I remarked yesterday during the buildup for the Lightning uniform unveiling that the Lightning web site did nothing to allude to the new uniform/logo unveiling. There was nothing to milk fans on (in comparison, the Washington Capitals pulled off the hype beautifully in June even if their new duds are disgusting to me). I’m assuming that’s a local mistake and not a league mistake — even though the league runs the web site now.
My gripe today is about further hype building and hype killing. $114 dollars worth of hype killing to be exact. Why is it the NFL, NBA and (arguably) MLB can offer affordable jerseys to their fans and the NHL overcharges to get their teams logos out to the masses? $114 dollars for the new Lightning dark (home) jersey? Do they believe in the product? Do they believe they will draw in new fans by offering the new product at a high price amount? Surely this is cheaper than the All-Star jerseys from Dallas last year, and this is cheaper than most CCM authentics that were on the market…
But it’s still grossly out of touch with consumers in general. Get the price down, get the product out where people can see it and you increase your brand recognition in traditional and non-traditional markets. Cater to the masses, not the die-hards…
