69 replies to this topic

[JohnnyGold]

Alright guys, a thought struck me just yesterday.

Now that Russ Brandon is acting president of the Buffalo Bills, we as fans have likely never had a greater chance to have our suggestions as fans heard (and acted upon) by the Buffalo Bills.

I can, with 100% certainty, assure you that a male in his early 40s with a background in marketing, is familiar with, and peruses message boards such as here, billszone.com, buffalorumblings.com, and the buffalobills.com message board--to get a general feel for the mood of the fans. Is Russ here every day? With a user name, defending the honor of the Bills brand? Hardly likely. But you can be sure that a man with his background is lurking--and reading our threads regarding who the next coach should be, what are our thoughts on Fitz, Gailey, etc.

The man wants to sell tickets. This is a community of people who are likely to buy Bills season tickets/renew Bills season tickets/(possibly) cancel Bills season tickets. Don't delude yourself into thinking a community of hundreds (thousands?) of dedicated, passionate, Bills fans at twobillsdrive.com can't move the needle at One Bills Drive.

So, with that being said, this thread was inspired by this idea at playstation.com:
http://share.blog.us.playstation.com/

Essentially, users post their "off the wall" ideas to improve the brand. If the post is liked (or in this case, quoted?) enough, people who can affect change start to take notice.

I think it goes without saying, then, that you should please, please, please avoid things like "draft Geno Smith," or "hire Bill Cowher." Those ideas are hardly ideas, they are business transactions that will be handled by capable minds in the Bills organization. Rather, this can be an area where Russ can truly see... does 99% of Bills nation want the endzones to be red again?

So, for starters, I would say this:

In the one game a year we wear our throwbacks, we should wear the uniforms from the 90's. It was the most successful period in the organizations post-merge history, and our current uniforms are so similar to the throwback, standing Buffalo uniforms as it is, that it makes them irrelevant. It would be amazing to see our team playing a night game, in HD, with the red helmet, royal blue tops, and white pants. Make it happen Russ!

Edited by JohnnyGold, 04 January 2013 - 08:54 PM.

[mrags]

Ill back the idea of the 90s unis as our throwbacks. They absolutely should be our 3rd jersey.

On too of that, not much else I can think of off the top of my head at the moment. I'm sure something will pop up in the future though.

Maybe, if what you say might be true, and Russ does read these message boards (which I believe is highly likely) then we could get the Mods to sticky this. Why make it hard for Russ to find it right?

Oh yeah, FIRST!

[Bullsfan]

why not go back to a red style helmet all together? To many teams currently have white. Lets go back to the red and make it easier for the QB'sto pick up visually...

[Billsfan4ever14580]

Uniforms?

How about this....

Dear Mr. Brandon,

Please find a coach that will get a quality QB and use this quality QB to be highly successful implementing a scheme that fits the QBs strength. This will result in winning games and movement of all of the inventory you could possibly imagine.

Thank you,

2013 Bills Fans

[JohnnyGold]

Billsfan4ever14580, on 04 January 2013 - 09:40 PM, said:

Uniforms?

How about this....

Dear Mr. Brandon,

Please find a coach that will get a quality QB and use this quality QB to be highly successful implementing a scheme that fits the QBs strength. This will result in winning games and movement of all of the inventory you could possibly imagine.

Thank you,

2013 Bills Fans

Mods, please delete this post ASAP. This is a perfect example of exactly what this thread SHOULDN'T be.

To the poster: I'm sure Russ is more than aware that we need a new coach (Gailey has been fired,) and a better QB. Russ himself said the Bills brand has been tarnished.

Stop living in the past, and stop ripping on the Bills. Leave that for the national media--they are plenty good at it.

Use this thread as a platform to suggest meaningful ideas that could actually gain traction within the organization.

WIFI in the stadium perhaps?

If you can't think of something to contribute, then concede that there are smarter people than you in charge of the organization, and find another thread to post in.

[mrags]

I vote for flyovers at EVERY home game. They get the crowd rockin like crazy before the ball is even kicked off.

[Billsfan4ever14580]

JohnnyGold, on 04 January 2013 - 09:45 PM, said:

Mods, please delete this post ASAP. This is a perfect example of exactly what this thread SHOULDN'T be.

To the poster: I'm sure Russ is more than aware that we need a new coach (Gailey has been fired,) and a better QB. Russ himself said the Bills brand has been tarnished.

Stop living in the past, and stop ripping on the Bills. Leave that for the national media--they are plenty good at it.

Use this thread as a platform to suggest meaningful ideas that could actually gain traction within the organization.

WIFI in the stadium perhaps?

If you can't think of something to contribute, then concede that there are smarter people than you in charge of the organization, and find another thread to post in.

hmmm....perhaps I did miss the point of your post and don't really understand why you would ask to have it deleted after 4 replys?

I didn't mean to offend you or get off topic. I am a huge fan and rarely "rip" the Bills. I am not sure why posts about uniforms, WIFI, parking flow, stadium traffic, marketing, concessions, etc would make a difference.

Win games and eveyone will show up. We all love the Bills and all of us will be there to support a winning team. Sure there are things that would improve the stadium experience but fielding a winning team will beat any other ideas. A coach that bulids a scheme around a quality QB cures all ills.

Didn't mean to offend if I did

[Marauder24]

JohnnyGold, on 04 January 2013 - 08:52 PM, said:

Alright guys, a thought struck me just yesterday.

Now that Russ Brandon is acting president of the Buffalo Bills, we as fans have likely never had a greater chance to have our suggestions as fans heard (and acted upon) by the Buffalo Bills.

I can, with 100% certainty, assure you that a male in his early 40s with a background in marketing, is familiar with, and peruses message boards such as here, billszone.com, buffalorumblings.com, and the buffalobills.com message board--to get a general feel for the mood of the fans. Is Russ here every day? With a user name, defending the honor of the Bills brand? Hardly likely. But you can be sure that a man with his background is lurking--and reading our threads regarding who the next coach should be, what are our thoughts on Fitz, Gailey, etc.

The man wants to sell tickets. This is a community of people who are likely to buy Bills season tickets/renew Bills season tickets/(possibly) cancel Bills season tickets. Don't delude yourself into thinking a community of hundreds (thousands?) of dedicated, passionate, Bills fans at twobillsdrive.com can't move the needle at One Bills Drive.

So, with that being said, this thread was inspired by this idea at playstation.com:
http://share.blog.us.playstation.com/

Essentially, users post their "off the wall" ideas to improve the brand. If the post is liked (or in this case, quoted?) enough, people who can affect change start to take notice.

I think it goes without saying, then, that you should please, please, please avoid things like "draft Geno Smith," or "hire Bill Cowher." Those ideas are hardly ideas, they are business transactions that will be handled by capable minds in the Bills organization. Rather, this can be an area where Russ can truly see... does 99% of Bills nation want the endzones to be red again?

So, for starters, I would say this:

In the one game a year we wear our throwbacks, we should wear the uniforms from the 90's. It was the most successful period in the organizations post-merge history, and our current uniforms are so similar to the throwback, standing Buffalo uniforms as it is, that it makes them irrelevant. It would be amazing to see our team playing a night game, in HD, with the red helmet, royal blue tops, and white pants. Make it happen Russ!

Hey Johnny. Been a while. Where's my $50 for the Bills not making the playoffs?

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Good thread.  The one caveat is that, from a marketing perspective, the retention of dedicated fans (such as those who would spend free time discussing the team) is a lesser concern over swaying the casual/prospective fan.

Which isn't to say it's not a concern at all.  If not Brandon himself, somebody who matters probably skims this board.

[Dr. Trooth]

If  Brandon spends any time reading these threads, he aint doing his job.  What difference does it make to him what we think?  All he needs to know is 3 (and almost 4) non sellouts... almost 50% of home games. That will get his attention quicker than any brainless thread. Trust me, Russ knows what needs to be done... and another batch of koolaid aint cutting this time.  The only question is, can he get it done?

[Billsfan4ever14580]

I think it goes without saying, then, that you should please, please, please avoid things like "draft Geno Smith," or "hire Bill Cowher." Those ideas are hardly ideas, they are business transactions that will be handled by capable minds in the Bills organization. Rather, this can be an area where Russ can truly see... does 99% of Bills nation want the endzones to be red again?

Sorry....I did misread your post. Must have skipped over this paragraph. My apolgies

[RealityCheck]

Mork calling Orsen...come in Orsen...

[DocLawless]

Yes for certain I really want to see the red end zones and red helmets back please!

[PromoTheRobot]

"Don't listen to the fans...or you'll wind up sitting with them."

- Marv Levy

[JohnnyGold]

Dr. Trooth, on 04 January 2013 - 10:00 PM, said:

If  Brandon spends any time reading these threads, he aint doing his job.  What difference does it make to him what we think?  All he needs to know is 3 (and almost 4) non sellouts... almost 50% of home games. That will get his attention quicker than any brainless thread. Trust me, Russ knows what needs to be done... and another batch of koolaid aint cutting this time.  The only question is, can he get it done?

Right.

I agree with you 100%. I think everyone who is even remotely concerned with the success of the Buffalo Bills agrees with the fact that this club needs to start winning ball games. However, with regards to that subject, there are literally 10s of thousands of threads where that can be discussed to your heart's content. I don't want to bog down this thread with a response to every single person who says that the best way to improve the bills brand is to "win ball games." We all get that.

RATHER: this is for those seemingly minor details of the Bills organization that could potentially be addressed, in a timely fashion, if those in charge read them and said "wow, that's a good idea, i had no idea such a large portion of our fanbase felt that way!"

This could theoretically, (with the mods help!) become a place where Russ could skim when he comes to this website, to see if there are any groundbreaking ideas that we, as fans, have that can contribute to the organization.

Were not the Patriots, were not the Cowboys, were the Buffalo Bills. We're small market, we're passionate, and we're connected. Let's do something about it. There's a MARKETING DIRECTOR running our football team. Our ideas will be heard. Just make them good ideas. And if you don't have a good idea, leave the space for those that do have ideas to contribute.

And with that, I'm leaving this thread to let the internet do with it what it will.

And to the guy with the Mayan temple as an avatar - im never paying you. Im a Bills fan, you think I have 50$ bucks to pay up? Double or nothing we make the palyoffs next year?

[BuffaloPride]

JohnnyGold, on 04 January 2013 - 09:45 PM, said:

Mods, please delete this post ASAP. This is a perfect example of exactly what this thread SHOULDN'T be.

To the poster: I'm sure Russ is more than aware that we need a new coach (Gailey has been fired,) and a better QB. Russ himself said the Bills brand has been tarnished.

Stop living in the past, and stop ripping on the Bills. Leave that for the national media--they are plenty good at it.

Use this thread as a platform to suggest meaningful ideas that could actually gain traction within the organization.

WIFI in the stadium perhaps?

If you can't think of something to contribute, then concede that there are smarter people than you in charge of the organization, and find another thread to post in.

That you Russ?

[Dirtbag]

PromoTheRobot, on 04 January 2013 - 10:14 PM, said:

"Don't listen to the fans...or you'll wind up sitting with them."

- Marv Levy

insightful point. nothing would upset marv more than knowing that fans were debating the colors of the endzones. dangerous stuff there.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

PromoTheRobot, on 04 January 2013 - 10:14 PM, said:

"Don't listen to the fans...or you'll wind up sitting with them."

- Marv Levy

Good advice for coaches.  Better advice for GMs.  Bad advice for Presidents and CEOs.

[Graybeard]

My pet peeve is the blackout rule.  Why is it extended all the way to Syracuse (and thus Utica because of a lack of CBS stations in central NY)?  Whether I go to a game or not has NOTHING to do with the blackout rule.  All the blackout does is make me think that the people running the franchise are out of touch and greedy.

[drinkTHEkoolaid]

As we have an outdoor stadium I think real turf would be cool