Here's a nice top 10 on Mike Dee's time with the Miami Dolphins... 10. The T-Pain Fight Song...which lasts for like a whole 2 weeks 09. A stadium name right deal...that lasts only 1 year (Landshark) 08. Halftime contests asking regular Joes to do things difficult for the best athletes in the world 07. A mishandled logo change featuring active lawsuits for early leaks (and a whale tail) 06. The Orange Carpet & Club Liv 05. Celebrity minority owners 04. Gator Day...featuring Tim Tebow handing the Dolphins a loss 03. A franchise operating firmly in the red 02. Local attendance and television ratings at relative lows 01. A completely and thoroughly, almost irretrievably botched stadium upgrade public funding venture
This is a little over the top. First, the team is operating in the red because of debt incurred under Wayne Huizenga. The minority ownership is an issue thats handled on ownership level. Leaking intellectual property is a widespread problem, that results in litigation among plenty of successful companies, its by no means a sign of ineptitude. There are some legitimate issues on here; the orange carpet and LIV; Gator Day; public funding (though I'm not sure how much he was involved in the political aspect). But most of this is just piling on for the sake of making Dee look bad IMO.
Celebrity ownership is a BUSINESS venture. Of course it's done with Steve Ross' approval, but it's silly to think Mike Dee had nothing to do with it.
By the way every single one of those points is completely accurate and falls under the purview of the CEO of business operations for the Miami Dolphins. The truth hurts.
He also spearheaded an incredible business proposition for the city of Miami, which was the most important topic of his tenure..
Ownership is an ownership venture. Mike Dee has no ownership in the team, nor is he on the board of directors. He isn't deciding whether Stephen Ross puts equity into the team or sells equity.
Yes, the debt incurred by the team was done under Mike Dee's watch. No chance. The list is an incomplete picture, and a hit-piece, without a doubt.
That's absolutely silly. That's like saying a company's CEO has absolutely nothing to do with an M&A negotiation. Fail.
Here are the good things that I felt happened during Mike Dee's tenure, to be fair. 1. Overhauled website design and functionality 2. Embraced and interacted well with new media as well as fan clubs 3. The Finsiders multimedia programming 4. Jesse Agler And that's...really about it. I've been to the stadium before Mike Dee and after Mike Dee. I don't really feel like there's been an improved stadium experience for the average fan. Most of the improvements during Dee's tenure that come from the Dolphins themselves have been related to their adaptation to new media. But I'll say this, I've been to games and practices for both the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Bucs...and it's not even close. The Bucs run a MUCH tighter ship when it comes to creating fan-friendly experiences.
wow, i should play lotto tomorrow night, that was exactly what i thought would be the answer....hahahahha
Isn't that part of his responsibility? Majority of organizations still have failed to adapt. Another thing, and I'm surprised this hasn't received more attention, is that Miami will be the first team offering free, high-density, WiFi in their stadium. That is huge IMO.
hahaha, well i only watch videos on there basically and to get these to load is sometimes an adventure
Yes, which is why I credited that to him. You said my analysis was nothing more than a hit job. Well yes, it was intended to essentially be a top 10 worst things about Dee's tenure. So to be more balanced I decided to say what I really liked that he's done. But even that felt repetitive and felt like it was focused on the Finsiders and new media (including the website...which still has kinks). Another credit for being first although I expect pretty much every team will be doing that soon.
I don't think that site is an accomplishment at all. They pulled a few burning chunks of metal out of the 40 car pileup, nothing more. Media doesn't play consistently across platforms and browsers, and the iOS app is awful, too. The Dolphins site should operate more like Anandtech. Adblocking should not short-circuit videos that the user specifically requests. That's bad design.
I thought the his main job was to improve the culture and improve the relationship between the community and the team, I think he tried all he could in that dept and got the beat down..The proposition to renovate the stadium was very cool, not his fault community leaders, south Florida citizens and politicians don't get it.
Ultimately comes down to cost-benefit. Would be awesome if the site was more functional and user-friendly, but at the same time if it isn't adding to the bottom line, you'll be hard pressed to justify adding the resources. Wish more teams would take technology seriously, hopefully in the future we see that. Agreed.
Community relations is a big part of Dee's job. I have no idea how the team does in terms of youth programs though. Goes unnoticed for the most part.
This pretty much takes it for granted that A) He failed, but B) I think it might not have been totally his fault. Except that when you're an executive, you're subject to judgment based a hell of a lot more Column A than Column B.
Disagree. His responsibility is make sure the message gets out, but it does not mean he is responsible for people caring about Dolphins going to see sick kids in the hospital. Thats on society more than anything. And it shouldn't really matter either, because they shouldn't be doing this programs for fans to noticed. They should be done for the youth.
Cost isn't a factor. They contract out to a third party which changes the design and updates the app every season.
You said "goes unnoticed". That's not about caring, that's about not getting attention. If he didn't get attention focused on the positives like charity work, then that's his failure. He's a marketing guy and getting attention/noticed is the #1 job of marketing.
Nice post. Couldn't agree more with ALL of it. AD's a good egg and a smart one. There are a few things we've disagree on over the years but much more than not he is spot on. I'm also upset this comes a year late!
One of the rare times we seem to agree on anything. You're spot on here though. Only another marketing guy would realize this as fact.
Except for low attendance and tv ratings...that falls under the guise of winning on the field. That's why the attendance is low. Not because of the condition of the stadium or the heat or operating in the red or any of the things you mentioned. If they put a winning product on the field, the stadium will be filled up, despite any shortcomings it may have. And seriously, do you really think that Dee orchestrated the "Gator" day (geez, that was hard to type being a die hard gator-hater), but do you really think he orchestrated the Tebow day with the thought in mind that he would beat us ?? I mean, do you think he paid the players off or something to let down and have them come back with hardly any time on the clock?? Seriously...he can be chastised for setting it up, but not for the loss...