May Day 10 Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 The contents of this thread is the exact reason I loathe Brandon. He has so many Bills fans convinced that Buffalo isnt good enough for NFL football and the fans fall short. He often points to December games from 20 years ago that are not relevant in 2012 whatsoever. To me it is a slap in the face whenever he brings that up. There is no marketing effort at all in WNY and the team stinks.... and they still are extremely profitable. There is Canadian support and it has naturally occurred. Mainly due to the gameday atmosphere. Toronto series does nothing. Nobody likes it and puts Bills 'home' games in a bad light.
BillnutinHouston Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 I assume the petition language includes an acknowledgement that Bills ticket prices need to be raised above THE ABSOLUTE BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE, right?
dwight in philly Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 I assume the petition language includes an acknowledgement that Bills ticket prices need to be raised above THE ABSOLUTE BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE, right? it doesnt, but i would support a price increase, that way that silly argument about low ticket prices could be put to rest..
May Day 10 Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 I assume the petition language includes an acknowledgement that Bills' organization ticket prices need to be raised above THE ABSOLUTE BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE, right? As far as a petition goes. It essentially is on Brandon to fire himself. He is locked in as locked can be until there is a new owner.
GG Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) The contents of this thread is the exact reason I loathe Brandon. He has so many Bills fans convinced that Buffalo isnt good enough for NFL football and the fans fall short. He often points to December games from 20 years ago that are not relevant in 2012 whatsoever. To me it is a slap in the face whenever he brings that up. There is no marketing effort at all in WNY and the team stinks.... and they still are extremely profitable. There is Canadian support and it has naturally occurred. Mainly due to the gameday atmosphere. Toronto series does nothing. Nobody likes it and puts Bills 'home' games in a bad light. And this is precisely why Brandon needs a gold star. He was able to get Rogers to pay $75 million for a craptastic product. I have no clue of what you're talking about not marketing the Bills in WNY. There are very few places in the US where a football team is so much in your face in every spot as the Bills are in WNY. You may think it's an insult, but WNY is economically depressed and it is a challenge to sell out a 75K seat venue when the going NFL ticket price is $100+. When you compound the marketing of a franchisde that has been committed to mediocrity on the football field for most of its existence, Brandon deserves a gold star and not a firing. Now, if you want to talk about the disaster that the Toronto series has been from a footbal standpoint, then few will disagree. Edited December 19, 2012 by GG
Bill from NYC Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 I would like to see him fired for the smoking ban.
May Day 10 Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) And this is precisely why Brandon needs a gold star. He was able to get Rogers to pay $75 million for a craptastic product. I have no clue of what you're talking about not marketing the Bills in WNY. There are very few places in the US where a football team is so much in your face in every spot as the Bills are in WNY. You may think it's an insult, but WNY is economically depressed and it is a challenge to sell out a 75K seat venue when the going NFL ticket price is $100+. When you compound the marketing of a franchisde that has been committed to mediocrity on the football field for most of its existence, Brandon deserves a gold star and not a firing. Now, if you want to talk about the disaster that the Toronto series has been from a footbal standpoint, then few will disagree. 1st point - Rogers was paying for the NFL. No primary interest in selling the Bills/buying the rights to one Bills game. 2. I have lived in Philly, NE, and NYC Areas. Those teams have crazy marketing. Color posters, schedules, cheerleader stuff, etc in the newspapers every week, HD TV shows on local networks in primetime, better commercials that get you excited about the team, etc. 3. NFL is at an all time high. Buffalo fans are very good. Selling the NFL is simple. Especially in Buffalo. Take the Sabres. Early 00s, tickets were lowest in the league, nobody was going, nobody wanted to buy the team, many of us figured that was it, we were too small-time to hang on to ML sports. Golisano bought the team, created price structure, reconnected the team with its past and believed in Buffalo. With a little success, people came back in droves. Canadians are helpful, but so is the territory. They are helpful in all facets here, including the Bills without the Toronto series. For perspective, now, I pay more per ticket for cheapies for 41 Sabres games (and preseason), than I do per ticket for 8-9 Bills games. And there is a waiting list... and the tickets are no longer close to the cheapest in the NHL. If the Bills were competitive, the tickets would sell themselves w/o Toronto games. Even December. Due to: Popularity of the NFL in general, increased fans in Rochester, Ontario, a hungry fan base, smaller capacity, ease of internet sales, and stub hub resale potential. To me, he is making excuses for the organization being a failure from the Owner through upper management, while defending the obvious money grab/attempted phase out to Toronto. And people buy this and defend it. A "marketing genious" doesnt market their product by making their customers feel crappy. Edited December 19, 2012 by May Day 10
Heitz Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 3. NFL is at an all time high. Buffalo fans are very good. Selling the NFL is simple. Especially in Buffalo. Is it though? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303561504577495083707417526.html
GG Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 1st point - Rogers was paying for the NFL. No primary interest in selling the Bills/buying the rights to one Bills game. 2. I have lived in Philly, NE, and NYC Areas. Those teams have crazy marketing. Color posters, schedules, cheerleader stuff, etc in the newspapers every week, HD TV shows on local networks in primetime, better commercials that get you excited about the team, etc. 3. NFL is at an all time high. Buffalo fans are very good. Selling the NFL is simple. Especially in Buffalo. Take the Sabres. Early 00s, tickets were lowest in the league, nobody was going, nobody wanted to buy the team, many of us figured that was it, we were too small-time to hang on to ML sports. Golisano bought the team, created price structure, reconnected the team with its past and believed in Buffalo. With a little success, people came back in droves. Canadians are helpful, but so is the territory. They are helpful in all facets here, including the Bills without the Toronto series. For perspective, now, I pay more per ticket for cheapies for 41 Sabres games (and preseason), than I do per ticket for 8-9 Bills games. And there is a waiting list. If the Bills were competitive, the tickets would sell themselves w/o Toronto games. Even December. Due to: Popularity of the NFL in general, increased fans in Rochester, Ontario, a hungry fan base, ease of internet sales, and stub hub resale potential. To me, he is making excuses for the organization being a failure from the Owner through upper management, while defending the obvious money grab/attempted phase out to Toronto. And people buy this and defend it. You are comparing apples to turnips. You cannot compare Brandon's efforts to market the team with the crappy product that's on the field. He has full control over one side of the above. Golisano's efforts to spruce up Sabres came on the heels of a damaging lockout and bankruptcy, and were greatly helped by a good product on the ice. Brandon is doing a good job selling a crappy product which the owner is unable to improve. And, btw, exactly how did that fan base in Rochester and Toronto increase, despite the team's horrific play?
Meathead Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 russ brandon is a big reason why the bills have a chance to stay here after ralph goes to the big fieldhouse in the sky show me a petition to give him a raise and ill sign that one
Dean Cain Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 I signed this I'm in. I've blasted to my 300 WNY friends on facebook. Let's clean house!
Heitz Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Also, for the record, I'm a sports marketing guy that loves the Bills and has helped broker sponsorship deals, market major TV sports properties and worked with professional athletes - where to do I sign up to be Russ' replacement? Also, will you guys turn on me if the Bills continue to lose and / or I don't do exactly what you want?
San-O Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 It's unfortunate that a percentage of fans have no understanding of the ramifications of having to compete with the rest of the NFL out of the 56th ranked market. Not only do they not understand this, but they petition to try and ensure that the Bills remain at a disadvantage. Amazing. Exaclty what do you mean by "compete"? Compete for NFL or tv revenue? Compete for their slice of the CBA? Compete with other NFL team in terms of profit? Every year Forbes or some other pub. lists the NFL franchises by value, profit, and the like. Ralph is doing just fine, and also getting $$ millions from selling the Toronto Series: The home game away from home. I can almost bet you Ralph would be contacting the NFL to sell a Euro-game also, if he could find the phone! It's a bad product, has been for years, and the owner is making a fine profit. If this garbage team WERE on L.A., nobody would be going because people won't support a loser: see Raiders and Rams.
BillnutinHouston Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Exaclty what do you mean by "compete"? Compete for NFL or tv revenue? Compete for their slice of the CBA? Compete with other NFL team in terms of profit? Every year Forbes or some other pub. lists the NFL franchises by value, profit, and the like. Ralph is doing just fine, and also getting $$ millions from selling the Toronto Series: The home game away from home. I can almost bet you Ralph would be contacting the NFL to sell a Euro-game also, if he could find the phone! It's a bad product, has been for years, and the owner is making a fine profit. If this garbage team WERE on L.A., nobody would be going because people won't support a loser: see Raiders and Rams. Sure, the Bills are solvent TODAY with no stadium debt and a committed owner. Solvent yes, but rarely able to spend big in free agency, therefore working from a competitive disadvantage. The one big FA splash, Mario, was financed by the very Toronto series the petition folks rail against. OK, now fast forward to the future... with a successful petition effort you have a continually shrinking local market, curtailed regionalization efforts (happily curtailed by petition signers), rock bottom ticket prices, minimal (unshared) suite revenues, a band-aided stadium and, gasp, an impending ownership change. Faced with this scenario, would a prospective investor group interested in keeping the Bills in Buffalo agree with the petition signers? No.
Malazan Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 To me, he is making excuses for the organization being a failure from the Owner through upper management, while defending the obvious money grab/attempted phase out to Toronto. The key point is that part where you say, 'to me'. It's been reported that around the Organization and NFL, people think he is doing a good job. I hate the Toronto series, but flailing around like a child throwing a temper tantrum doesn't lend credibility to the movement to stop the Toronto series. If you want to have a real impact, dial down the hyperbole and rhetoric. Maybe have people 'pledge' to a higher ticket price and see if there really is general support for higher prices.
clearwater cadet Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Just win baby and all out problems go way. Its the players. When they come to buffalo there is no pressure to perform, and the players know it. Its an easy pay day, there only so much money in the NFL, and the money in Buffalo is as green as anywhere. Hate me sunday, love me again on monday should be the buffalo moto. Common, these are the same fans that cheer for scott norwood the next day after he missed the kick in Sb25, or the same fans that cheer "THANK YOU SABRES" after losing in 5 to the sens in buffalo, when they should have won the cup that year. Did Russ tell Spiller to fumble on the 1 yard line against NE, or George Wilson to drop multiple game ending INTs, the list goes on and on. There comes a time when the players need to make plays, and for some reason Bills player just can't make them when there needed the most. Lay off Russ, it not his fault.
bradjames24 Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 (edited) Russ' interview on WGR this week was embarrassing. His reason for keeping the coaching staff was continuity and used the Atlanta Braves as an example of how continuity is good. What an insult to anyone who watches sports. The Braves dominated their division for a decade+ and even won a World Series...don't compare Bobby Cox to Chan Gailey. Edited December 20, 2012 by bradjames24
phillyrich Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 Yeah, let's fire a WNY guy who loves Buffalo and grew up a Bills fan. I'm sure that jerk has no interest in keeping the Bills in Buffalo. And this team that has missed the playoffs 13 years in row still moves a lot of tickets. Dude is good at his job. He's one of the best assets we have in keeping the Bills in Buffalo. That $75 million we got for 5 meaningless games probably helped us sign Mario Williams (wait, are we running him out of town today?). Completely disagree
BillsVet Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 At the end of season meeting with RW, who else will push for any change and encourage RW to do so? Rumor had it back in 2008 that Brandon pushed to have DJ fired. Brandon knows better than anyone that selling 45k+ season tickets with Nix, Gailey, and perhaps Fitz, is all but impossible. I've been hard on Brandon because he's something of a sycophant, but he's not the problem at OBD. He may, in fact, be part of the solution. The BinT series is not his fault, he just happened to find a billionaire, Rogers, and his stooge, Lind, to overpay for the product. I suspect Brandon will push RW to have Nix retired, Gailey, fired, and Whaley to assume the GM role. Who else depends more on the personnel people more for their own success? It's Brandon.
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