JONES: CFL commissioner unveils Genius marketing plan

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HAMILTON — In many ways it was vague and devoid of detail. But CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie unveiled a big new plan on Friday for the league to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic as a brand new venture.

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“If you look through the lens of what was to happen, Winston Churchill once said ‘Never waste a crisis’ and I’m happy to say we didn’t,” Ambrosie said.

“For the first time in nearly 40 years, we now have a revenue-sharing model that is going to help teams get back on their feet,” Ambrosie announced during the annual State of the League media briefing.

He then announced what he called a “historic” partnership with an international sports marketing company, Genius Sports, lured by the new legalization of single-match betting in Canada, to build a platform for the league that she never had before.

It’s a league seen by many as having entered the endangered species list again, this time missing an entire season in 2020 due to COVID-19 and playing a reduced schedule this year involving mostly crummy football ahead of the exceptionally entertaining four playoff games. leading to Sunday’s 108th Gray Cup between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

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Ambrosie called the 2021 season a “triumph” due to the creation of a new business model, revenue sharing initiative and partnership with Genius.

“I’m not going to tell you that we will be able to fix everything. I’m not going to say that we don’t have challenges on the horizon. We do. But what I mean is that we did a lot of heavy lifting that was long overdue.

“We’ve done things like resetting our business model which was probably lagging behind. We’ve used the crisis to challenge ourselves. We’ve literally looked at this thing bottom up and top down and we found a way to restructure our business in a way that gives us a much stronger foundation, a much stronger financial foundation.

“We have tackled a long outstanding issue and that is revenue sharing. I think we’ve now created an environment, created a philosophy that all teams can and should, if they do most of the right things, can and should be able to break even. At the core of the philosophy, we want all teams to be able to break even. And we will hold each other to that standard. And it’s an exciting message.

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There must be demons in the details, but Ambrosie didn’t provide any details.

How are you going to sell season tickets to community-owned Saskatchewan Roughriders fans to travel 500 kilometers to go to 10 games, knowing that they’re going to subscribe to Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors?

Since taking over the Argos, MLSE would have lost perhaps more than double the $13 million the Edmonton Elks community has in its rainy day fund.

Maybe the geniuses at Genius Sports can solve this problem?

Ambrosie continued his revenue share announcement saying, “I am now very proud to tell you that we have partnered with a company called Genius Sports. Genius is a technology, fan engagement, sports betting organization – one of the best in the world. They have relationships with 400 leagues around the world.

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“We have created a historic relationship with Genius and have effectively transformed our business assets into a standalone equity investor in our business activity.

“Genius is going to use their technology, their commitment to the fans. They’re going to bring the world with all of their proven abilities to the CFL with the Premier League, NFL and PGA and allow us to reach markets and find fans and connect with those fans and excite. in our league. We really think there is an opportunity with Genius in Toronto to find fans and reach them.

“It is not only a transformation for our league, but also for Genius, because Genius does not join us as a supplier, but joins us as a partner.

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Ambrosie said one of the things he hears is, “Why don’t you do more marketing? Well, now we’re going to do something in a marketing push we never could have imagined before.

“It’s sort of the start of a new beginning. I believe we are ready to tackle our problems and tackle the future. For us, this is the opportunity we’ve been looking for – a catalyst to drive our business in a new and positive direction. I think it’s an opportunity to do something special. It’s a great opportunity for the league to move forward. So we did not spoil the crisis.

“It’s a league that’s ready for change. This is a league willing to ask where our challenges are and what are the solutions to them. We have to look at the way Apple approaches its business and go to our fans and ask “Why? as opposed to ‘What?’ This is the start of a whole new conversation.

Sooner than later, the CFL must provide details to fans and forget “Why?” ” or what?’ and regarding both revenue sharing and Genius, explain “How?”