Chapter 18: Social Media and Marketing
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Critical Thinking Case
Lap Dance at Boston Blazers Lacrosse Game: Promoonal Mistake or Creave Genius?
The Boston Blazers is a professional indoor lacrosse team based in Boston, Massachusetts, that
began play in 2009. It is one of the ten teams in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Other
teams are Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Edmonton Rush,
Professional indoor lacrosse is in its infancy when compared with other professional sporting
events and professional sports players. Event-wise, the average number of fans at an NLL game
is 10,000, while game attendance at other professional sporting events averages anywhere from
Nationwide Media Attention
Professional sporting events have long focused on halftime entertainment as a critical aspect of
overall fan experience. Probably one of the more memorable halftime shows occurred at the
Super Bowl XXXVIII in February 2004 with the oft-referenced “wardrobe malfunction” in
Numerous fans videotaped the performance on their cell phones and posted it on YouTube.
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Chapter 18: Social Media and Marketing
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However, these videos were soon removed from YouTube citing a copyright claim by the
The Apology
The day after the game, the president and general manager of the Boston Blazers, Doug Reffue,
posted an apology on the team’s Facebook page. He said, in part:
In addition to the posted apology, Reffue offered 2,000 free tickets to the team’s next home
game. Reffue’s apology, however, did not stem the media flare over the halftime performance.
The Outcome
While some might have seen the performance as a mistake that would have an effect on fan
patronage, this was not the case. Attendance at the game the night of the lap dance performance
Sources: Rob Anderson, “In Lap-Dance Apology, Boston Blazers President Dodges
Responsibility,” Boston.com, January 19, 2011,
www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_angle/2011/01/boston_blazers.html;
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Chapter 18: Social Media and Marketing
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Open-Ended Questions
1. Do you think the performance was a well-thought-out effort to generate publicity for
the Boston Blazers?
Given the impact on attendance at the next game and the NLL commissioner’s comment
about bringing attention to lacrosse, students tend to think that the halftime performance
was a well-thought-out effort. While the team’s president and general manager offered an
2. How did viral marketing impact the Boston Blazers?
For a professional sport that rarely garners public attention and one that has struggled to
even get news coverage, viral marketing had a huge impact on both the team and the sport.
Students could be asked to search online for information about the Boston Blazers and its
halftime lap dance show. A search conducted in February of 2011 came up with over
Given the attendance numbers at the next game, viral marketing worked in favor of the
Blazers. Attendance the night of the lap dance was 8,536, and attendance the next week
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Chapter 18: Social Media and Marketing
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True/False
1. More people attended subsequent Boston Blazer games because the team had turned a
sophomoric stunt into a competitive advantage.
PTS: 1 OBJ: 18-1 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level I Knowledge
2. The viral YouTube videos of the lap-dancing incident were cleverly exploited by the
Boston Blazers.
PTS: 1 OBJ: 18-2 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level I Knowledge
3. YouTube uploads of the halftime show provided a source of feedback for the marketing
people of the Boston Blazers.
PTS: 1 OBJ: 18-2 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level I Knowledge
4. The YouTube uploads provided both product placement and reason for crisis management.
PTS: 1 OBJ: 16-5 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level I Knowledge
Multiple Choice
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Chapter 18: Social Media and Marketing
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1. When a company develops its product, it must communicate (i.e., promote) the benefit to
consumers. Does Doug Reffue’s Facebook posting (and free ticket offer) meet that
criterion?
a. No, it is simply an apology.
b
.
Yes, sex sells and there is no such thing as bad publicity.
c. No, only the team benefits and there are always free tickets set aside for
promotions.
d
.
Yes, because Reffue, even if insincere, is still promoting the team as family
entertainment.
e. No, because only the team’s gate receipts benefitted and the public was essentially
teased.
PTS: 1 OBJ: 18-2 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level II Comprehension
2. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the halftime lap dance was intended because it
looked little different from what cheerleaders choreograph anyway. What role did the
cheerleaders and mascot play in the communication process?
a. senders
b
.
encoders
c. message channel
d
.
decoders
e. receivers
PTS: 1 OBJ: 15.2 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level II Comprehension
3. If the lap dance had been intended only to titillate rather than market the Boston Blazers,
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Chapter 18: Social Media and Marketing
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what was social media’s role?
a. YouTube made it possible for an isolated event to go viral.
b
.
Facebook allowed the CEP to initiate a crisis communication strategy.
c. It provided visibility that would cost the team very little in free advertising.
d
.
Social media provided a two-way, real-time channel of communication between
the team and its fans and potential fans.
e. All of the above
PTS: 1 OBJ: 18-2, 18-1 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level II Comprehension
4. Although not intended for a wider target audience, the lap dance controversy did
accomplish the major tasks of promotion in the highly competitive Boston metro market.
Which of the following would be an exception?
a. The lap dance informed sporting event-goers that the Blazers were not a fringe
league but part of a national sport league.
b
.
The lap dance turned out to be a positive form of public relations that could be
repeated in the future despite the front office apology.
c. For those who may have seen one game, they were not reminded that they had
“missed something” by not being repeat customers.
d
.
The male demographic was persuaded to buy tickets (i.e., sex sells).
e. Any perception that lacrosse was not a hot game had been changed in the public
mind.
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO-16.3 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level II Comprehension
5. For most organizations, publicity is intended to win goodwill and manage crises. So why
did the Boston Blazers public relations people on the field allow for such risky behavior?
a. The cultural context of a halftime show has changed from marching bands to
entertainment that pushes the same boundaries other entertainment businesses do.
b The role of cheerleaders has evolved beyond dance numbers and pom-poms—they
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Chapter 18: Social Media and Marketing
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. can be bad girls along with the bad boys on the field.
c. The Duke lacrosse scandal added the cachet of sex to the sport and invites satire.
d
.
American sports reflect American society.
e. All of the above
PTS: 1 OBJ: 16-5 TOP: AACSB Ethics/Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level II Comprehension
6. The lap dance had a national audience, and it can still be found on the Internet. For the
NLL, what its affiliate team did was achieve the lowest cost per contact of any kind of
advertising. What is the most likely reason for not trying to do these kinds of shock-value
stunts more often?
a. The public would eventually be insulted.
b
.
It could open up the league to criminal investigation.
c. It would eventually harm the league’s value as family entertainment.
d
.
The CEO of the Blazers promised not to risk his organization’s reputation again.
e. It is offensive and demeaning.
PTS: 1 OBJ: 18-4 TOP: AACSB Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model Promotion MSC: BLOOMS Level II Comprehension
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.