Will They Be Relevant?

Will they be relevant?

That’s the a question a longtime friend asked me the other day regarding an organization.

That’s an amazing question given that teams track record and history.

Relevant or irrelevant?

Everyone would assume relevancy in the hockey world obviously revolves around winning, but it goes well beyond that. There’s a few things you can’t fake in the hockey business and that’s culture and relevancy.

You can have all the talent in the world and have all the right people in place, but if your culture has a shitty track record you’re going to be in trouble.

It doesn’t take long for people/fans to figure out if the “brand” or team is something they can support or get behind or not and there’s your relevancy.

As quickly as my friend asked the question, our other friend chimed in with, “No one cares about them.”

Unfortunately there’s an incredibly fine line between caring and relevancy in the junior hockey world.

That fine line usually revolves around ticket sales and the product on the ice.

The on ice product matters,, the atmosphere in the rink matters, but if the team lacks connectivity or relevancy in the community the writing is undoubtedly on the wall.

Organizations now more than ever before need marketability, but first and foremost they need an identity and culture.

You can draft and sign all of the “high profile” players you want, pump their tires and promote the brand all day every day and twice on Sunday, but you’re still going to be irreverent without a true identity.

Organizations that try to be on the cutting edge in every aspect of the game sometimes loose sight on what really matters which is the product on the ice and character of the players and team. Sure you can look at all of the variables, crunch numbers and dive into the business models and analytics, to place blame or find answers, but it always has a way to come back to identity, culture and character.

Winning, tradition and searching for the next gimmick or trend to put butts in seats can only take you so far.

Will they be relevant?

“They don’t have an identity, and that’s their problem,” I replied before we quickly changed the subject.

Not sure what’s worse or more difficult searching for relevancy or wins?