[Elvis]

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... WU.twitter

Strauss: Rams face tall task of marketing team

3 HOURS AGO • BY JOE STRAUSS

In one fat paragraph, Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff must have used the word “buzz” a dozen times if he used it once. Rather than use the term as some fast-talking marketeer, Demoff waved the term as a concession to reality.

“We continue to evaluate every year how you better generate buzz. But in the world of social media, marketing and authenticity, you can’t force buzz. Buzz is earned,” Demoff acknowledged Friday as the Rams prepared to begin a two-day rookie orientation for 26 players in Earth City. “It’s hard to generate buzz when there’s a lot of noise going on that has nothing to do with football.”

Welcome to the summer of buzz kill, when a potential lame-duck NFL franchise realizes many will judge every business or on-field move against a backdrop of ingrained disgust.

Did the Rams spend the draft’s No. 10 pick on Georgia running back Todd Gurley because they think he is a transcendent ballcarrier?

Or was it part of some elaborate scheme by Mayflower’s Team to add glitz before it trucks off to Los Angeles?
C’mon.

Everyone knows taking an offensive lineman first would have excited the Rams’ prospective market as much as receiving a six-pack of socks for Christmas.

If the Rams surge this season, the narrative will be the franchise finally got serious in order to impress a new, more cosmopolitan, wealthier audience.

If the Rams tank, it’s part of a sinister plot hatched on some grassy knoll to make the Edward Jones Dome resemble an empty airplane hanger for NFL big wigs and a national television audience.
Oh, yes, the Rams project to have more room below the salary cap than at least 25 rivals following next season. Perfect.

Los Angeles gets the flowers. St. Louis once more gets the fertilizer.

“I think as an organization you understand the unique challenges this season has brought, both to the organization and to the fan base,” Demoff said. “The best solution as we go through the process on a daily basis has been to get to the core of what the organization should always be about — building a better football team and providing the resources to go compete in the NFC West, win the division and get to the playoffs. That’s our focus right now on the football field.

“Hopefully, over the long term, that’s what gets folks excited about coming to the Edward Jones Dome this fall. Winning offseason accolades or the best grades in the draft isn’t going to be what changes opinions this year. It’s going to be winning games on the field. We get that.”

If coach Jeff Fisher trims his mustache it’s judged within the context of possible relocation.

A summer scrimmage in Oxnard, Calif., against the Dallas Cowboys has no tangible meaning. But its symbolism incites far more than the 300 fans who would have attended camp that day.

The Rams have done much to reshape a bland offense — new offensive coordinator, a fresh quarterback, the new feature back, a renovated offensive line — but uncertainty over where the Rams will play in 2016 is a black hole from which no light can escape.

“I think this team will generate buzz in August, September and October. That’s the meaningful buzz we need,” said Demoff, returning to the fashionable B-word. “We’ve had plenty of buzz in the offseason before. It doesn’t always translate to buzz in season. I’d rather get the buzz in season and work it backwards.”

Fisher sets fans’ hair ablaze when he speaks matter-of-factly on draft day of patience and long-term thinking. Demoff underscores the franchise is committed to building extended success rather than winning the preseason by (again) overpaying for declining or brittle free agents.

Yet if the Rams were committed to sameness, why trade Sam Bradford for Nick Foles?
Meanwhile, the time for checking on West Coast rents approaches.

A significant number of Rams employees received an update last week. Reality is that many on the business side would not be asked to accompany the team west; marketing and sales positions would go to those more familiar with the new territory. Some of those offered the opportunity probably would decline to sever deep St. Louis roots.

Two prominent sales and marketing execs have accepted jobs with Green Bay and Tampa Bay since last season, moves Demoff explains as a promotion and a return to a familiar clime. But let’s be real here — selling the Rams to a cynical market is as easy as selling lighter fluid in Hades.

The Rams anticipate a season-ticket base of about 40,000 to erode by more than 10 percent. And that estimate might prove to be conservative. You want evidence of the poor renewal rate? The club put single-game tickets on sale this month rather than its traditional August date after the deadline for season-ticket renewals has passed.

It’s possible, perhaps probable, the Rams will struggle to draw 40,000 to the Sept. 13 season-opener — against the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks. They continue to advertise but might be better served marketing to Pittsburgh and Chicago, places that could travel better than Fenton and either O’Fallon in the area.
It no longer matters if Kroenke planned this relocation gambit long before he exercised his option to purchase the Rams, or whether he merely is acting in response to tone-deaf civic leadership that ran a failed bluff regarding much-needed updates to the Dome.

When Demoff uses the term “unique” to describe the situation, he’s only partly correct. It may well be for those working under the same roof. For those with memories of 1987-88 and the romanticized Gridbirds, it’s another buzz kill.

The narrative is set in cement. Critical mass on a possible move is about five months away. We’re to believe St. Louis has again been jilted, allegedly through no fault of its own. Now if politicians can only find a way to avoid a referendum on public financing.

And that’s your market, at least for one more season. There are no minds left to change.

[Hacksaw]

From the PD:

"Meanwhile, the time for checking on West Coast rents approaches.

A significant number of Rams employees received an update last week. Reality is that many on the business side would not be asked to accompany the team west; marketing and sales positions would go to those more familiar with the new territory"..........

"Two prominent sales and marketing execs have accepted jobs with Green Bay and Tampa Bay since last season, moves Demoff as promotion and a return to a familiar clime"........


This is huge.

[Elvis]

I figured it was over when Casey Phillips bailed for TB...

[Hacksaw]

I figured it was over when Casey Phillips bailed for TB...

Good call. This is one of the things I mentioned in the other thread.