Habs crowd could use more ‘fan experience’
You’ve probably seen the iconic ads, with their now-classic adage:
“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
Yeah right ... when it comes to debauchery, maybe. But when it comes to hockey, the funnel has flipped. What happens in Vegas is now spreading loudly throughout the NHL, particularly the experience that surrounds and punctuates the game itself.
Chalk it up to the Knight-ly
madness of Las Vegas’s inaugural season last year. Selling 360-degree sizzle that included everything from sword fights and pyrotechnics to acrobatics, intermission circuses and the frenetic dancing of Cameron Hughes, Vegas made “fan experience” hockey’s hot new buzzword.
The reverberations rumbled all the way to Avenue des Canadiens. A check of the Habs’ website in early August found no fewer than seven job openings for fan experience improvement.
A click away was Geoff Molson himself video-responding to a question on the subject, sneak previewing new food and lighting coming this season.
Frankly, food and lights you can get by opening a fridge. Something tells me the Habs’ head honcho has a little more up his sleeve to fire up the league’s toughest and most discriminating crowd.
So, as a fervent fan (and longtime season ticket holder), with plenty of experience (decades running Just for Laughs), I’m happy to offer up these experiential ideas that might make a season or two of rebuild a whole lot more enjoyable. Full disclosure: much of the following was the basis of a conversation I had with Geoff Molson and two members of his team back in March.
BASIC PRINCIPLE
Let’s establish a baseline. Given Montreal’s history and knowledge of the game, we can’t merely copy what works elsewhere. Fans here would mutiny if we stooped to the level of Hillbilly Hockey 101 and adopted lowest-common denominator shtick like on-ice tricycle races or musical inflatable chairs (yup, both played at intermissions in Sunbelt arenas).
With that in mind, consider the term “Popul-etist,” a fusion of “popular” and “elitist.” Habs fan experiences should be fun, but elegant and dignified — nothing tacky or cheap. They should be respectful of the game, of the team and especially of the players, so no more awkward dancing for insurance companies or superimposing cartoon chef hats on their heads.
Finally, these experiences should be omnipresent, starting before fans enter the Bell Centre, continue throughout the game, and culminate as they leave.
PRE-GAME
Yikes! As it stands now, just getting close to the Bell Centre means running a minefield of human nuisance. From René Lévesque Blvd. on down, streets swarm with scalpers, panhandlers and scores of kids shaking plastic jugs of coins as they fundraise for their various hockey teams. Once you finally escape that motley gauntlet, you’re delayed by long lineups of airport-like security before finally squeezing into the building.
Since the annoyances aren’t going away, the Habs should “take back the streets,” so to speak, and overpower them with teams of uniformed “greeters” (who could be sponsored) all around the Bell Centre, its side streets and métro stations.
Supplementing these personable, multilingual greeters with music — either mobile bands or DJs — will soothe some of the lineup seething. Add some free hot chocolate, soft drinks and snacks, and this becomes a real tailgate party ... without the cars.
INTERMISSION
First move: get a howitzer cannon to obliterate the T-shirt cannon, a concept that has creaked way past its expiry date. There are better ways to fill time between periods.
Like what? Well, basketball has a long history of athletic-oriented showboating, from dunk competitions to the legacy of the Harlem Globetrotters. Why not borrow from both and develop a Hockey Globetrotters, a team of specially skilled players who can draw gasps with stunts, speed and skill? Not only could they be a regular addition to games here, but become an attraction in arenas around the globe.
Or to take stunts to new heights, hire the kids from Dude Perfect, the YouTube megastars who bring sports impossibilities to life. Their 2014 video with the Dallas Stars included trickshot eye-poppers like taking a slapshot and swooshing it into a basketball net tens of metres away — with both a puck and a basketball.
On a more cultural level, how about on-ice ballet? A few years ago, my son went to Jon Elkin’s Goalie School in Toronto, and on graduation day, the instructors performed a majestic, synchronized, sliding dance performance in full pads and gear. The goaltending term “butterfly style” took on a whole new meaning.
Finally, we live in the land of magna-creativity, home to Cirque du Soleil, Moment Factory and other gasp-inducing companies that make magic on a global scale. Last year, Cirque launched its first skating show, while Moment lit up everything from buildings to bridges. Uh folks, here’s a blank ice surface. Go crazy.
IN-GAME
Here we look at screens: the giant one above centre ice and the smaller one in most fans’ hands.
I’d need hours to fully lament the lameness that fills the foursided scoreboard, everything from dopey quizzes and contests, questionable ads (i.e. the cringeworthy toenail fungus cure), and worst of all, incessant close-ups of fans who are either embarrassed or embarrassing.
I understand the necessity of the ads, but those aside, this grandiose, persuasive real estate should have one primal use: push attention to the ice below.
At a minimum, quizzes and contests should feature all things Habs; the history, the players, the records. At best, promos should link directly to the game, like the one from Cage Aux Sports, which bestows eight free chicken wings to fans every time the Habs score five goals or more. More actionbased, game-centric promos like this (i.e. rewards if the Habs hit plateaus in shots-on-goal, or saves, or puck possession time, or even hits) will keep interest in on-ice activity, even in cases when the Habs are down.
And when they are down, say when the opposition breaks a 2-2 tie with six minutes to go in the game, use the scoreboard to inspire with rah-rah messages, comeback stats, animated gifs, shoutouts to players (“Crash that net, Gally!”), trolling of the visitors — anything other than yet another shot of fans mugging goofily for the camera (especially at this time, when they should be anything but jovial).
Ultimately, scoreboard content should be the responsibility of a mood-enhancing specialist, an emotional DJ if you will, who can call up and create imagery on the spot, and keep the connection alive.
As for smartphones, fans use them constantly, usually in ways that distract them from what’s happening on the ice. I’ve witnessed texting, office emailing, video calls, even playing video games. This screen attention needs to be redirected to, and exploit, the match itself, with a flow-to-phone of instant replays (never enough at the Bell Centre), inside info (à la “Why did Andrew Shaw head to the dressing room?” or “How fast was Shea Weber’s last slapshot?”) and interactive, real-time games. Note: Another sponsorship opportunity.
POST-GAME
I hate to contradict Yogi Berra, but even when it’s over, it ain’t over. Or it shouldn’t be. Habs fans should always leave the Bell Centre on a high, preferably with something in their hands other than their heads.
So remember those pregame greeters? They can also moonlight as post-game “sendoff-ers,” and win or lose, send everyone home with a smile and some sort of sample, sponsored by a Habs’ corporate partner (well, all of ’em except the toenail fungus cure). While Habs fans enjoy a postgame sample from time to time, the regularity of a nightly gift will be seen as a talisman to celebrate a victory or consolation prize to numb the pain of a loss.
THE FINAL SCORE
The end result? Fans benefit from a fresh, upgraded experience and get free stuff while Canadiens’ management enjoys new sales opportunities.
It’s the classic win-win, and if nothing else, it at least guarantees the Habs start the 2018-19 season with two wins.
Montreal businessman Andy Nulman is co-founder and CEO of social gaming platform Play the Future.