Speaking as the guy that pushes the buttons to make those automated emails work, I’d like to add that even with their value, there are people that complain or ask to be removed for whatever SPAM email list they think they were added to. Unfortunately these people didn’t read the disclaimer that says they got the email because they bought tickets to that game and likely didn’t read any of the other useful information provided in the email.

A major difference in the Montreal an Ottawa markets that you failed to notice is the greater number of fans that can be drawn from in Montreal. Until the 1992/1993 season, Ottawa didn’t have its own fans; we were a city divided between mostly Montreal and Toronto fans. Until we have 100 years of history and generations of fans, we will have to work differently than the Montreal marketing guys to fill every seat.

Dave MacIsaac
Database Analyst
Ottawa Senators Hockey Club & Scotiabank Place

@Marc. You raised a good point by mentioning that the Montreal Canadians have surely thought about it before. However, it can be possible that they may haven’t thought about it, since they don’t employed that much people dedicated to online marketing, surely not more than 10, which are surely all underpaid as it is generally the case in sports marketing. Furthermore, related to your second argument, these kinds of emails when not necessary could be perceived as spam by some users, so this could be one reason why they are not using these tools.

@Mauricio. Thanks for your comments, that’s quite appreciated. I totally agree that automated emails should be a way to make people converge to websites, since even though the Bell Center is full, it is always possible to increases sales in products associated with the team. However, I don’t think the Montreal Canadians have to worry about competition, since they are the only team in a top professional league in Montreal. It would take multiple decades of ultra-bad managing and the emergence of a NBA and MSL team, and the comeback of a hockey team in Quebec City, to perhaps have some problems, we are far from that, I think.

@Bob. Thanks for your comment Bro. Who would you have chosen instead of the Viking Alfredsson? He’s approaching the milestone, all with the same team, a future Hall of famer. I know that from a Montreal Canadian perspective, he should be the most hated, lol, as Chara was booed tonight for the Boston Bruins at the Bell Center. Or I could have picked “Chris Neil” shirt if I were in a testosterone peak, that would look amazing for an academics, lol. Maybe next time.

This attitude is not uncommon among very successful businesses that don’t feel the pressure to innovate because they’re all alone on the top of the mountain. But the question is : For how long?

The “Bleu Blanc Rouge” should learn from the mistakes of such companies like for example Microsoft in the poor managing of their internet explorer browser. Internet explorer was once the most popular and almost the only browser that was used worldwide. That all changed because of Microsoft’s lack of innovation of their part and their ability to correct in timely manner some major security problems. The result? The immerging of third party browser that offered better web surfing solutions like FireFox, Opera and now Chrome. Microsoft has since then update their browser but the damage has already been done because they are no longer alone.

What is sure is that it is not possible that the Montreal Canadians Marketing division has not thought about this well known strategy (that I personally experienced when buying tickets on Ticketmaster)…Indeed, when you take a look at the Montreal Canadians’ website (http://canadiens.nhl.com/fr/index.html), you can see pretty quickly that hundreds and hundreds of hours and dollars have been invested to develop its appearance as well as its numerous functionalities.

This is why I believe that the absence of automated emails is more a marketing strategy/choice than a question of taking customers for granted. More precisely, when one pays attention to the section named “Fan Zone” on the Montreal Canadians’ website, one can observe all the efforts the Marketing team is doing to build customer loyalty (and, of course, retention): Fan Forums, Online Contests (called “the streak is on”), a “future canadians fan club” section, a presence on Twitter and Facebook and finally the possibility to subscribe to a newsletter…All these examples show that they are trying to create a loyal community.
Also, I think there is another important point that you correctly raised: The fact that the stadium is always crowded. This might has a role to play, a negative one as the success of the hockey team probably prevents the marketing team from “justifying” its actions to the other departments of the company. The “Hippos” of the company might believe that developing an automated emails program is not necessary (necessary meaning profitable for the company) because people will keep watching the Canadians no matter what (As if the franchise was acting as a monopoly).

Who knows the truth? What is sure is that the Canadians definitely miss an incredible-but-simple-to-implement tool to make their fans the most satisfied and happiest people on the earth!