Photo courtesy of the Curling News

A revolutionary to curling passed away Thursday April 11.

Shorty Jenkins made ice and rocks the way they are today but did it many years ago. Swingy ice, fast ice, sharpening rocks - all of these aspects of the game we take for granted were discovered or invented by a man who knew little about ice when he started.

There will be many stories about Shorty and the stories will be told by all the Harrys he knew. He called everybody Harry because he couldn't remember names.

I had many talks with Shorty and even a drink or two. I will treasure the times we had together.

And I will always remember the times he kissed me on the forehead. Farewell my friend.

A young curler who is a marketing student sent the plea below to me.

by Andrew Denny

Please…

We can’t take it anymore.

The madness has to end at some point. Is it so much for us to ask that you may spare us? I don’t think it’s unreasonable. In fact, it’s a little cruel and especially unnerving that you continue to subject us to this.

Have you no sympathy? Have you no conscious? Because if I see that flippin’ AMJ Campbell commercial with Russ Howard one more time, my head just might explode.

Not to pick directly on AMJ Campbell, but many others are guilty of this “marketing crime” as well. I’m looking at you World Financial Group, M&M Meat Shops, Tim Hortons, Scotties and others who I may have missed. You’re all just as guilty of taking us for suckers.

Not that condoning curling sponsors is the right thing to do. Without these companies supporting the game, it would remain stagnant and would have never grown in to the popular sport that it is today. The fault lies in how the engage their target markets.

Seeing the same ads over and over again during every single curling broadcast is probably the least effective way to go about branding your company, and it’s a damned shame to see all this potential ad revenue go to waste.

In fact, when I see Jennifer Jones slide across that grocery store floor with that stupid straw broom in her hand just to go snatch up another box of Scotties facial tissues, I turn the channel while suppressing the urge to launch my remote control through my TV.

Times have changed, and for some reason, everyone who chooses to advertise in curling is still in the Stone Age of marketing practices.

In marketing, there’s a little something called “effective frequency” which in English terms, means “the amount of times you see something while still retaining its message”. This is a very popular tactic and widely used in many different facets of the marketing world. It’s entirely unavoidable, as you see it online, in print media and even through some distribution channels like third party retailers.

Thomas Smith, author of a guidebook called “Successful Advertising” is said to have coined the term and wrote a little poem about the process:

The first time people look at any given ad, they don't even see it.
The second time, they don't notice it.
The third time, they are aware that it is there.
The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they've seen it somewhere before.
The fifth time, they actually read the ad.
The sixth time they thumb their nose at it.
The seventh time, they start to get a little irritated with it.
The eighth time, they start to think, "Here's that confounded ad again."
The ninth time, they start to wonder if they're missing out on something.
The tenth time, they ask their friends and neighbors if they've tried it.
The eleventh time, they wonder how the company is paying for all these ads.
The twelfth time, they start to think that it must be a good product.
The thirteenth time, they start to feel the product has value.
The fourteenth time, they start to remember wanting a product exactly like this for a long time.
The fifteenth time, they start to yearn for it because they can't afford to buy it.
The sixteenth time, they accept the fact that they will buy it sometime in the future.
The seventeenth time, they make a note to buy the product.
The eighteenth time, they curse their poverty for not allowing them to buy this terrific product.
The nineteenth time, they count their money very carefully.
The twentieth time prospects see the ad, they buy what is offering.

Seems effective enough right? If you pound a message in to people’s brains enough, they’ll eventually listen.

As effective a strategy as this may seem, you have to note that this was written back in 1885 and Thomas Smith is long dead – and so is his theory about effective frequency.

Consumer’s today have a different approach towards purchasing and ad retention. We are more connected than ever and treat each transaction with any company like a relationship. Mutual respect between any company and its current clientele is a must and most people trust a referral from a friend more than any advertisement.

Consumers want to be engaged and unlike 20 years ago, they’re willing to show their displeasure with any company with their purchasing habits.

Companies no longer call the shots. The power is in the consumer’s hand. Welcome to 21^st century marketing, ladies and gents. Isn’t it beautiful?

Now, back to JJ and her little Scotties facial tissues plug: why did we see this commercial play during every single ad break during a curling broadcast during the 2012 Scotties? Effective frequency has something to do with it, but some marketing executives actually believe this still works.

In fact, it makes the assumption that consumers are stupid.

How difficult is it to make a series of commercials that can be played within the same frequency? Budget surely isn’t a problem because TV advertising is incredibly expensive that the additional production costs would be a fraction of the total media purchase.

Are the marketing executives who make the decision to play the same ad over and over again lazy? Well no, it’s not like they’re the ones going out and filming, directing and editing the footage.

Surely those who purchase air time and sponsor the events have an exclusivity clause, so it’s not like they have any real competition within their product category.

So why? Why do they do this to us? Why play the same ad over and over?

The simple answer is that these companies believe that we’ll buy in to it, no matter what. They still believe that consumers are cattle who can be herded with the same message being pounded in to our skulls until we remember it.

Think of it this way: Russ Howard still had hair in those AMJ Campbell commercials. Who are you fooling, really?

Frankly, I get angry at those damned commercials now and it deters me from purchasing those products. This doesn’t stop with just me either – many of my fellow curlers agree that it’s time for a change.

And who better to make change than the CCA? They’ve had a massively successful marketing communications campaign with their “Feel Like A Pro” series of commercials featuring characters like Jonny “The Hammer” Chow and Mary “Bulls Eye” Dobbins all getting their own sets. Who doesn’t love those ads?!

Not to mention the CCA continues to show their understanding of modern marketing practices with the launch of their “All Started With A Click” campaign, trying a call to action with an experiential website visit.

It’s not a difficult change to make, and yet so many commercials aired during curling events constantly make the same mistakes time and time again, unknowingly destroying the effectiveness of their messages.

It’s sad to see, but it’s not too late to make a change. We can have effective, engaging advertising during curling events that actually motivate us to purchase a sponsor’s products and support the financial side of curling during our lifetime.

So please, if any marketing exec big wigs are reading this, spare us. The change is so easy to make and you’ll be happy you did.

It’s the least you can do.

by Joe Pavia

In this case, practice made perfect.

Team Quebec took its 8-1 round-robin record through the Page 1 game and advanced to the Canadian wheelchair curling championship final, where it trounced Team B.C. 10-2 last week in Ottawa.

by Browse to Save">Winning skip Benoit Lessard attributes their championship to practising under coach Germain Tremblay.

The squad, which has been together for five years (their second joined three years ago), practise three times a week and for 3-4 hours at a time.

"We practise a lot and we practise the right things. You can practise all day, but if you don't practise the right things you just repeat your mistakes." said Lessard.

The perfection of practice was evident by the skip's last shot in the seventh end. He executed a difficult raised takeout to take a deuce.

This caused B.C. to shake. When asked about that shot, he remarked, "That's what practice will do. Our coach is a big contributor to our success."

Besides advising the team on curling, Tremblay has revolutionized their game. "Our coach is like a perfectionist. He is always tinkering with stuff. He started by lengthening our stick. Then he discovered that the head we had was not that good. So we moved to a better head and a different grip. We do lots of videos and stuff and we analyze lots."

The coach even designed a holder to put their sticks in when not in use. Their by Browse to Save">wheelchairs look like they were waiting to joust.

They won their province the last their years. Their best finish at the nationals prior to 2013 was fourth last year.

"We struggled the first few years, but we kept at it and changed a few things," Lessard said. The Magog Curling Club, where they are members, is a two-sheet club where the rink has lots of time to practise.

"We play in a regular league against able bodies and sometimes we give them a run for their money," Lessard said.

Lessard curled only once prior to an accident that landed him in a wheelchair. A friend of his suggested he try wheelchair curling and the rest is history.

Lessard's goal is to be part of the national team pool.

"I am hoping that one day I will be part of that team and represent the country," he said.

This is the first time Quebec has worn the national mantle. Carl Marquis, Sebastien Boisvert and Johanne Daly are the other team members.

YOUTH SUCCESS

The Manotick Curling Centre began a recreational, non-competitive youth league this past season. Co-ordinator Roz Kee reported that when they began "We faced 24 teens too shy to speak to one another."

When the initial season ended on March 27 with pizza and awards, the kids were talking. Comments ranged from "How can this be the last day of the season" to "I want to make sure that I get everyone's contact info so I can stay in touch through the summer." Some parents remarked "My daughter found her love of curling again." to "My son's level of confidence has been nurtured in a non-competitive arena." Good work in Manotick. The OVCA has announced it is now funding this type of approach to youth with a $5,000 allocation. Applications are due May 1.

END NOTE

The RCMP is having a free open house to try curling Sunday from 1:30-4:30 p.m. It is free.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

BY Joe Pavia

You could see it in their eyes in Edmonton. Will their eyes be the same at the Worlds?

The Brad Jacobs rink from Sault Ste. Marie competes in their first Worlds beginning this Saturday in Victoria, BC. In a conference call on Monday Jacobs talked about how the team could transfer their Brier experience to the Ford Worlds. “We want to bring the same intensity, the same will to want to win and the same focus that we had in those last 6 games of the Brier. We reached a point where we never really reached before in our curling careers where we were so focused and the will to want to win was really quite huge.”

The field the Canucks will face skews young but many have made a mark on the Tour for instance. The only squad they have played before is Niklas Edin from Sweden. “We haven’t scouted the other teams. What we are more concerned with is what the rocks are going to be doing. Your opponent is only out there to help you read the ice and help you make your shots in that sense.”

“We’ve never experienced this before.” added the 27-year old Jacobs. “This is the first time we wear the maple leaf on our backs so we are new to this.” How will they handle the pressure? Third Ryan Fry handled this question. “We try not to feel the pressure. We didn’t let the pressure mount and we didn’t let the pressure get to us at the Brier. If we let the pressure get to us… it can be detrimental. We have to focus our energy on the task at hand.”

They know that their competition want to beat Team Canada but “Our biggest opponents are ourselves all the time. You’re going to go out and try to curl 100 per cent all the time. Your opponent doesn’t much matter. We’ve always looked at it that way and we are going to look at it that way for the rest of our lives.” Jacobs observed. But this maple leaf target might be mitigated by the crowd. Their coach Tom Coulterman contrasted the women’s world to Victoria. “We’re looking forward to the fact it is in Canada where there is going to be so much more support.”

The skip summed it all up. “How we are looking at this like it’s another weekend of curling, another big event, another bonspiel. We know we got our hands full. It’s just a focus and the will to win that’s going to yield us some success at this world championship.”

Team Canada’s first game is this Saturday afternoon at 5 against China.

OCA RESULTS: Rod Matheson’s Ottawa rink made the finals of the Diversicare Grand Masters in Thornhill. The team lost to Toronto’s Art Leganchuk. In John Shea Insurance Mixed regional winners were: 1A – Chris Gardner, B – Jeff Guignard. Senior Mixed region winners were: 1A – Ian Bridger, B – Jim Marshall.

CANADIAN SENIORS: Team Ontario skipped by the Rideau’s Howard Rajala battled through a tie-breaker to make the finals against New Brunswick but came up short.

WINNERS CIRCLE: The OVCA Little Rocks Hogline Curlers Proshop championship team was determined on Sunday. The team was skipped by Andrew Kelly with Connor Stonehouse, Kyle Edmond and James Stonehouse. Travis Moulding is the coach. In OFSAA provincials Sir Winston Churchill HS and Norwell District HS won boys and girl gold respectively. Local schools won bronze – Perth District HS (girls) and Osgoode (boys).

END NOTES: Trevor Walowetz, Suzanna Swenson, John Inglis and Nicole van de Wolfshaarb scored a first end 8 ender Sunday evening.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it