Hockey's Cinderella story this year is none other than the Ottawa Senator's arch rival; the Montreal Canadiens. Whether you're a Habs fan or not, you can't deny that Molson Inc.'s decision to buy the Habs last year for $550 million, is proving to be a pretty smart move. With enough brand equity to make any marketer drool, the Habs are pulling in an estimated C$2 to C$3 million dollars for each and every playoff home game. And the way games? The 21,273 seat Bell Centre sold out in about four hours after the Habs announced they'd show the game on their HD scoreboard. Tickets sold for $7.50 each and they donated the funds to an organization they run.The Canadiens gravy train is a long one - they've sold out 246 consecutive regular season and playoff home games. For those keeping score, that's a sellout streak of more than five years. As for the marketing, just consider the sea of bleu, blanc and rouge sweaters. Plus, the ad revenue from the broadcasts and... the bobbleheads. Oh, how we love our Habs bobbleheads! Forgive me Dad, the Penguins always have next year...
