I'm a sports fan. A Boston sports fan. A Boston Bruins fan.
And while I didn't grow up bleeding black and gold, I most certainly do now.
As does everybody in my household.
On game days, we are a superstitious bunch. We carefully select the exact tshirt/jersey/socks that we wore the last time the Bruins won. We refrain from eating foods that were eaten during the last loss. We forbid our nanny-who has only watched the Bruins once (when they lost)-from coming near a television on game days.
But I'm not just a crazy hockey fan. I'm also a crazy marketer.
Which perhaps is why I see valuable marketing lessons in so many aspects of the Bruins' aggressive performance in the playoffs this season.
1. It's About Teamwork, Not Superstars.
This is perhaps the most striking difference between hockey in general-and the Bruins in particular-as compared with most other professional sports teams.
There's no Michael Jordan. No Tom Brady.
This isn't a sport that cultivates divas or rewards stardom (sorry, Ovetchkin). And it's not a team that puts one or two players on a pedestal at the expense of others who may have fewer "show pony" qualities but provide more "total value" to the success of the team.
Everyone matters. Everyone contributes. Period.
Marketing Takeaway:
Hire and train superstars that value teamwork over spotlight-even if they enjoy basking in it once in awhile.
2. The Underdog Can Prevail!
Vancouver entered the Stanley Cup Final as the 2:1 favorites over the Bruins after finishing the regular season with a league-best 117 points (a full 14 points ahead of the Bruins), and the knowledge that they were not only the best team during the regular season, but their Conference was markedly better than that of their opponents'.
The Boston Bruins came into the Stanley Cup Final as the undisputed Underdog.
Yet they held the Canucks to a 0-0 score until the final 18 seconds of Game 1, and let them squeak by with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2-then dominated the next two games, with a cumulative 12 points vs. Vancouver's measly 1.
Marketing Takeaway:
David can actually slay Goliath-especially online.
3. Age Doesn't Matter.
Until recently, actors, supermodels, musicians, and professional athletes could all be lumped into a category of career paths one might call "highly selective, lucrative, intense-and short-lived".
Twenty was synonymous with "rookie". Thirty was synonymous with "old". And fourty was more or less synonymous with "dead".
But the 2011 Bruins seem to have transcended this old [no pun intended] expectation, pairing newbies like Tyler Seguin (age 19) with legends like Marc Recchi (age 43), and embracing the idea that experience can and should live in harmony with youthfulness-and that in fact, the whole team is better for it.
Marketing Takeaway:
The best teams have a healthy mix of youth and experience. (Does yours?)
4. Fail Fast. Evolve Faster.
I've always loved the idea that mistakes are the very best way for people to learn.
Perhaps that's because I've made so many of them? Or perhaps it's because I've learned from so many of them?
Either way, I admire people (and hockey teams) that embrace their mistakes as a challenge to learn and evolve.
Last year in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal, for example, the Bruins let Philly climb out of a 3-0 hole-and win-becoming one of the few teams in NHL history to win a 7-game series after being down three games.
But did the Bruins let the scars of that loss haunt them when they faced Philly in this year's Conference Semifinal?
No, sir.
They used the sting of that loss as a challenge to come back and sweep the Flyers in four straight games.
Marketing Takeaway:
Never let mistakes stand in the way of your success. Make them. Embrace them. Then use them to kick some butt!
5. There Is No 'Try'.
Maybe it's just me, but I think the #1 reason why the Bruins are kicking Vancouver's butts all over the ice this week isn't because they're pissed (though that doesn't hurt), it's because they're relentless.
They're not dipping their toes into the proverbial water; they're not taking the safe route; and they're not letting up even when they're up by three (or seven!) goals.
They're going balls-out, no-tomorrow, this-is-bleepin'-it, every period and then some-and it shows.
Last year, I witnessed the Bruins "trying" to win the Stanley Cup. They'd get a big lead, then ease up on the pressure, leaving the door open for their opponents' come-back.
This year, there's no easing up. The pressure just keeps coming.
This year, the Bruins aren't trying to win.
This year, the Bruins are Gettin' It Done.
Marketing Takeaway:
Playing it safe is stupid. Go big or go home. Seriously.
Any hockey fans/marketers out there agree? Disagree?
(GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS! GO BRUINS!!!!!!!!!)