Blog #4 - Priorities

Talking with Flames community members about priorities was short and sweet. I spoke to many people this past weekend, having some good conversations with some, others had nothing to say (or didn't know what to say!).
The Flames organzation was willing to commit to the following things:
(According to VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, VP of Ticketing, account represetatives, and security staff)

• Improve sales to a broader target market (Get the Flames brand to smaller town Alberta)
• Build a new arena (To update the brand)
• Be more involved with the community (Public Relations, school readings, etc...)
• Sell out the building every game (To have higher sales revenue)
• Promote "C' of Red (Heritage Classic game Feb.20)

(Of course if anybody has some that YOU think the Flames should focus on, comment on them!)

These committments that came from such high members of the Flames community show the dedication to the success of the team and franchise within Calgary. They want to keep the Flames here in this city by building them a new arena, to update the Calgary brand name (since the Saddledome has been here since 1989!!).

I feel that many values drive this community, including excellent customer service from everybody within the dome! A friendly and sensational experience in the stands. And the ability to take your child to a game, and have fun without anything happening. Also, i believe that the Flames could add corporate support into some of their values as well. The corporate scene is very important to any professional sports team, and without it they wouldn't be successful (look at the teams that have folded before!). If the Flames used corporate sponsors and a tool to drive their community, it would put them into the upper rankings like the Maple Leafs. (If you didn't know, the Leafs are 65% corporate seating/boxes/suites).

Overall if you look at the Flames community, many people are driven to the success of the franchise, and will do anything to help further each other, the players and the fans. Every game night, fans still wear the "C" of Red on their shoulders proudly and enjoy their experience!

The organization will take action on some of the committments mentioned above. But others have been put on the backburner for now (new arena). I believe the Flames are an outstanding community builder, and can bring a whole city together with success!

Blog #3 - Community Group

My Community: Calgary Flames Partnership

For this blog, it was very difficult to choose a community that I was involved in because there are so many. Like baseball, hockey, Hawkwood (where I live), people my age, any of my 3 jobs. Therefore I decided to choose a work community, the Calgary Flames.
I have worked for the Flames for two years now in their customer service/ticketing department. I have seen numerous changes to office staff and internal people. You may not consider the Flames to be a dependant community, but in my eyes they are.
Community within the Flames organization is considered to be very close within its internal staff. Many of the the members i talked to this evening are in close quarters with their collegues and interact with them all day. They also are dependant on each other to get tasks done, kind of like each staff member is their own leader. This type of community is different from a community of random people in a neighbourhood setting, because it shows that people, even when work gets in the way, can still be a place of fun and interacting with others.
Many of the Flames successes are dependant on the performance on the ice, however the staff have their own successes as well. I talked with Shane in Marketing and he was telling me how, when he puts together a promotional plan and proposes it to the Flames Board of Members, it is very rewarding to see his plan come to action. What the Flames have done really well so far is the selling of the brand, "The "c" of Red". They have brought together a whole city and its people to back their hockey team by wearing red and being a "red" city as well. This is a form of community development in its own right. The Flames are engaging others to participate in this activity of wearing red to games and the people who don't feel left out and may think that their quality of life is affected (see level 5 of the community framework we learned in class).
Many plans of the Flames community are to bring in new customers, design a new building for the hockey team, and allow for people to enjoy themselves in a mature and fun nature. These plans are key in building a new base for community. By getting new people/fans to come aboard onto the "bandwagon" so to speak, they will build a city image. Many people come to Calgary to see the tower, or enjoy stampede, but they also have the Flames hockey team in mind. This is how the Flames are building their community by promoting a brand image that sticks with you, an experience.
Opportunities for the Flames organization is within corporate funding. By getting the corporate community to come along to have their own experience is important because without any corporate sponsorships, the team and organization would fail. These corporate opportunities are what make the community, like the Flames still be one of the best in Canada.