Begininning with the letter "E"

Today’s word of the day is “Effective” and can be described as: (1) producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect. (2) able to accomplish a purpose.

I choose this word to start wrapping up by blog (my gimmick is ending soon) on how all the parties involved in both the Phoenix Coyotes Bankruptcy case and the NHL as a whole has used PR in an effective way. My next entry will be the flip side to this (but I will need to find another word, ineffective is kind of cheating) as we look at what has not worked and maybe why.

So, let’s start where my blog began….the case that consumed the media earlier this year. While we all know what happened in the end, how did each side use PR in an effective way to gain support in their cause? We will begin with Jim Balsillie as he was the reason this whole case went before the courts. Without him, I would have been stuck for a topic both in this blog assignment and my Case Analysis (another gimmick).

What exactly did Balsillie do right? Well for starters the guy is friendly. People like him. He’s not hard to look at, he’s a Canadian success story, he’s camera friendly and he knew what he had to do before the case went high profile. That’s the whole trick in setting up effective PR. Knowing what you’ll settle for in the end and how to get there. Now, he might not of 100% believed he could win this (and he was right) but maybe in the end that wasn’t his master plan. Balsillie knew that the only way to stand a chance was to gain public support and by doing so turn the tables on what was wrong in the NHL and with its Commissioner Gary Bettman. Did he do this? The answer to that is …. absolutely.

By doing things like having the media in his dressing room before his pick-up Hockey games, always (well almost always) remaining above the name calling and character assignation, Balsillie was able to remain a positive connection in this case. He started a website with him appearing in the video “Make it seven” which was nothing short of contagious in Canada. Even always pro-Canadian Don Cherry plugged his cause in a segment of Hockey Night in Canada. His media release’s were filled with patriotic overtones and if he was quoted once he was quoted 1,000 times as saying “I just want an opportunity, to bring a NHL team back to the country where it belongs” A bit much?, well the public didn’t think so. Balsillie’s popularity and support continued to grow throughout this case while the other side…well...you’ll have to read tomorrow’s entry.

Even after the verdict was read, Balsillie used his prior tactics of the underdog to continue his character superiority in the media with saying “Although, I personally was unsuccessful, I hope my efforts may pave the way for what I have just always envisioned, another team in Southern Ontario. When that day comes, I will be the first in line to buy a ticket”. Oh, Jim, you nice guy, you.

All joking aside, Balsillie proved that good PR is majorly important in what you are trying to achieve. While you may not necessarily score the winning goal in the Stanly Cup, it’s sometimes the path you took to get there that can be as “effective”.