Patrick Boivin puts focus on team’s brand
Boivin believes groundwork is being laid and the pieces are now starting to align
If the sea hasn’t necessarily parted since he moved into the corner office on Robert-Bourassa Blvd. three months ago — and if the Alouettes aren’t more relevant or visible in the marketplace and media — Patrick Boivin believes the groundwork is being laid and the pieces are starting to align. And, perhaps most importantly, the weaknesses identified.
“A lot of it has been putting the right foundations in place. That’s a fundamental pillar that helps us build our brand, our engagement with our fans and inherently drives to the larger commercial funnel,” Boivin, the Als’ new president, told the Montreal Gazette during a lengthy interview this week in his office.
“It’s tough to do and, arguably, it’s going to be tough to prove without winning that first game. The core fans are there, I think and hope. But we’ve probably hit the bottom of the barrel. I don’t know that we’re going to bring them back other than trying to sell them on the pure football.”
Owners Robert and Andrew Wetenhall did Boivin, 38, no favours when they named him the 15th president in franchise history in mid-December, replacing Mark Weightman.
Boivin inherited a team that has missed the Canadian Football League playoffs for two consecutive seasons, hasn’t had a winning record since 2012 and hasn’t reached the Grey Cup since 2010, its last championship season. The team’s playoff record since then is 1-4.
The Als have also gone through a series of head coaches and quarterbacks, unable to find a replacement for retired QB legend Anthony Calvillo.
The days when the franchise was regularly selling out Molson Stadium seem nothing more than a distant memory and its seasonticket base is hovering between 10,000 and 11,000.
The average attendance, which stood at 23,000 as recently as 2013, dipped to 20,337 last season — the 23,420-seat McGill University venue selling out only once, Oct. 2, after Jacques Chapdelaine, the first francophone head coach in franchise history, replaced Jim Popp.
Boivin conducted a media tour the day after his appointment, then dropped by the team’s downtown administration office to meet the staff while assuaging any immediate concerns they might have had while answering questions. His first official day on the job was Jan. 9 and, as Boivin approaches his first 100 days in office — and unlike U.S. President Donald Trump — his administration has been marked by relative serenity.
Boivin hasn’t made any monumental announcements. Nobody has been fired, other than some planned departures, and the only hirings have occurred in sales and marketing. If anything, Boivin has changed how the administration office operates, altering the workflow and internal accountability levels. The Als are known for having a young staff, but have been plagued by constant turnover.
Boivin, who admits he’s still learning the Canadian professional football business, conducts regular meetings with pillars of the business community and potential sponsors. There have been some “prospecting and intelligence gathering” from people who have spent years in the Montreal entertainment industry. Boivin said he has connected with every minor football program in Quebec and, last week, personally started phoning season-ticket subscribers who have recently cancelled or yet to state their desire to renew.
Boivin speaks with Andrew Wetenhall at least twice per week — father Robert, the team’s owner, is there to provide insight and an historical perspective — while Boivin meets with new general manager Kavis Reed, who he didn’t know until assuming his position, every Monday morning.
“Generally speaking, there’s a good optimism in the marketplace ... although still a reserved optimism,” Boivin said. “Where we were an afterthought or not even part of the conversation before, we’ve become a bit more, if not top of mind, for those that are football friendly. We need to make sure we’re leveraging that and hitting the iron while it’s hot, as much as possible, knowing that it’s still on paper.
“We haven’t played a game.” And that remains the crux of the matter. While the Als will conduct a three-day mini-camp starting Monday in Vero Beach, Fla., the event historically hasn’t been well covered by the Montreal media due to its logistics.
Besides, with the Canadiens about to embark on what their fans hope is a long and prosperous playoff run, and with the Impact still winless but riding the emotional high of reaching the Eastern Conference final last season, few are thinking about football, despite the start of training camp barely more than seven weeks away.
Reed has worked hard at rebuilding the team, trading for veteran quarterback Darian Durant, signing free-agent receiver Ernest Jackson, while solidifying the team’s offensive line through the acquisition of import tackles Jovan Olafioye and Brian Simmons. If the Als can win their opening game at home against Saskatchewan and remain competitive, their image will improve, Boivin’s job seemingly becoming less onerous.
Before the bar can be set on expectations, this franchise must create the appearance that hope exists.
“If the team’s sustainably competitive we should, from a business perspective, be able to bring it back,” Boivin said. “We have a cyclically healthy and unhealthy business. I haven’t encountered one person I’ve met, or had lunch with, that doesn’t believe this can be done. It’s a question of rolling up the sleeves and doing it.”
Boivin comes to the Als with 16 years’ experience in the sports industry, including nearly a decade of management positions with the Canadiens where his father, Pierre, was a former president. Boivin joins the Als after four years as director of recreation and athletics at Concordia University.
If people scoff at his age, Boivin points to Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein, who was 31 when he won his first World Series as GM of the Boston Red Sox in 2004. And if people want to identify him as Pierre’s son, Boivin’s comfortable in his own skin, admitting his father remains a confidant, mentor, coach and dad.
“This by far is the biggest challenge of my working life. That’s part of what makes it attractive,” Boivin said. “There’s pressure on everyone and, most certainly, on me. It shouldn’t be otherwise.”
If the team’s sustainably competitive we should, from a business perspective, be able to bring it back.