CFL attendance and TV numbers "may be up, but few
around" the league "are ready to celebrate just yet,"
according to Sean Fitz-Gerald of the NATIONAL POST, who
writes, "Fan interest has been reborn in Montreal and
strengthened in Alberta, but has waned in Vancouver and all
but disappeared in Toronto." BC Lions President Glen
Ringdal: "It's like a house party. If you show up and
nobody's there, you think it's a bad party." Fitz-Gerald
writes that with an average rating of more than 260,000
viewers per game, the league "is faring" 10% better than
last season. Meanwhile, Fitz-Gerald adds that while the CFL
"is still not making a great deal of money," league
President & COO Jeff Giles "is happy to announce that it is
on stable ground, after years of teetering on the brink of
bankruptcy." Giles: "We're not worried about surviving.
Right now, we're worried about how to grow the business and
become stronger" (NATIONAL POST, 8/15).
RADICAL AD CAMPAIGN: Fitz-Gerald also writes on the
CFL's current ad campaign, "Radically Canadian," which "is
still turning heads." The league recently spent more than
C$500,000 to send a crew to New Orleans and Biloxi, MS,
N.Y., and DC to ask fans questions such as "In Canada, we
only need three downs to get 10 yards. Why does it take you
four?" (see THE DAILY, 7/6). CFL Dir of Marketing &
Communications Jim Neish, on the campaign: "It's the first
time that we've been able to spend these types of dollars on
a traditional marketing campaign. I think it's long
overdue, because what it does is bring the league to the
forefront" (NATIONAL POST, 8/15). For more on the CFL,
please see (#22).
