The Edmonton Arena District is a hot topic right now. Dare I say even hotter than the closure of the Municipal Airport (which by the way we are completely stoked about—awesome job Councillors!). Let the evolution begin!
That’s right. The Jungleheads and virtually everyone we’ve talked to supported the closure of the Muni, and now support the development of the EAD 100%. We see the vision. We want it to happen. We want to be a part of it. Now it’s just a matter of City Council getting it done.
Why do we support it? Let me count the ways.
The current situation is broken.
If we look at the existing situation and location with Northlands and Rexall Place, be it Oilers games, concerts, exhibitions, rodeos, shows, etc.—it’s broken.
What makes it broken? Because we (Edmontonians) say it’s broken.
Northlands clearly doesn’t think—or care that Edmontonians think it’s broken and there are some people out there with ulterior motives and conflicted interests that will preach to us that it isn’t broken. But all it takes is a quick look at some of the incredibly daft, narrow-minded comments on the various blogs out there and you’ll soon see that it doesn’t matter how broken this situation is, some haters (you know who you are), attempt to knock others down with negative comments and say, “I don’t think it’s broken fool…and here’s why….”
News flash haters—I don’t care that you don’t think it’s broken. If I think it’s broken, it’s broken. If Eric thinks it’s broken, it’s broken. If Sarah thinks it’s broken, it’s broken. If anyone thinks it’s broken, it’s broken!
How many Edmontonians out there love to race home after work, then race to Rexall, then hoof it for 3 blocks in freezing cold temperatures through the dumpiest part of the city; all just to watch mediocre play whilst forking over way too much money for bad beer and worse food; then hoof it for 3 blocks back to their unheated cars in freezing cold temperatures again, trying to beat the rush, and finally race back home? I doubt there’s any, but we do it anyway. What we have is one of the worst brand experiences in the entertainment industry and it’s amazing to see what Edmontonians will put up with just to be entertained. I wonder how positive and successful the situation could be if the entertainment experience in this city was fun? Warm? Easy? Taking this one step further, I wonder what it would be like if the downtown core was more exciting? More beautiful? More desirable to live in and be around?
The bottom line is the Edmonton Arena District solves more problems than it creates.
The evidence. There’s lots of it.
Read some of the blog posts out there. Councillor Iveson’s is a great place to start. Some people choose to look at the information, a.k.a. the “evidence,” and good on them for doing it (someone’s got to). While evidence is important, it’s not what Edmontonians are interested in. Evidence is what lawyers and accountants are being paid to come up with on both sides to rationalize their decisions and to persuade with in their pitches. I’m not interested in commenting on the evidence of either side, which is why I choose not to write about it.
In my opinion, rationale is not enough. Why? Because Edmontonians don’t have time for information. We eat on the run, we drive our kids to soccer and dance practice, we work, we workout, we do it all. We do not have the time, nor do we really care to be convinced that what happened in X city and at X arena intellectually was the wrong decision. We don’t care because it has no relevance to us. We are emotional beings and therefore, information isn’t a competitive advantage like it used to be. I'd also like to think that both the Katz Group and Edmonton City Council are smart enough to learn from the past mistakes of others.
This isn’t about the Oilers.
For some reason a lot of people keep bringing the conversation back to the Oilers; and more specifically, the taxpayers funding a billionaire’s hockey team. In my opinion this isn’t about the Oilers. If it were, I wouldn’t have bothered weighing in on this topic in the first place. I don’t care that much about the Oilers—that’s Katz’s business. What I DO care about is Edmonton.
The Edmonton Arena District is much bigger than the Oilers. This is about the evolution of Edmonton as a first class city. It’s about rebuilding a downtown core that we all can be proud of. In Katz’s defense, why should he have to foot the entire bill for a facility his team only plays in a small fraction of the year? Of course he should pay some, but should the City/Province/Nation decide to make a serious push for Expo2017, this is a facility that we would have to build anyway. The only difference is that now we can get it for 50% off. A 50:50 partnership seems fair doesn't it?
Why a partnership? Because a partnership is the only way this idea will work. Partnerships create accountability. Molson failed in the development of Montreal’s arena partly because there was no incentive for the city to make it work. The same goes for the cities that were 100% responsible for building their arenas—there was no vested interest of the teams’ owners. Some people call this proposal "too risky." Yes technically it's a risk, but given the current state of Rexall Place I think it’s a bigger risk for City Council not to pull the trigger on this deal. As a true 50:50 partnership, both sides will make it work because they have to, thus mitigating the risk.
We don’t know how lucky we are.
I think we should consider ourselves pretty fortunate to have a hometown boy that actually gives a damn about investing in Edmonton and evolving this wasteland of mediocrity into an amazing place that everyone will talk about, appreciate, and reap the rewards from for generations to come—not many other cities have this luxury.
Kudos to the Katz Group. Kudos for taking a bashing like they do and still caring about Edmonton. Their hearts seem to be in the right place and we should respect them for it. Kudos for having a vision. Their vision is what has—and will continue to inspire us. As for those who feel a sense of entitlement? Shame on you. You act as if Katz owes us something. Grow up and get real—he doesn’t owe us a damn thing. He is a businessman who owns a team that many Edmontonians happen to care about. At the end of the day the haters and naysayers need to be reminded that he has the right to do whatever he wants with this team—just as any business owner does with their business. Katz has done a lot of good for Edmonton but it still doesn’t seem to be enough. There’s always someone ready to pounce on him for not doing more.
Moving on.
If you are anything like me you want more for our city. Wouldn’t you like it so that when people think of Edmonton they don’t think of “the mall?” Wouldn’t you like it so that when people ask you, “why the heck do you live in Edmonton?!” you have more reasons to give them than, “because my family lives here.” I know I do.
Edmonton is a business, and part of any successful business is caring about customers and creating experiences that we love and are proud of. The Edmonton Arena District (in it’s proposed location) is the catalyst to creating a critically contagious pulse in this city. A pulse big enough to give us not only a minute shot at winning Expo2017, but a chance at becoming a creative and intellectual mecca.
In my opinion we are in the beginnings of what could be one of the most profound times in Edmonton’s history. We are re-establishing our city. This is the age of Edmonton’s self re-discovery.
The sleeping giant is waking up and everyone at Urban Jungle is stoked to live here and be a part of it.
The ripple effects of losing an event like Indy will be detrimental to our City.
Vancouver didn’t know what they had until they lost it—and the same might end up happening to us if we’re not more cognizant of that fact. The only difference is we will never—ever get it back if we lose it. Vancouver’s kung-fu grip will be tight. They’ll never let it go a 2nd time. That being said, if (and that’s a big ‘if’) Edmonton gets 1 last chance at making Indy über-successful in 2011, the following is a list of 21 things that must be done in order to have any hope of a shot at Expo2017.
1. Create a shared vision, purpose and strategy.
Instead of a bunch of disjointed events, create 1 major event, with a central theme running through all supporting events. This gives Capital Ex (under a new name), A Taste of Edmonton, The Edmonton Indy, as well as shops, restaurants, pubs and bars a shared purpose and an aligned strategy. More importantly it gives the customers something to rally behind.
2. Establish ownership by all stakeholders.
Accountability rocks! Wouldn’t it be awesome to see all of the companies involved in running the event put their profits on the line? If it’s a success, you reap the rewards. If it’s a flop, sorry pal—no pay cheque. (This only works if everyone is on board and we don’t have dead weight).
3. Articulate innovation as an organization/event-wide commitment.
Without innovation and a sense of “nowness” you’ll have bored, uninspired staff. This trickles down to bored, uninspired customers.
4. Think long-term.
What do we want this event to be 3, 5, 10 years from now? The short-term, ‘year-to-year,’ ‘go with the flow,’ ‘take it as it comes’ attitude is so “Edmonton.” Let’s get our stuff together. Seriously.
5. Focus on the customer experience—the brand; rather than the internal processes.
Otherwise you are just going through the motions.
6. Focus on challenges of the future rather than successes of the past.
Unless you’re in the business of selling Transformers or the Rubik’s Cube, you cannot build a profitable business on nostalgia.
7. Evolve or die.
Be willing to change when your platform is burning. Even more important—be self aware. Know that your platform IS burning!
8. Leave politics out of it if-and-whenever possible.
Politics can open a lot of doors, but in many cases it leads to sustaining the status quo in order to support entrenched, misguided and conflicted interests. See #7.
9. Reward crisis prevention rather than crisis management.
10. Get rid of any hierarchies that exist.
Inspire. Undermanage. Constantly review new ideas.
11. Fund new ideas in the wake of kiboshing current underperforming efforts.
12. Kill any initiatives that are not succeeding, especially ones that are funded and staffed.
13. Think critically.
Fear of criticizing current practices and commitments is a high-risk activity.
14. Make decisions with your heart.
Addiction to left-brained, analytical thinking (“data is God”) is corporate crack. People are emotional and heart-driven beings. Data is no longer the advantage it used to be.
15. Ideate-collaborate-deviate.
Adopt a more user-friendly idea management processes.
16. Find people that understand (and more importantly care to understand) the customers.
17. Be willing to acknowledge and learn from past failures.
Why is this one so difficult? It shouldn’t be. Own up to your mistakes and move on.
18. Make innovation part of the performance review process.
This goes for every single company/stakeholder/employee/volunteer involved. “How much did we/I innovate this year?” “Did we/I raise the bar?” If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.
19. Create room for more “spec time” to develop new ideas and opportunities.
Good ideas take time. The best ideas might take longer.
20. Coach innovation and creative thinking.
I’m serious. Just as execs would bring in coaches/trainers into the office for their staff, Indy should do it too. This is after all a business (or at least it should be).
21. Create reward and recognition programs for every portfolio.
People like to know that their hard work means something.
That’s next year’s headline. I’m calling it right now.
No, I’m not an oracle, and no, I don’t have Zoltan in my basement. But I can show you why we’re going to lose what could be—should be—a world-class Edmonton event.
Do you know why? Because we haven’t been given a reason to care! There’s no public buildup of excitement. There’s no celebrity endorsement. There’s no branding to turn the Indy into a can’t-miss experience.
I have to be honest: I’m a little embarrassed to be an Edmontonian right now. Our city was awarded an amazing opportunity! The Indy should be a world-renowned event, even more attractive than the Calgary Stampede (racing vehicles at mach speeds is a bit more exciting and relevant than racing chuck wagons). But the powers that be are completely squandering the opportunity.
How did this happen? (Please circle the best answer.)
a. Many years ago the City awarded an exclusivity deal to Northlands to market and manage all major events (whether penned or implied is irrelevant)
b. Corporate greed, laziness
c. Politics
d. All of the above
If you chose “d,” awesome! You get a gold star.
Exclusivity promotes laziness, complacency, short-sightedness, and greed.
Don’t believe me? How inspiring and memorable is the “Make it your Indy” campaign? Laziness brained it, and laziness approved it. What you see in this campaign is the business model of “let’s do the least amount of work possible and still get paid.”
I’m sorry, but that doesn’t work for me. Organizers should be going above and beyond to make this one of the most memorable events in Canada. Northlands isn’t working hard or getting creative because they don’t have to. They’ve got the job. They’ve got all the jobs. Why put any effort into creating vibrant and exciting events that tell the world that Edmonton is the place to be when you don’t have to?
Northlands is not a marketing or branding company.
Northlands’ business is to provide space and coordinate the logistics of events (and they do a really good job at it), but that’s it. They are not a marketing company. They have failed to generate buzz and excitement around events and draw the throngs of people that should be attending because that’s not what they do!
That’s right. The wise decision makers in our city made an exclusive arrangement to market events that could draw who knows how much tourism with a company that isn’t a marketing company. While this might not be killing Edmonton, it’s definitely holding us back.
Instead the City should award the contracts for creating buzz around events and attracting large crowds to branding and marketing companies. (Earth-shattering idea, isn’t it?) Then they should hold those companies accountable. The current zero-accountability situation simply doesn’t work and is a waste of taxpayer money.
What would happen if accountability existed? For starters, the marketing of the Indy wouldn’t be left up to the sponsors, as it seems to be now. This is ridiculous and something no professional marketing and branding company would do. When sponsors are solely responsible for marketing, they aren’t getting the potential value out of the partnership. No wonder they’ve had an impossible time trying to secure a title sponsor and must find new sponsors every year. I wouldn’t renew my sponsorship either.
Make us care, and we will show up.
We are blessed with a many great cheerleaders in this city. @MasterMaq, @CaryWilliams, @ChrisLaBossiere, @KenBautista among others are all doing their best to help Edmonton evolve into a world-class city. But I’m worried that they too will one day give up, (Please don’t. You guys are awesome!).
Edmonton city council needs to start acting like a business. That means caring about its customers and creating brand experiences that we love and are proud of. Like any business, Edmonton must give the people what they want; otherwise, we will suffer the consequences of our customers’ choosing the competition. Vancouver is our competition. Calgary is our competition. Right now, they have much more to offer our customers.
I find it odd that Mr. Mandel is scoping Shanghai’s World Expo right now. It’s great that he’s taking the initiative, but I find it a little presumptuous. We can’t even manage a little Indy event properly. Does anyone seriously believe that Edmonton could land Expo 2017 if we were to lose Indy? And if we did, what impression would be left at the end of it?
Enough is enough. Quit killing opportunity. Quit killing creativity. Quit killing evolution. We need some new players—people and companies willing to do all it takes to make Edmonton a world-class city. The exclusive arrangement with Northlands has to stop if Edmonton is ever going to have a chance.
I bet the Indy will be pulled from Edmonton’s portfolio within the next year. Perhaps it will be given to a city that actually gives a damn about evolution, creativity, and inspiring its residents to live there. Vancouver—you’re well in the lead. Calgary—you are a close second. Edmonton—you are the dark horse I am rooting for.
To most of us the idea of flipping a car, let alone rolling one a full 180 degrees, sounds like an idea to avoid. For Mercedes, shooting a two-minute spot to do just that, in the Canadian China Bar Tunnel, was the main component of their creative brief.
Despite the valiant efforts of the throes of car advertisers out there, few have ever achieved the level of audience intensity and viral attention that the Mercedes group has with their latest piece shot to promote their new AMG sports car; the SLS.
It is shot in quick cut, behind-the-scenes style marrying action movie chase music with slow motion frames to keep its audience squirming in their seats while attempting to slow their ever racing pulse. The quiet, yet breathtaking, British Columbian landscape is used as juxtaposition as the roar of the 5.5 litre, V8 biturbo engine chainsaws through the silent backdrop.
Employed to take down this ever-impossible stunt, while making this mad machine look as sleek and sexy as possible, is the seven time F1 Driver Champion, Michael Schumacher. The sheer impossibility of him actually making it will have you watching it repeatedly. AND for the true car buffs, you are doing just as Mercedes planned; chatting about it on blogs, emailing it to friends but best of all you are trying to sort out just how you are going to finance this beast.
(Thanks to the car buff in my family who sent me this!)
I love going through branding exercises with our clients. Why?
First, I find it absolutely fascinating to get to the root of the big questions.
Why do you exist?
What inspires you?
Why do you get up every morning to do what you do?
What experience do you want your customers to have?
These are tough questions that many business owners haven’t thought of since they wrote their business plan (you know, the one that’s sitting at the bottom of your desk drawer collecting dust).
I believe time should be dedicated to thinking about these questions on a daily basis, and at the very least, weekly. I realize that’s easier said than done; as a business owner myself I know all too well that it doesn’t take much to get bogged down in the details.
However, by forcing yourself to take a step back and “see the forest from the trees,” you will no doubt find new energy to persevere. The answers might take a lot of thought and probing, but once redefined, they always seem to give a greater sense of purpose, direction, and rejuvenation.
Second, the exercises force me to rethink the same questions for myself and the company I’m trying to build.
What’s at the heart of Urban Jungle? What guides me to want to build Edmonton’s next big success story?
1. For starters, I strive to keep good company.
Relationships are what my world is all about. Without them I have nothing. My family and friends are amazing and have supported me through some very difficult times. As some may know, I have recently expanded the Urban Jungle team and in doing so I have surrounded myself with amazingly talented and über cool people. Their creativity and passion inspire me and give me a reason to wake up every morning.
2. I try my best to only work with people whom I can see myself becoming friends with.
It’s definitely not the best decision from a business owner’s standpoint as I’ve turned down many well-paying jobs and I’ve fired lots of customers; but to me, negativity, nay-sayers, and uninspired people are not worth it – no matter how good the money may be. Most of my clients have become great friends. We go out for pints, we golf, we BBQ, and we have even attended each others’ weddings!
3. We want to help change the face of Edmonton one business at a time.
That may sound a little flaky but it’s true. There’s a lot of ugly, a lot of noise and a lot of misleading out there, and we Jungleheads see it as our mission to help change the way businesses relate with their customers. We want to grow, we want our customers to grow, we want Edmonton to grow, and we want to be a catalyst for change. While Urban Jungle will always be a small idea factory, we feel that simply by being a part of the creative process we can help elevate our city’s culture and be an agent of growth and positive change for our future.
Notice the ordinary. Preserve the ephemeral. Create ideas for everyone. Keep it simple. Don’t ever tolerate “o.k. anything.” Remember your responsibility as a storyteller. Make ideas your life (and life, your idea.) Leave something behind.
That is our mantra. And we try our best to live it every day.
“I don’t believe in this branding crap…vision, mission, values…it’s all fluff.”
We’ve heard that comment more than we’d like; and for those that feel that way they are absolutely right. If they don’t believe in their brand and in the promise their brand is to deliver, then why would their employees? Why would their customers?
On the other hand, if you agree that a brand is a relationship that creates and secures future earnings by growing customer preference and loyalty in the present, then wouldn’t you agree that it is critically important to understand what practices assist in the process?
Yes it is true that brand is an intangible asset, and as such it’s perceived to be more difficult to gauge ROI, however, if the ultimate goal is to engage happy customers and develop ongoing business, brand is actually quite easy to measure when you think about it…if revenue isn’t trending upward then you are probably doing a shitty job at effectively communicating and delivering the value of your brand.
What is it about today’s most effective brands that puts them so far above their competition?
Is there something we can learn and implement in our businesses that will enable us to set ourselves apart from our competition?
Digging deep in the Urban Jungle vaults, we found 7 key practices that are employed by leading brands. In doing so they are able to drive considerable ROI from their branding investment.
1. They continuously meet and often exceed customer expectations.
Highly effective brands deliver value and they provide high quality products or services that are designed with the customer in mind (imagine that!). Their ultimate goal is to make their customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable. Ideally, the brand fulfills a previously unmet need and that requires focus and investment in innovation. Apple and RIM are adherents to this practice. Both are relentlessly focused on putting the next great tool in the hands of their customers.
2. They rigorously remain relevant.
Highly effective brands ensure their ongoing relevance within their defined audiences. This involves rigorous segmentation to understand what are the most financially attractive segments and who is apt to be a brand evangelist and spread the word. This requires the brand to tailor its message to these segments with a compelling “value proposition.” Therefore execution is key and messaging must be more creative in order to cut through the current communication clutter.
3. They price impeccably.
Highly effective brands are able to price their products/services in a way that captures their customers’ attention and their perception of value. Of course, companies invest in brand in order to achieve a premium over similar offers and that remains a key objective. In order to accomplish this, leading brands make a direct link between price and the intangible benefits of communicating exclusivity in order to justify the premium.
BMW is a tremendous example of effective brand pricing. The brand is linked to “performance” and as a result, loyal BMW customers perceive differential value versus competing offers.
4. They are flexible.
Current practice involves how to approach brand consistency. Traditionally it is thought that a brand must be 100% consistent in communication and execution in order to achieve broad recognition. We disagree. Highly effective brands are more flexible in their communications approach than their competitors. At Urban Jungle we like to refer to this as the “70/30 Rule” whereby the brand is consistent in large part but allows for customization to address language, culture, buying behaviour, and communication channels.
Ten years ago every single McDonald’s restaurant would largely have had the same retail design. Now, there is much more flexibility in format. As an example, in Paris the locations are more café-like with a wide coffee menu and chairs that are not bolted to the floor. In Tokyo, the menu includes shrimp burgers.
5. They are extremely proactive.
It may sound cliche but the most effective brands never rest, nor do they allow the market or the competition to define who they are, what they believe, and what makes them consistently
unique. Instead they employ best practices to ensure their ongoing leadership.
6. They have accurate self perception.
Highly effective brands ensure that all employees, prior to making any claims in the market, understand the brand promise. It is, after all, the employee’s responsibility to deliver on the promise. In many average to less than average companies employees are the last to know, or learn about their own brand strategy through external advertising at the same time as prospective customers.
Progressive companies on the other hand use brand as their central organizing principle in order to guide employee decision and action, providing rules about what is “on-brand” and what is “off-brand.” These companies review employee performance against the brand strategy and values tying results to compensation and other rewards.
7. They manage brand as a long-term asset.
Highly effective brands continuously measure the drivers of brand value and make management decisions based on performance within those metrics. They clearly recognize that brands are not merely logos or tag lines or short-term advertising campaigns, rather they are fundamental drivers of the company’s economic performance. Though employed by significant global players, these practices are applicable to all brands regardless of size and reach and can help management unlock further potential for mind-, market-, and wallet-share.
Edmonton City Council - Please Approve the EAD
Edmonton Loses the Indy! (Part 2 of 2)
Edmonton Loses the Indy! (Part 1 of 2)
Mercedes Attempts the Impossible
Lovemarks
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