Hunt outlines changes the Chiefs are making to get the red back in Arrowhead

[Tribal Warfare]

Chiefs owner outlines changes to get the red back in Arrowhead
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star
Clark Hunt is sitting at a small table in his enormous suite at Arrowhead Stadium, hands in his lap, his voice steady and professional. But really, he may as well be standing in front of you all, arms outstretched, his words as sweet as he’s capable of making them sound:

Hug?

The Chiefs owner is here, talking to you, emphasizing a philosophy shift in the franchise he holds so dear. Hunt wants you to expect something very different from the Chiefs you came to know in recent years. Some of what he is doing sounds very cool for fans, some of it will help the team make more money. Some of it will do both.

Hunt knows it won’t mean much if the team doesn’t win, but while the new football men he hired work on that part, it’s significant that the man who took so much heat last year — taunting banners flying over the stadium, nasty name-calling, stacks of angry letters — is extending a hand.

“Certainly the football side of the Chiefs the last four years was more guarded in how information was shared externally,” he says. “There’s still teams in the league that operate like that, but what I’ve seen in the last 12 months, attending ownership meetings and being on the digital committee, is an understanding that, hey, the model is shifting and we have to be more open.”

Hunt is doing everything he can to make sure the hiring of coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey is the end to a brutal four-year run marked by arrogance and detachment, bottoming out with a 2-14 thud last season that made Arrowhead quiet and fans wearing bags on their heads.

Hunt won’t blame the problems on anyone. He doesn’t bring up any names. But when Scott ***** was hired and given total football control four years ago, he brought a hyper-secretive and isolated style that — especially as the losses piled up — turned off many loyal fans.

But it was more than just losing that turned off many fans, so Hunt and club president Mark Donovan know that more than just winning is needed to bring them back. Consumers fans — have more power and more options than ever, so everyone lost with that old model. The Chiefs had empty seats, quiet or booing crowds, and fans who felt pushed away to prove it.

That’s not how the Chiefs became Kansas City’s passion. That’s not how they became a wildly profitable business.

Without a strong sense of connection, many fans drifted, and the Chiefs are now trying to woo them back with gifts and technology. The Chiefs were the first NFL team to use paperless tickets last year, and going forward, this is will be their vehicle of choice.

“Really, we want the experience with our fan base to be one where they’re an insider,” Hunt says. “Where they feel like an insider. Where they’re getting to see things, and hear things, and learn things that people generally don’t have an opportunity to do.”

The key to this is the season-ticketholder card the Chiefs created last year. Paperless tickets make it easier for fans to transfer seats or replace lost items. Now the club is adding a loyalty program that is part Foursquare, part frequent flier account and the first of its kind in the NFL.

The buzzword here is value. Part of winning back fans is to create more value in that card than mere admittance to the stadium. For instance, go to team events like next week’s draft party, and you’ll earn points. Show your card at various club sponsors and you’ll receive a discount. You get the idea.

Collect enough points and you can “buy” experiences that otherwise aren’t for sale, like pregame sideline passes or dinner with Reid.

The card is also important to the Chiefs, because they can gather data. Scanning those cards tells them all sorts of information — how early you arrive at the stadium, what you buy when you’re there, how often you attend club events during the week, etc.

You can look at this part in two ways. The Chiefs can use the information to maximize their profits (when and how to better staff the stadium, for instance) or to improve the efficiency of a fan’s game day experience. Both are true.

All NFL teams are working to bring fans into their stadiums instead of having them home on their couches. There are league-wide initiatives, like certain replays in the stadium that aren’t shown at home, and the Chiefs are working on other ways to enhance the stadium experience — cameras following players from their cars to the locker room, better cell phone reception, more fantasy football stats, etc.

This is all coming at a crucial time for the Chiefs. They still call Arrowhead “the loudest stadium in the NFL,” but that has been more of an outdated reminder of better times than an honest point of pride in recent years. They have fallen behind.

Again, the best way to change that is for the Chiefs to win. But fans have been disappointed by far more than losses in recent years. Heck, the Chiefs still haven’t won a playoff game since January 1994 so this isn’t a front-running fan base. Just one that wants to feel their love reciprocated.

The Chiefs think this is the way. They’re trying to replace the disconnect of the past four years with something closer to the party of the 1990s — and they’re doing it with the latest technology and a more open philosophy.

In other words, they want you back. And they’re changing to do it.

[Bugeater]

Jesus, some of you people are dense. I'm not saying that they "want" to just go .500 and sell tickets. I'm just saying that it is their ABSOLUTE FIRST ****ING PRIORITY because they will lose their jobs if they don't. I don't doubt that they all "want" to win a SB, the question is are they willing to take the risks necessary to do that? No, nobody knows for sure yet, but right now it looks like it's business as usual at One Arrowhead Drive. Given the history of the franchise, you can't blame people for their concern early on.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Jesus, some of you people are dense. I'm not saying that they "want" to just go .500 and sell tickets. I'm just saying that it is their ABSOLUTE FIRST ****ING PRIORITY because they will lose their jobs if they don't. I don't doubt that they all "want" to win a SB, the question is are they willing to take the risks necessary to do that? No, nobody knows for sure yet, but right now it looks like it's business as usual at One Arrowhead Drive. Given the history of the franchise, you can't blame people for their concern early on.

I believe Hunt's first priority is business, but I also believe he has a burning desire to win a SB.

I think that is proven by the fact that in both situations that he found himself looking for football people to run the team he has gotten the top candidates for the position.

I didn't believe Scott Pioli was the right guy then, I don't believe that Reid is the right guy now.

My concern is that the football people are the wrong people.

[Dane'sCousin]

Originally Posted by OrtonsPiercedTaint

Eric Winston with a spear vs 22 hungry man eating lions would please the crowd.

yes

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by milkman

I believe Hunt's first priority is business, but I also believe he has a burning desire to win a SB.

I think that is proven by the fact that in both situations that he found himself looking for football people to run the team he has gotten the top candidates for the position.

I didn't believe Scott ***** was the right guy then, I don't believe that Reid is the right guy now.

My concern is that the football people are the wrong people.

My first thought of having Andy Reid as our coach was thinking that Geno Smith would be the perfect fit. Now that we traded away our second pick for the wrong Smith am pretty much thinking like you that Andy Reid is the wrong hire. All I wanted and hoped for was drafting a QB with our first pick of the draft so we can start building a team for championships.

[gblowfish]

BTW: NSFW....language

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by crossbow

Given the huge price they paid for that slapdick, they are going to have to stand by this move even if it means they use a crowbar to force him on the fans. This is Grbac/Cassel all over again. You would think Clark would be smart enough to veto this idea. He has been through this before and knows it doesn't work.

I get your point, but we had to overpay to get AS because too many other teams wanted his services thus we had to drop our pants. We had no leverage because we literally had no legit NFL QB and San Fran knew this and raped us. I have no problem with that because I would expect Dorsey to do the same to any other team in desperate need. It's called how to stay on top and continually win. He was the only vet QB on the market that has shown some mid-career 'uptick potential' Reid/Dorsey could live with as a stop-gap until we get our real QBOTF. Like you I'm not digging the AS trade and what we gave up for him but the fact that Reid/Dorsey did this soooooooooo early on before the draft is a BIG TELL of what they think about the QB class coming out and the potential of taking a QB with the first pick. NOT ! But yes, I to am tired of San Fran QB's unless of course you are talking Kaep

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by milkman

My concern is that the football people are the wrong people.

You don't like the Dorsey hire either ?

[KCinNY]

Do Reid and Dorsey want to win it all? Of course.

But 8-8ish with some playoff appearances will let them keep their jobs indefinitely. That's the minimum expectation of ownership and the majority of the fanbase.

Carl got two decades and only won 3 postseason games...THREE!!!!

Not sure why I'm supposed to get excited about customer tracking cards and paperless tickets.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

My first thought of having Andy Reid as our coach was thinking that Geno Smith would be the perfect fit. Now that we traded away our second pick for the wrong Smith am pretty much thinking like you that Andy Reid is the wrong hire. All I wanted and hoped for was drafting a QB with our first pick of the draft so we can start building a team for championships.

I don't think anyone doubts that both Reid and Dorsey believe the QB is a priority, and their history shows that they will constantly bring in new QBs. So I don't think that's why people think Reid is the wrong hire. Not to mention... if they just flat out don't like the QB options, then let's see how that plays out, but they damn well better be right.

Only reason I'm not a huge fan of the Reid hire is that, like Marty, he has a way of coaching himself into losing big games. I don't doubt for a second that in a few years, Reid will have a very talented team, but worry he won't quite get past the AFC championship game.

[gblowfish]

NSFW... Language

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

I agree, he is trying to show the fans he cares.

I know everyone wants to see the W's and I do just as much as anyone. This marks my 40th year as a very loyal committed Chief fan. But he hired people for the football side of it, he decided he didn't want to be JJ (at least not to that extent).

So he is working on other things. And yes, it is a business.

Clark doing his part to fix the *****/Katrina esque ravaged Chiefs economic situation and I applaud these business moves

As Milk said like many of you we are in the minority here and don't get caught up in the bells and whistles. We just want to know when we get behind that wheel and step on that accelerator we feel and see the high performance engine that gets us to the checkered flag FIRST !!!!

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by KCinNY

Do Reid and Dorsey want to win it all? Of course.

But 8-8ish with some playoff appearances will let them keep their jobs indefinitely. That's the minimum expectation of ownership and the majority of the fanbase.

Carl got two decades and only won 3 postseason games...THREE!!!!

Not sure why I'm supposed to get excited about customer tracking cards and paperless tickets.

The last two things are huge improvements to the fan experience, so they're great moves. And it's not just a business move. It's something any team should do no matter how good your team is.

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by KCinNY

Do Reid and Dorsey want to win it all? Of course.

But 8-8ish with some playoff appearances will let them keep their jobs indefinitely. That's the minimum expectation of ownership and the majority of the fanbase.

Carl got two decades and only won 3 postseason games...THREE!!!!

Not sure why I'm supposed to get excited about customer tracking cards and paperless tickets.

Carl got 2 decades because Lamar was uninvolved and too nice to do anything about it and Carl's ego took advantage of this. Daddy dies and Carl is gone. Pioli didn't win with Cassel and both are gone. Clark observed up close with daddy what happens when you play too nice and also learned up close making his first mistake in getting caught up in the 'executive of the year' hype crap hiring Pioli. Clark is Opie Taylor gone bad with an innocent smile that truly wants to win NOW and I like it ! I like Clark and what he is trying to do and yes he is learning as well but at least he is trying to do the best for the team and fans when 'shit' doesn't go right.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

NSFW... Language

Pretty clever. Love Carlin. But we live in a different world now. Marketing isn't about pushing messages at a customer, it's about listening and delivering what they want. That's why grocery stores with loyalty cards only give you coupons for stuff you might buy, Amazon recommends books you may want to read, and google has complicated ways to get the right website at the top of your search. Advertising with gimmicks is a dying practice.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

My first thought of having Andy Reid as our coach was thinking that Geno Smith would be the perfect fit. Now that we traded away our second pick for the wrong Smith am pretty much thinking like you that Andy Reid is the wrong hire. All I wanted and hoped for was drafting a QB with our first pick of the draft so we can start building a team for championships.

You nicely summed up the ludicrous ideology that represents a lot of people on this board. Too many people had all their eggs in the Geno basket. No Geno then these guys obviously have no idea what they are doing since its a lock Geno is going to be successful in the NFL.

We have the #1 pick in arguably the worst draft in 15 years. That's not Reid or Dorsey's fault and because you can't force feed them the QB you want then they must be idiots right.

When they were hired they were genius and the right guys, they trade for Alex Smith they are now idiots who only care about 8-8.