Claimed:Brand Building

[8Ovechkin8 262]

Alright so I'm majoring in a science and haven't written anything in almost two years so be gentle boys.

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VICTORY HOCKEY LEAGUE: A Brand Waiting to be Built.

Recruitment has been an ongoing topic in this league. Steadily over the last ten seasons, the VHL has seen recruiting flourish. This stability is something that is rarely seen in online communities today. The league could easily stay at the current pace and last for upwards of five to eight more years. Most online communities would be satisfied with this success, but has the VHL reached it's potential yet? Staying alive is the goal among all online communities, but after multiple years of growth and no signs of breaking, does the VHL have the base to build its own brand?

There are many ways for an ordinary company to build a brand and establish a name within a niche. Our niche, being an online interactive community, is something that has never been intruded by big name companies and isn't something which is seen as existent to the common general internet browser. How do we change this? How do we make the VHL into something bigger than just "an online game". Here are some idea's I am throwing out for discussion.


Branding Through Youtube

Youtube is huge in today's online world, and it has come to a point where Youtube is able to pay some it's users. My idea consists of building a channel primarily making NHL hype/highlight videos. We've all seen the CBC playoff videos, and how they captivate the audience and build a story within two minutes. Having a channel based off something similar, consisting of videos made by our members, may lead to something bigger. If we get to a point where we can become a well known name in highlight "mash-ups", we could potentially get a source of income through ads. Something we would have to be careful with is the integration of our site with the channel. In my opinion, the best option is to gain the trust of our Youtube following, and integrate our name once we have gained a reputation. With this we will be able to avoid potential new members avoiding us, due to the channel being affiliated with an external unknown source. Getting to a benchmark of 5,000-10,000 subscribers and then introducing the VHL, would be an ideal way to go about things. Even if 5% of our subscribers decide to look at the site, that's 250-500 potential new members.

Questions we'll have to address:
What Youtube's requirements for ad placement?
How much is the pay being received able to cover in terms of VHL costs?
How strict is the NHL with footage of their games, and are we crossing the line by making some sort of income off their footage?


Integrating a Hockey based news/opinion Site to the League

This idea is a little far fetched, but diffidently worth looking into. Having something similar to Bleacher Report, but being hockey based, if done correctly would do wonders for the league. Hypothetically we call this site, "Victory Hockey Report". The site could include team based articles, scores, game analysis, etc. For this to work it would require a substantial amount of help with in our community. For one, the writers on this site would have to be consistent with their writing, and be willing to work without pay for the foreseen future. Only when we gain a name, through means of social media, will we integrate the VHL into this site. After the brand is built, we can place ads for the VHL on the site. With a steady following and a name associated with some sort of creditability, simply saying, "Join the VHL today", will have more power than it ever has. The site over time can bring in income, and eventually give people paying part time jobs.


Questions we'll have to address:
Could the cost of making the site be too much to take the risk?
Will something like this, after coming successful, eventually drive the league to extinction due to the amount of time needed to be invested into it?
Once again on the assumption of being successful; are too many members a bad thing?


These are just potential ideas, which we could find benefit out of as a community. Both ideas run on the general notion of building credibility and integrating the VHL through it, because lets face it, a Youtube channel or sports news site, is more appealing than an online simulation league. A simulation league in a way is an "aquired taste"; something that people need to grow accustom to before fully integrating themselves into it. Feel free to add, subtract, rip, sh*t on or love any of the ideas. In the next edition, whenever that may be, I will address a couple more ideas that I have. Thanks for reading.

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Edited May 31, 2014 by 8Ovechkin8

[diamond_ace 3,112]

You know where to turn for writing

[sterling 1,997]

Perhaps we could just market the mags more with their own site

[Devise 4,475]

Perhaps we could just market the mags more with their own site

 

What if we just replaced the mag with this idea? I still love the Magazine but from a conceptual standpoint it's outdated. Magazines aren't really a big thing anymore, so much info and data is consumed online. Why not take all the writers and team from the Mag and charge them with providing weekly content for a Bleacher Report style website. If STZ wants he can beef up his staff. Then we can get some GFX guys to help make some good art/graphics for the site, and have spots for every article to go. This would also allow the people on the mag to publish their stuff on different days, ensuring content flows through the thing more regularly. A lot of the people who write the mag get their stuff done early, but nobody see's it until the mag is published. This would prevent that. You could even throw audio/video podcasts on said site if we wanted to try to scrounge up an official one at some point. 

 

Tons of freedom for expansion and I feel it's just a natural evolution of the mag concept. 

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Content: 3/3

794 words. Great Media Spot here. You had good ideas, but not only that, you backed up your theories with substantial methods, as well as potential risks and questions that would arise from said concepts. I love these types of Media Spots and I thought you did an excellent job with this.

Grammar: 1.5/2

A few things to watch out for. Stick to science..jk

 

game". = game."

Youtube = YouTube x4

some it's users. = some of it's users.

well known = well-known

VHL, would = VHL would

What Youtube's = What is YouTube's

with in = within

lets = let's

or sports = or a sports

aquired = acquired

Appearance: 1/1

Well-done.

Overall: 5.5/6

[Will 4,660]

Content: 3/3

A lot of interesting ideas in here. Obviously it would take a lot of work from a lot of dedicated guys, but definitely think you (and the rest of the recruitment team) have been coming up with some really good stuff to keep the league going strong, as well as getting stronger.

Grammar: 1.5/2

Just found one more:

 

diffidently  = definitely

Appearance: 1/1

Looks good. Except Pierre. Fuck Pierre.

Overall: 5.5/6

FINAL: 6/6

[Kesler 1,514]

Claimed