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Exploriem.org Newsletter: June 12, 2012

Join Exploriem, all our sponsors and Artistic Entrepreneurs displaying their works at Artifex on June 20th 2012 at the National Gallery of Canada. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. There will be a silent auction. View items Tickets can be purchased: Here. This Year’s Spotlight Artists Spotlight Writer – Bruce M. Firestone The official Book Launch [...]

Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech

By: Bruce M Firestone, Founder, Ottawa Senators Date: June 6, 2012 Thank you for inviting me here tonight. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here with my family, friends, colleagues, Sens fans and executives as well as Board of Directors from the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame. I got word that [...]

Moneyball Movie

10 Things You Can Learn about Sports and Business from Moneyball What the Ottawa Senators did Right to Make the Playoffs 12 out of 13 Years Television’s Golden Age could be Ahead not Behind I am an Aaron Sorkin fan from his days writing A Few Good Men, The American President and, of course, The [...]

Accretive Financing: Disney’s Deal to Buy the Ducks

How You can End up with More Cash on Hand after a Deal Than Before How the Disney Company Ended up Buying the Ducks from the National League for a Negative Amount of Cash I have been involved in more than 168 startups over the last 25 years—either as a principal or as an advisor. [...]

NHL Conference Revamp

Gary Bettman has wanted to revamp the NHL’s conference structure and playoff format since he first became Commissioner in 1993. Recently, he got his wish as the BOG approved his proposal with four teams voting against. The fact that the two eastern conferences only have seven teams each while the western ones have eight each [...]

Letter to the Editor

Dear Bloomberg Businessweek Editor: Re. your article in Etc. on the Return of the Winnipeg Jets (July 3rd, 2011) As a 20+ year reader of Businessweek, I enjoyed your recent article on the return of the Winnipeg Jets to the NHL. I liked Neil Janowitz’ part about: “Winnipeg isn’t the first to have loved and [...]

Negative Cost Marketing

Negative Cost Marketing (NCM) is all about getting other people to pay some or all of your marketing costs, in effect, turning your marketing function from a cost centre into a profit centre. NCM is a specific form of Guerrilla Marketing*. The 1964 Tribute Band (Beatles) does this with an ingenious promotion during concerts. They [...]

Negative Cost Selling and the Pro Sports Team

Earlier this season, the Ottawa Senators were having some trouble filling their building after years of sell-outs and near sellouts. The causes? Well, the performance of the team (missing the playoffs the previous season and being swept in the first round the year before by the Pens) is obviously a factor. The downturn in the [...]

N > 22

This simple equation is something that Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke and Coach Ron Wilson may have to become familiar with. When we brought back the Sens in 1992 to play in the National League after a nearly 60 year absence, we set our goal from Day 1: the team had to get 22 or [...]

Why Not Make it Nine?

Will We One Day See 9 NHL Teams in Canada? As a member of the last group to successfully found a franchise in Canada, I have watched Jim Balsillie’s attempts to land an NHL member club with great interest. His determined efforts have provoked rage in some quarters and admiration elsewhere, but with his third [...]