A WHL team . . . and Marketing 101

Earlier this week, the WHL brought marketing people from its teams into Calgary for meetings.
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when the various team representatives were batting around ideas . . . because one WHL team has since forwarded the following to the various media outlets in its area:
“Good afternoon,
“I just wanted to send out a quick reminder regarding requests for . . . player/staff interviews.
“If all requests could please be directed to me by either a quick call or email -- I will be happy to set it up.
“It is against our policy as an organization to be having media contacting our players personally.
“Often times a player may not think anything of giving out his number; however when our players end up at major tournaments etc it is not in their best interest to have calls coming in on their personal phones when they have very busy schedules and commitments. It is also helpful for our organization to know who is contacting the players in to keep track of the great publicity we are receiving.
“I have directed all players to decline any calls or interview requests that have not come personally through me. Of course, we always want our players accessible to the media as you all do a fantastic job of covering (our team) and showcasing our team.
“If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me directly.”
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Yes, one way a team can count on continuing to get “fantastic” coverage is to have players decline interview requests. Somehow I don’t think that is part of Marketing 101.
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I am told that the subject of the above memo wasn’t on the agenda at the marketing meetings. Rather, the folks talked about merchandising and licensing, ticket sales and marketing, social media, the potential impact on WHL teams of the 50-50 draws at the World Junior Championship and themed jersey nights.
There apparently wasn’t any chatter about phone calls from media to players or team staff members.
Hmmm, maybe there should have been!