From a ‘bunch of jerks’ to David Ayres’ amazing story, Hurricanes hit marketing gold
When Don Cherry called the Carolina Hurricanes a “bunch of jerks” last season, no one was offended.
It was marketing gold, pure and simple. T-shirts were quickly printed and thousands were sold by the Canes. It was the talk of the NHL. There were proud “jerks” everywhere as the Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2009 and made it to the Eastern Conference finals.
“It became a rallying cry for the fan base, the team, the whole city throughout the playoff drive and the playoffs,” Mike Forman, the Hurricanes’ vice president of marketing and brand strategy, said in a recent interview.
Cherry, colorful and outspoken, made his comments — loudly — on Hockey Night in Canada, a huge media platform. While typical Cherry bluster, his complaints about the Canes’ Storm Surge postgame celebrations went viral on social media, filled the air waves and proved to be worth every penny for the Hurricanes.
“You can’t expect something like that to happen every season,” Forman said. “After the dust settled we said that was kind of a pinch-me moment, that it could be a once-in-a-career kind of thing.”
Then, David Ayres happened.
Before the Canes’ Feb. 22 road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ayres’ story was nondescript. He was a 42-year-old kidney transplant survivor living in Toronto. He coached a youth team. He has filled in at times as a practice goalie for the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs’ AHL affiliate. And, as many have learned, he once drove a Zamboni.
Ayres serves as an emergency backup goalie at Leafs home games, saying he alternates with two former university goalies. It was his turn to stand by at Scotiabank Arena during the Canes game, available to either team if needed.
Today, he feels like he drew a winning lottery ticket. So do the Canes.
When Canes goalies James Reimer and then Petr Mrazek were injured, Ayres threw on his goalie gear and went in net. The Canes won 6-3 and Ayres’ anonymity disappeared quicker than you can say Don Cherry. Two days later, he was sitting on the NBC Today show set in Manhattan, wearing a black Canes hoodie and cap and was later assisted on his many media rounds by Pace Sagester, the team’s director of communications.
On the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Ayres was introduced by Colbert as the “Zamboni hockey hero.” He again was wearing a white Canes jersey and black cap.
“It’s tough to put a price tag to that, what that brand value is worth in terms of media exposure,” Forman said. “It was unbelievable for our brand to be in that many places.”
Hurricanes land outdoor game
Just a few weeks ago, the Hurricanes were touting — and will continue to tout — their selection to host an NHL Stadium Series outdoor game in the 2020-21 season. It’s a first for the franchise. Once an opponent is named, the marketing of the game will intensify.
“We’re excited and the league is excited,” Forman said. “If they weren’t, it wouldn’t be happening.”
Indoors, home attendance at PNC Arena has taken another uptick this season: the Canes have had 12 home sellouts of 18,680 and crowds of 18,000 or more in 17 games. The Canes are averaging 16,795 fans per home game for 2019-20, 22nd in the NHL and an increase of about 20 percent from their average of 14,007 in the first 33 home games last season.
“We said the last few years we have to do the best job we can and continue to sell our young players and create an atmosphere where people want to be here,” Canes president and general manager Don Waddell said. “But we always said what it’s going to take is success on the ice. And the good thing is, we were prepared for it.”
The ticket sales staff, Forman said, has been increased from 10 to 40 people in the past few years. His marketing staff, he said, now numbers 17.
“Once the team took off, we were ready for that takeoff,” Forman said.
There are three principles Forman and his staff emphasize in building brand identity: Fun, Regional and Bold. Be entertaining. Have a connection to the community. Be edgy, think differently, take risks, be proactive.
A lot of that comes from Tom Dundon, the Canes’ majority owner, who has proven he thinks differently than other owners. The Dallas billionaire wants everyone to keep pushing the envelope, doing more, making the brand bigger and better.
“There’s an old marketing adage that you’ve got to have the steak but you should also sell the sizzle, too,” said Jonathan Jensen, an assistant professor of sport administration at UNC. “They’ve got the steak now but they’re not shy about selling that sizzle as well, with David Ayres and the ‘bunch of jerks’ and the outdoor game. Before they didn’t have the steak or the sizzle.
“What Tom Dundon has done is empower people to do their jobs. They’ve had talented people in that organization for a long time. They have a good idea and they’re now empowered to run with it and quickly turn around good ideas. They are being edgy, they are taking chances, they are being innovative. It’s refreshing and it’s worked for them.”
Canes learning from ‘bunch of jerks’
When the Hurricanes wore Hartford Whalers jerseys in two games last season for the first time since the team’s relocation in 1997, Dundon said it wasn’t so much about honoring the franchise’s past as it was, simply, a fun idea. It was a successful and lucrative idea, with Whalers merchandise available at the team store for the first time.
The Canes again wore the Whalers jerseys this season for the Jan. 11 game against the Los Angeles Kings game at the end of a seven-game homestand — another sellout.
In years past, a home game on a Tuesday in late February against the Dallas Stars likely would have resulted in a sparse crowd. There were 18,176 fans at last week’s game, won 4-1 by the Stars.
Ayres was there, sounding the warning siren before the game, pumping up the crowd. That came after he and his wife, Sarah, sat through a run of local interviews, Ayres again telling his story.
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“They usually say the goalies are the quiet guys, right?” Ayres said. “I kind of fit that stereotype. I’m not really that outgoing but in a situation like this you learn to be, I guess.”
The Canes printed David Ayres T-shirts — No. 90 — and thousands were quickly gobbled up. Part of the proceeds from the sales benefit the National Kidney Foundation.
“We obviously had a pretty good case study from the year before and were able to do things even quicker than with ‘bunch of jerks,’” Forman said.
Especially on social media. A video of Ayres entering a jubilant Canes locker room after the victory and being sprayed by the players, and then Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour speaking to the team about it being a lasting memory, quickly was posted on Twitter. It has had 5.6 million views.
Unlike the Cherry “bunch of jerks” comments, which Forman said fell into the Canes’ laps, Ayres situation was a “huge event” and the wild aftermath captured by the team video producer, Zackary Brame, inside the locker room in Toronto.
“It just speaks to the readiness of the organization and the nimbleness to be able to jump in and move quickly,” UNC’s Jensen said.
The players get involved with promotions
Last season represented a near-complete revitalization of the franchise. Brind’Amour, in his first season as head coach, had a fast-paced, winning style of hockey. The team made it to the playoffs. The Storm Surge after the games was lively, including a visit last March from former boxing champ Evander Holyfield, who “knocked out” Jordan Martinook.
Forward Andrei Svechnikov, the No. 2 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, was one of the more exciting rookies in the league last season. He has willingly done everything the Canes have asked of him from a promotional standpoint, especially in interacting with Canes fans.
“I love doing that,” Svechnikov said last week. “The fans support us and it’s like giving your time back to them. Hopefully they enjoy it and I have fun with that. It’s good for me, for the fans, for the team. It’s good.”
“Talk about marketing gold, he’s marketing gold,” Forman said. “You can see what he is on the ice but he’s gold off the ice. He gets it. Even though he’s 19, he gets it.”
When Svechnikov became the first player in NHL history to score a lacrosse-play goal this season the Canes were prepared. “That’s so Svech” T-shirts were printed.
“We had designed the original shirt and had gotten all the approvals on proper licensing and were about to release it when he did it again, a second time,” Forman said. “We rolled ‘em out.”
The other Canes players do their part. They are involved in various community events, visiting hospitals, visiting schools. There are meet-and-greets with fans after games.
Center Sebastian Aho came in on an off-day after a five-game road trip to film the “Elf on the Shelf” Christmas video that was funny, well received -- it helped that Aho was perfectly cast as the elf.
“Every player has a few things you have to do, sometimes for charity, sometimes conversations with the fans,” Aho said. “It’s good to feel and have that connection.”
Canes College Colors promotion
On social media, the Canes have more than 440,000 followers on Twitter and 332,000 Instagram followers, and have started a TikTok account. Forman said the Canes have led the NHL in social growth and engagement.
All of that helps build the Hurricanes brand identity in an area saturated with college hoops and strong allegiances to N.C. State, North Carolina and Duke. To tie into that, the Canes have a College Colors promotion, handing out caps at select games with the Hurricanes logo and college logo.
The Canes started with State, Duke, UNC and East Carolina. There were nine schools represented in the second year of the promotion and 13 this season, including N.C. Central and N.C. A&T after receiving positive feedback from those at the historically black institutions.
“Great institutions with passionate fans,” Forman said.
The Canes now have their “own beer” — Storm Brew — in collaboration with R&D Brewing. Martinook has joined in the Storm Brew promotion, almost as a pitchman. Every game, in theory, can become a “Marty Party.”
R&D announced that for the Dallas Stars game it would donate $1 from each $5 Storm Brew sold to the National Kidney Foundation in honor of Ayres. Almost $4,000 was donated.
Forman said there’s a “very good chance” David Ayres might be back in Raleigh again. If so, rest assured the word will be passed.
Hurricanes at Flyers
When: 7 p.m., Thursday
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
Watch: NBCSN
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 5:15 AM with the headline "From a ‘bunch of jerks’ to David Ayres’ amazing story, Hurricanes hit marketing gold."
