ROB’S RANTS

Guest Editorial

I read with interest Corey Atkinson’s Sports column in the Friday edition (Jan. 26th) regarding Mayor Fraser Tolmie’s comments encouraging Moose Jaw citizens to wear Warrior colours on game day, a noble gesture indeed, but when are game days? He also commented that the attendance was only over 4000 three times during the regular season this year, and that’s with a winning team, whereas in past years, this 4000 mark was surpassed numerous times even though there were less successful Warrior teams playing. What’s the deal, I thought? Then it hit me, nobody really knows, the excitement is gone, twittered right outta here.

The Warriors, by their own admission, eliminated a large part of their print budget in favour of radio, social media, rink board signs etc., Seems like we’ve found the problem…

Of course, I am a proponent of newspapers; its my job, but if ‘paper’ isn’t right for your business, then I would like to be the first to tell you. I have been a professional for many years in the newspaper publishing arena and have a pretty good handle of the benefits of regular advertising in them, although I do know there are some instances where it wouldn’t benefit all, and I am confident enough in our newspapers and publications to let you know if or if not it will work for you. Here are my thoughts and some facts:

Thought: Social media is for social engagement; its like visiting, it is not social business or social commerce. Hits on your social media sites are like someone driving by your business, they might see it, but it does not translate into a sale very often; 7 likes and 15 views is not going to generate the business you need.

Fact: According to a recent insightrix survey, the most popular radio station in Moose Jaw has a listening audience of 19.4%. Sure, everyone has a radio in their house but some like mine, have never tuned in… The Moose Jaw Express goes to every home, business, and 67 surrounding communities every week, and the survey tells us that 69% (over 33,000 readers) actually look at it, before using it in the bird cage, as our radio friends put it, but it is still multi-purpose and covers a lot of bird cages; thankfully, a radio comes with a tuner and an off switch.

Thought: When businesses spend money on social sites, where does the money go?? It does not necessarily stay local, so if businesses are not spending local, does that mean, local consumers can shop anywhere they want to get the best deal?

Fact: Not everyone is hooked into social media, facebook etc., and those people are not necessarily the losers, they may actually have a life. I laugh when I see a tweet that is already over 24 hours old by the time I see it…Many believe they can run a business on just social media…. Not to be ignorant, there are exceptions but here in Moose Jaw, we have seen too many failures. BTW…people still read, and radio knows this. Have you ever noticed that they put their name on whatever they can to promote their product and have reporters spend the time typing words in print form for individuals to read online? They are also now well aware that the written word needs to be correct, honest and accurate, as it does not dissipate in an instant like a spoken word.

Thought: Perhaps, if people knew when the Warrior

games were, they would attend to watch this number two nationwide-rated team (at the time of this writing).

Fact: I still read the paper and know a large majority of the population still does. In all honesty, with regards to the Warriors games, I have no clue when the next game is and I am thinking that many middle-aged folks really are not sitting around waiting for the next tweet or snapchat to alert them on short notice of when the next game is. It’s nice to plan ahead.

Conclusion: Somebody in the Warriors organization might consider doing a better job of relating to the community of Moose Jaw and area about their upcoming events; the age demographic and media preference is a lot more diverse than just those that choose social media as their source of information. Its going to take a lot more than just wearing a jersey on game day to fill the stands, although I applaud the effort. For every home game in Moose Jaw, our sport’s reporter makes a valiant effort to be there to expound upon how great they are doing…but if you want to make plans to attend the next game or any of their upcoming special events, you need to know when it is…for many, it’s a mystery. Lets support our Warriors, and here’s a free ad… The next Warrior Home Games are Friday, February 9th and Saturday February 10th. Lets get our Warriors gear on and show some support for those young men who hopefully will take us right to the Memorial Cup final…..Go Warriors Go!!!