This blog is based of my thoughts and commentary on Morgan Campbell’s article in the Toronto Start entitled “Maple Leafs have sights set on expanding growth in China”.
Summary:
In this article , Morgan Campbell discusses the Toronto Maple Leaf’s latest ambitions which involve expanding their marketing campaign to China. It is hoped that this investment in China will strengthen brand equity and increase the overall revenue of the franchise. Moreover, China hopes that engaging in this partnership will aid in their bid for holding the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Priorities:
Having grown up in a suburb 30 minutes outside of Toronto, it truly pains me to read this article. It is not a secret that Toronto has been struggling as a hockey franchise as they have been on Stanley Cup dry spell for almost 50 years now, which ranks as one of the worst in the league. So, when I read that the Leaf’s are putting their resources into marketing to a new segment based in China, it makes me, being a CURRENT fan, cringe. To me, this decision by the franchise is a implication that the leaf’s value brand equity more than the rosters their writing every week. I think that instead of trying to create new revenue streams, the organization should focus on strengthening their value for their CURRENT stakeholders. Thus, I think the Maple Leaf’s marketing resources should be put into attracting the best players to Toronto as well as creating a winning franchise that fans, investors, and the city can take pride in as it once did many years ago.
In this article, it was also mentioned that the leafs want to become:
“a global force that becomes synonymous with the sport in every new market”.
But, what they also acknowledged was that the difference between the Leaf’s and teams like the Yankee’s that have done this already is that the Leafs aren’t a dominant competitor in the NHL (as the Yankees are in the MLB). That’s why I think the Leaf’s should focus on creating a stronger infrastructure of players and building up their reputation before attempting to expand into global markets. That being said, I believe that expanding to China should be re-evaluated as a long-term goal. Right now, I think the Leafs should re-asses their value propositions and ultimately work on bringing the cup back to Toronto.
Article Link
The 1967 Stanley Cup Champions
Image sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Maple_Leafs
http://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2007/02/celebrating-1967-maple-leafs.html