CJPearl2 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 It seems to me, and maybe this is a coincidence, that the Bills players are getting more national attention in all aspects of the media. In just the past couple weeks we have had both Donte Witner and Lee Evans - Buffalo's defensive and offensive leaders - do the rounds at ESPN. From "First Take" to "The Herd" to spots on ESPN News. And weekely, numerous Bills players join the guys on Sirius NFL Radio. In the past, these media spots were typically reserved for big market teams' players or higher profile players like Reggie Bush or Matt Leinart. Never our guys, right? So why now? We still haven't made the playoffs in a decade. Is it because we are a trendy pick to be a "sleeper" playoff team? Maybe. But we've held this mantra a couple times over the past couple years (i.e. Meathead's second season). I think there is also another reason. I believe Russ Brandon is using his background and expertise as a marketing guy to take advantage of the constant NFL player/team exposure. The NFL is the most popular sport in America. Bar none! It has easily replaced MLB as the national pastime. And Mr. Brandon is using this exposure to the team's advantage. The product is getting much better, the games are selling out at a faster pace, and such exposure is needed to add to our fan base much like we did it the early 90s with the Super Bowl teams. Bigger fan base = higher merchandise sales, more ticket sales (or at least more season ticket sales), and possibly (and most importantly?) more corporate support. The NFL no longer has regional fan bases only. This media exposure (over exposure?), the internet and its chatrooms, message boards, blogs, etc. have made the NFL and its teams easily accessible. So why not take advantage of it, right? Let's expand our fan base to kids and other NFL fans in non-NFL cities much like we did in the early 90s. I think we all questioned the move to make Mr. Brandon the GM - or COO for whatever he his. But the move seems right. The NFL is a business, plain and simple. And the successful teams are run not by just a good scouting department, but by good businessmen as well. And I think this is the fundamental reason for the Toronto games. Expand your exposure on a regional and national level while improving your product. Here's to hoping to works. So far, so good. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndZoneCrew Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Thoughts? Great post.....I have not seen so many Buffalo Bills getting this kind of publicity since the Super Bowl years. Not only that, this team has not had the type of success that would warrent this so I think that Brandon definitely has his expertise working for us!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST MODE BABY! Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 As a general rule of thumb, you whore your company out as much as you can media-wide. I try and do the same with my companies. Look at Richard Branson. Good marketers find press for their companies, although there are plenty of ways to do it. For example, I have seen Bills clips on NFL Network. I don't remember that happening before. I also think the video highlights from each day's practice with Chris Brown are a brilliant marketing move...and I work at an ad agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Thoughts? Solid post, well thought out.....If Brandon is the marketing guy we all hope he is, he'll be sumitting the paperwork to have those uniforms changed pronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwightSchrute Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 While the concept is right in theory, Brandon isn't the one doing the work here. His current role is much too demanding to put any time towards marketing his players. The attention we've seen in some of the media publications as the Bills being a sleeper is due to their off-season moves, 2007 record and 2008 schedule. In terms of Whitner and Evans getting some time in the spotlight, that's facilitated by their reps and NFL Players Inc. who want to market all their players. I think the fact that they're a trendy pick is legit and warranted, but still worries me some. I remember the same 'experts' picking the Fins to be elite a couple years ago... GO BILLS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I think Brandon's marketing expertise has to have something to do with it, for sure, but I think the Toronto games are alluring to netwroks such as ESPN, too. Don't forget that Toronto is the fifth-most populous municipality in North America and is without a doubt one of the top financial cities in the world. Not to mention, sooner or later a huge part of Canada is going to be reading about and watching the Bills every Sunday. This is the real deal. I think way too many longtime Bills fans are under-estimating what this means to the franchise. This does not have to be seen as a negative. As for the theory that this new exposure is a direct link to the fact that many are picking the Bills to "surprise" the league, I think this matters little to networks concerned with the bottom-line. Like it or not, just about everything you watch or read in the main-stream media is driven by the not-so-mighty dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 With so many WNY'ers living elsewhere, the Bills are truly America's team. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 With so many WNY'ers living elsewhere, the Bills are truly America's team. PTR Too true. I have traveled this world over a few times, and seems like I run into a Western New Yorker at every stop, and those worth remembering are all Bills fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Maybe he's just trying to dredge up interest in other parts of the country to help up the bidding war when the Bills go on sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST MODE BABY! Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 With so many WNY'ers living elsewhere, the Bills are truly America's team. PTR I live in LA, and there's a guy from Pittsford here at work. My boss used to work in Greece and I grew up in Webster. I even got pulled over by a CHP officer (he noticed I had NY plates but no inspection sticker...doh!). Turns out, he worked at the K-Mart on Ridge Road in Webster...and he let me go. Small world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRH Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 seems like I run into a Western New Yorker at every stop, and those worth remembering are all Bills fans. Truer words hath never been spoken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCinBuffalo Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 This is a good post and probably right. I wonder if the media has also been burned by covering TO/Dallas, the Dolphins, the Pats*, etc. with such glowing praise over the last three years. Perhaps they have become bored with those stories and all the phony PR activity that was being passed off as news = Tony Romo doing/dating anything. Perhaps they are looking, as they always are, for something that's interesting = going to sell? Like it or not, the Bills off-season has been both extremely positive and negative, but above all--> relevant. Nobody wants to hear another story about how good the Pats* are. In fact, that ain't ever gonna happen again until the coach* and most of the players* are gone. But people around the country might want to hear about Poz, Lynch, Edwards, Evans, Whitner and Mitchell/Stroud, because they are interesting stories. That they are all on the same team makes it more interesting. Lord knows they have heard the Pats, Dolphins, Redskins, Cowboys, Texans, 49ers stories enough and none are that interesting anymore. Especially since those teams have all underwhelmed, or got caught cheating, or have been taken over by ego people, and that's boring as hell. Another thought: Surely they want to get ahead of any Bills breakout season so that it doesn't become another "surprise". They don't want to be surprised because they are supposed to know what is happening, not be overcome by it. So, with not much going on in football, and some genuine news stories developing in Buffalo, it's smart to bring our guys in for an interview. At the very least to hedge their bets on us doing well, so they can say "we knew they were going places when we had Whitner in here in May". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Maybe he's just trying to dredge up interest in other parts of the country to help up the bidding war when the Bills go on sale? Ha, now that was FUNNY , and to think a doctor came up with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I have to disagree on this... From the draft to the training camp, there is not much going on and high profile players do not provide much access to these guys since it does not benefit them. These spots are reserved for the 2nd tier teams to fill up their time...Hence the time for Evans and Whitner....Not that I do not find the spotlight....but that is how the NFL is..... Last year the NFL Network did a nice piece on the Bills, with their OTA training including interviews with Marv and JP. It was a pretty cool video without much editing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 It seems to me, and maybe this is a coincidence, that the Bills players are getting more national attention in all aspects of the media. In just the past couple weeks we have had both Donte Witner and Lee Evans - Buffalo's defensive and offensive leaders - do the rounds at ESPN. From "First Take" to "The Herd" to spots on ESPN News. And weekely, numerous Bills players join the guys on Sirius NFL Radio. In the past, these media spots were typically reserved for big market teams' players or higher profile players like Reggie Bush or Matt Leinart. Never our guys, right? So why now? We still haven't made the playoffs in a decade. Is it because we are a trendy pick to be a "sleeper" playoff team? Maybe. But we've held this mantra a couple times over the past couple years (i.e. Meathead's second season). I think there is also another reason. I believe Russ Brandon is using his background and expertise as a marketing guy to take advantage of the constant NFL player/team exposure. The NFL is the most popular sport in America. Bar none! It has easily replaced MLB as the national pastime. And Mr. Brandon is using this exposure to the team's advantage. The product is getting much better, the games are selling out at a faster pace, and such exposure is needed to add to our fan base much like we did it the early 90s with the Super Bowl teams. Bigger fan base = higher merchandise sales, more ticket sales (or at least more season ticket sales), and possibly (and most importantly?) more corporate support. The NFL no longer has regional fan bases only. This media exposure (over exposure?), the internet and its chatrooms, message boards, blogs, etc. have made the NFL and its teams easily accessible. So why not take advantage of it, right? Let's expand our fan base to kids and other NFL fans in non-NFL cities much like we did in the early 90s. I think we all questioned the move to make Mr. Brandon the GM - or COO for whatever he his. But the move seems right. The NFL is a business, plain and simple. And the successful teams are run not by just a good scouting department, but by good businessmen as well. And I think this is the fundamental reason for the Toronto games. Expand your exposure on a regional and national level while improving your product. Here's to hoping to works. So far, so good. Thoughts? Yes, you're right. People see us as a team on the rise. It's been a while and now we are somewhat of a chic pick to slip into the post-season. The strong ticket sales and two years in a row of a home Monday nighter serve as further proof. GO BILLS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I think we all questioned the move to make Mr. Brandon the GM - or COO for whatever he his. But the move seems right. How many games have the Bills won since Brandon took the helm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST MODE BABY! Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 How many games have the Bills won since Brandon took the helm? How many games have they lost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tomcat Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 How many games have they lost? Half full!! I LIKE IT BABY!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLO Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 I live in LA, and there's a guy from Pittsford here at work. My boss used to work in Greece and I grew up in Webster. I even got pulled over by a CHP officer (he noticed I had NY plates but no inspection sticker...doh!). Turns out, he worked at the K-Mart on Ridge Road in Webster...and he let me go. Small world. Living in Hollywood via Churchville, theres about 10 WNYers at my job, and a real good friend of mine, who also happens to be Jack Nicholsons limo driver, is from Spencerport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 like somebody else said - brandon isn't spending his time trying to get whitner on a talk radio show. that is about 100th on the list for a guy in his position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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