FanPost

The death of Trenton, Jersey Pride & the Devils' marketing

 

I originally became attracted to this site because of John's posts & others' comments about how the Devils market themselves & the attendance woes over the years.   Matt V scored his audition win on this subject and he's done a lot on the issue since.  John had posts last summer from the Jersey Tour as well as updates on the Supporters Section, which I think many of us agree was a brilliant marketing move.  It's posts like these that are the reason I separate this site from the others.  It's frank honest discussion and we usually don't downplay anything.  You won't see Chere or Gulitti or other bloggers get into the depth on this topic as much as we do here.

That being said, I think the death of the Trenton Devils here was not given the same candid, frank discussion platform it deserved.  I could only find two fan shots on it.  One announcing their death, the other notifying us that the Flyers got the team and brought back their original name.  

It is very relevant to the overall discussion on attendance & support for the New Jersey Devils in our state, albeit indirectly.  The problem remains the same it was when I came to this site years ago: There are still too many North Jersey Ranger fans  . . . and in the border areas of Mercer & Hunterdon, too many Flyer fans.  We reluctantly accept it, as they are older franchises.   We coddle ourselves with this paraphrased mindset: "Wait a couple years for the younger generation to grow up and we'll see the change."  Vanderbeek even cited this to ESPN's John Buccigross that the team has "demographic surveys" that the future looks bright.  

But what if Vanderbeek's wrong?  He spent a lot of time trying to give the Albany and Trenton Devils exposure in our state by having them play in Atlantic City, something Travis at Broad Street Hockey liked to an "invasion" of territory.  It is now apparent that management's strategy failed with the Trenton Devils (some of my beer league hockey guys said that the final straw was the T-Devs disbanding the old Titans fan club).  Not a good first impression.  Travis's summary of the reconquista of Mercer County by the Flyers can be found here.

So where do we go from here?  Just wish the Devils Generals and Supporters Section keep growing?  Take more friends to Newark to show them the city?

I'd be really open to your comments on what you feel the New Jersey Devils can do better to make New Jerseyans feel that they are missing something by not supporting this team.  I will challenge any New Jersey Ranger fan by simply saying I have more Jersey Pride than them.  It's that simple.  Why can't the Devils somehow market that?  

Here are three of my ideas:

1) Put a New Jersey Devil recap or fan program on the new NJTV.  

2) Keep reaching out to the fringe areas in NJ.  That means Hunterdon, Mercer, & Ocean.   I don't think it was a mistake by the Devils to change the Titans name & make it Devils.  It was an aggressive gamble.  It failed.  So did the economy . . .  and the team stunk.  Would it have worked if done in 2003?  Learn from past mistakes and don't surrender easily. 

3) Draft Nick Ebert in 2012.  Who would have thought this Livingston, NJ native would go from obscurity (I coached against him his freshman year) to one of the top potential prospects for next year's draft?  While the Flyers grabbed Jersey native, James Van Riemsdyk, he was a Ranger fan.  Ebert has gone on record saying he's a big Devils fan.  It would send a message to every NJ hockey player - your state's team cares about you.  I know the Devils will draft the best player possible.  But thinking of the Flyers or Rangers grabbing Ebert makes my stomach churn.

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