TV Ratings...Ouch

So needless to say, as much as I love the Thrashers, and for all the sleep I lost during our short playoff run, Atlanta doesn't care about the Thrashers....at all

This link is kinda scary

TV Ratings

Too lazy?? Need a recap?

Game 1: .7 rating (15,400 households) for our FIRST playoff game EVER...The city waited 8 years for this and not even 1 percent of the population cared?

Game 2: 1.9 on NBC....we were beaten out by a TAPED figure skating competition...FIGURE SKATING?!?!

Game 3: .4 rating (8,800)...on an away game??? So less people watched it when it was away?? This doesn't make sense

Game 4: .4 (8,800)...I guess the bandwagon fans already gave up by this point.

So what does all this mean? Can Hockey survive in Atlanta? Do these numbers even matter?

Well, let's face it, the Atlanta Spirit lost a lot of money this year...AGAIN...and these numbers paint a very bleak picture on Atlanta's opinion of the hometown hockey team. I think Atlanta can support a hockey team, but a few things must be done to ensure the financial stability.

The marketing group must do a better job of attracting fans, and they need to do this the right way, which isn't easy. Currently the Thrasher fanbase is very small, but consists of many DIEHARD fans. Somehow, they have to increase the general fanbase. They cannot do this by just handing out free tickets (Blueland crew)...since this plan was just abused by poor cheap college students like myself. They need to reach out in a different way...through the already established fans. I will admit for the first 5 years, I did not care all that much about the Thrashers, I just kinda followed the team through the small amount of coverage in the local newspaper. Then my girlfriend took me to my first game, which we lost, but I was HOOKED. The funny thing, though, is that if you listen to other people, who have recently become a Thrashers fan, every story is the same: "I didn't know much about hockey, but my friend took me to a game and it was awesome!!".

So here's my plan: Use season ticket holders as a way to sell the team by introducing their friends to the game. It is pretty simple yet makes sense:
1. Create a marketing/operations position that cordinates the plan
2. Give incentives to season ticket holders who bring friends who are new to hockey to the games
A. The season ticket holder contacts the cordinator and notifies them that they will bring a friend (or 2) to a game and gives the contact info of the friend (for marketing purposes and to ensure that people don't abuse the policy)
--The Thrashers then provide discounted tickets to the game (perhaps free tickets, trust me there's plenty) and also provide a giftbag of Thrashers stuff and give a behind the scenes tour of Philips Arena. Just go all out in attracting the new fans. Remember, the new fans should sit next to their friends once the game starts, so that the season ticket holder can spread the passion. At the end of the night, offer the new hockey fans discounted tickets (2 for 1) for another night or try to sell a package. IF the new fans buy a package, then the season ticket holder who hooked it all up gets some type of incentive (it can be a gradual thing...where the more people you sell, the more (and better) stuff you get...or a cash thing (get 50 dollars for every new fan you bring who buys a package)

I think this strategy would work best in bringing in more people, and by getting the fans involved in the marketing, I really think a chain reaction could occur, where current season ticket holders bring their friends, who may become season ticket holders, who then bring their friends, and so forth.

Also, the best, consistent, deal the Thrashers offer is the student discount...but they do not advertise it enough. They should do an attendence contest for college students... which would be easy to do. Have special days at local college campuses (campii...ugh...i never know) where a few players come out and it's a whole festival atmosphere and notify students of not only the discount, but of the attendance contest. Set up the attendence contest where the student who comes to the most games using the college student discount wins some awesome prize: like playoff tickets or something. Meanwhile, have rewards for certain attendence goals met: such as after 10 games, you get a shirt, 20 games a signed puck, 30 games a tour, 40 games a special seat upgrade, or something to that affect. I really think that would get a LOT of students going, and would create a pretty good atmosphere in the 300s where there are empty seats for most games (especially weeknights). Perhaps even offer a shuttle from GSU and GT to provide the students with transportation before and after the game.

Anyways, I love my Thrashers, and I love seeing people at their first game getting absolutely addicted to the game. I think the marketing department fails miserably in attracting new fans to the game. Let me know what your thoughts are on some of my ideas.