Under Travis Green, the Ottawa Senators are already discovering that Brady Tkachuk is absent. This won’t be silently dismissed by supporters.
After transferring its previous captain to the Florida Panthers, the team unveiled a new advertisement campaign titled “Chuk Your Tkachuk.” To swiftly trade up a vintage sweater for a new one, supporters created this.
In theory, the concept appeared straightforward enough. Fans can exchange qualifying Brady Tkachuk jerseys and receive 40% off a new Senators jersey from Friday through Monday.
The relocation might have gone over better if everyone’s feelings about it had subsided. They haven’t, especially with the transaction being so recent and the player having served as the captain for many years.
The background only adds more heat. After informing Ottawa that he would not sign another contract there, Tkachuk requested a trade, and the Senators moved him to Florida in exchange for three first-round choices and one second-round pick.
Thus, rather than concluding the matter neatly, the promotion reopened the entire discussion. There was no new beginning for the supporters. Many of them believed it was an insensitive sales pitch.
Fans focus on what isn’t shown in the teaser.
Immediately, the greatest complaint was addressed. Many long-time Ottawa supporters with older Adidas jerseys will not be able to take advantage of the discount because it is only valid on Fanatics Premium jerseys.
“I can appreciate the gesture, but this only applies to the Fanatics pre-stitched Premium jerseys,” one season-ticket holder stated.
Because it addresses the actual issue, that statement stood out. It wasn’t promoted as a small retail offering. Numerous supporters are not eligible to cross the bridge that was built for the fan base.
The fine print and the message were equally opposed by others. The Senators ultimately chose to launch a campaign around discarding a former captain’s shirt rather than selling the following core.
Even the Ottawa Frontier League team, the Titans, participated in the buzz with their own “Forget Brady Day” campaign. It only made the situation seem a bit messier, louder, and larger.
Without a doubt, the campaign attracted interest. The issue for Ottawa is that goodwill and attention are not the same thing, and right now fans seem much more concerned with reason than with goods.
It’s for this reason that it so quickly failed. Another lesson that fans in this market still desire more substance and less show was taught by what should have been a clear off-season reset.
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