeder!
Senators Lost Cojones
7:27 p.m.
When I saw the first sentence, I thought you were going to talk about those geniuses on TGOR who a) thought the Senators should immediately trade an '09 first rounder for some instant scoring help, and b) asked Pierre McGuire about Pascal Leclaire possibly being traded, oblivious to the fact that dude is out for the year after ankle surgery. Do the guys on TGOR actually watch sports?
Anonymous
11:00 p.m.
Anon,
It's difficult for me to talk about the Team 1200 with any semblance of seriousness, because that station is at least 4 P.D.'s on the wrong side of sanity. Honestly, they need to get Liam Maguire back on the air. Past is past -- the man knows what he's talking about, and he's funny as all hell (although 99.99% of it is surely unintentional).
The Universal Cynic
12:38 a.m.
I've heard Liam on 1200 a couple of times in recent months (and I don't tune in that regularly) in the time slot after TGOR.
That station hurts, not so much for that all-Sens-all-the-time format as its inability or unwillingness to cover any other sport in Ottawa.
Fortunately, during daylight hours you can pick up Team 990 out of Montreal. As much as they dissect everything Habs, they do discuss other sports. Even though I never lived there, I'd rather listen to talk about local Montreal sports than 1200. I would tune in more if I knew I was going hear Liam, though. The Stuntman/Jungle show is painful.
Anonymous
11:55 a.m.
Jungle has to be the dumbest guy on sports radio. He makes the Kulkster look like a Mensa candidate. His father was a judge, former Speaker of the House of Commons and a very learned man. What happened to Jungle? Was he dropped on his head at birth?
I find myself wondering if this is all part of the schtick, and if they are worried that if they go too in depth, they are going to annoy some of their listener base. The rule of thumb in show business is that if you make your audience feel dumb, they will leave you. If that is true, TGOR's ratings must be through the roof.
Anonymous
12:11 p.m.