Marketing of memberships

[Ryan]

Fluffy, in your opinion, would you rather Manly's Leagues club look like The Harbord Diggers with that outlook, a professional restaraunt, a night club etc, or are you happy with the current arrangements?
Now, I also don't know how factual this is, but I heard our Leagues club pays significantly LESS in sponsorship than most other clubs. Being the Leagues club is as run down as it is, I would say the 12-15 days a year Manly plays at Brookie are VERY important to the place revenue wise.
I'd suggest that (and this is just me and my opinion), if a games NOT on, I'd rather frequent a more fresh, modern, accomodating type of place. Others on the other hand, would fit right in there.
Possibly those who catch that bus eh Mata?? Hehe...

 

[Corso_Pete]

Corso Pete, I am working on a daily basis with the Department of Housing. 15% of the Northern Beaches is Housing Commission. If you want I could ask my contacts for numbers of houses and addresses etc.

So where does your expertise on the subject come from?

Point taken, I am clearly not up to the mark in this debate. I certainly have no knowledge of Public Housing locations and density, anywhere let alone the Northern Beaches.

I still will stand by my point however that the "sivertail" demographic that now makes up 85% (your figures) of the Northern Beaches community may no longer be the clubs demographic in terms of being their traditional supporter base. From my brief interludes on this site it would appear that majority of forum users are from outside the Northern Beaches area as well.

 

[The Wheel]

Swans have over 30,000 members this year

I believe that Saints and Souths over in excess of 5000 members

 

[Matabele]

Here are some simple questions to answer:

1. Is Chip and Chase saying we cannot learn from how Carlton were marketing?

2. Whose marketing appears to be better? Carlton or Manly?

3. Corso Pete, is Manly the club of the working class or the elite?

 

[PJ]

ok had a look

york park is tasmania

Kardinia is in geelong - technically out of melbourne so my statement is correct however if you want to include geelong it would rank as the second highest in league which is really what the point was about.

I stand corrected- I thought Geelong would've been less than that!

 

[Matabele]

York Park is the place with the quiet siren.

 

[Chip and Chase]

I'm not saying that we can't learn from Carlton, all I was trying to say was that it's not a valid basis to argue relative success on absolute membership numbers. Of course Carlton have 30,000 members they probably achieve that every year with minimal effort. To prove your point you need to see how Carlton stack up with the rest of the AFL, or how Manly stack up with the rest of the NRL.

I agree with your points about professionalism of their (Carlton's) marketing drive and no doubt it is something Manly could look at. However the NRL needs a "cultural change" towards club membership before the situation will improve markedly. I know from a personal point of view I only became a member during their first drive, despite having being a supporter for over 25 years. But I also think that with the privatisation of the club at least now if you join you feel like you have a stake in the club, whereas the old days it was just like being a member of the local RSL as you were virtually just joining the leagues club.


I'll see if I can dig up some figures on club memberships for the NRL

 

[Matabele]

I wonder how many members we'd have if we'd won two of the last three wooden spoons, and are in contention for yet another this year?

 

[Corso_Pete]

Here are some simple questions to answer:


3. Corso Pete, is Manly the club of the working class or the elite?

You have finally caught my drift. we were the elite, maybe now our supporter base is becoming less likley to live on the Northern Beaches.

The culture of the Northern Beaches has changed in my lifetime. My parents were never wealthy but we lived at Allambie Heights which at the time was a very working class area, but a class above the Western Suburbs. Today Allambie Heights is a vastly different community. You would struggle to find any home under $700K and if you did it would more likley to be the worst home in the street.

The people that now buy homes in Allambie Heights are much more gentrified than in my times. When in Manly we now stay at Queenscliff with the mother in law. She has lived in her home for about 30 years and she is now surrounded by yuppies who have completly gutted and renovated already expensive homes. I walk along the street to the beach and I have only ever noticed 1 Manly Supporter sticker on a car parked in a driveway. Not very scientific research I know, but it is a fact.

 

[Matabele]

Regardless of where they live, I contend that the "working class man" has an inherent hatred of Manly.

So in a town like Dubbo it seems the Manly supporters are often at the higher end of the demographic spectrum. My straw poll for this hunch is a footy tipping competition with "guest tipsters" that runs in the local rag.

They identify the guest tipster's club. I have been surprised that around one in six people that have been in list are Manly supporters. Mostly they are either:

1. White collar in administrative positions.
2. Business owners.
3. Female in clerical positions.

A couple of observations:

1. I am highly surprised by the high number of Manly supporters identified week after week.
2. Given the guest tipsters require internet access and seem to be skewed towards the white collar administrative section of the town, I wonder if the proportions aren't telling us something?

Like you, this is not scientific, but the people pictured in the Dubbo Photo News week after week look somewhat different to the supporter that I saw boarding the bus in Parramatta and to what was apparently supplied to the Footy Show last Thursday as "representatives" of the Manly fan base.

 

[Chip and Chase]

It's hard info to dig up. All I could find was a couple of articles on Souths and Dragons websites, both claiming membership numbers of the order of 8000. The Souths one even claimed that their membership base was the highest in the league at around 8000, and that they are aiming for 12,000 members (better start winning a few games than boys).

So based on this info we may have a bit of a way to go, but it's not like we need to chase down 30,000 members to be on par with the rest of the NRL

 

[Fluffy]

so south have a membership base of 100%

 

[The Wheel]

the people pictured in the Dubbo Photo News week after week look somewhat different to the supporter that I saw boarding the bus in Parramatta and to what was apparently supplied to the Footy Show last Thursday as \"representatives\" of the Manly fan base.

Um I caught the football club bus to parra last year :twisted:

It gets back to point about Manly supporters is they generally don't travel to away games, so offering this bus as a members incentitive is throwing good money at a poor member service.

The number of members going on the trips is testiment to this, they would be better off applying the funds elsewhere. Most people of go on the trips would probably be willing to pay a small cost for the privilage anyway.

Persoanlly I believe they should offer a basic membership at say $40 pa with no caps etc. However the membership gets you discounts on tickets to brookie (10% to 20%) off the $22 cost.

 

[Corso_Pete]

Um I caught the football club bus to parra last year :twisted:

Can you give an unbiased opinion of the % of "silvertail" supporters that travelled on the supporter bus as opposed to the public housing tenants that now make up 15% of the northern beaches population.

Remember, I did ask for an unbiased opinion>

 

[Fluffy]

wheel falls under both catagories

 

[PJ]

York Park is the place with the quiet siren.

not anymore...they invested in not one but two new sirens and now it is ridiculously loud...lol

 

[ManlyBacker]

I was on THAT bus, sitting next to Wheel. Can't say I had a problem with anyone and it was a pretty entertaining ride with Mouse hitting the air guitar. 🙂

My friends won't part with the money for membership as they cannot see any benefit from it (they said so to me). These are all in the top demo on income and education. Bottom line is the marketing angle must offer more than a free cap and a buy-back of Max and Penn's shares.

 

[Canteen Worker]

I was on THAT bus, sitting next to Wheel. Can't say I had a problem with anyone and it was a pretty entertaining ride with Mouse hitting the air guitar. 🙂

My friends won't part with the money for membership as they cannot see any benefit from it (they said so to me). These are all in the top demo on income and education. Bottom line is the marketing angle must offer more than a free cap and a buy-back of Max and Penn's shares.

That is the key!!!

The supporter demographic of most clubs is pretty mixed. League was originally the game of the Working Classes (if ever there was such a thing in Aust). Any marketing has to appeal to a wide demographic but I do take the point that our club seems to listen to and pander to a small group of current supporters rather than work to reach those outside the close knit group!!!


an example of this is the Footy show last week. Obviously they were there at the behest of the Manly club - a few of my intelligent Year 10 and 12 students asked me if all Manly supporters were like those sitting in the front row. I don't know any personally (though I have met Greg - who seems a nice guy and not the person in question) and the kids thought a few of the Manly supporters looked like escapees from the local funny farm) They may be great people and it is kids I am quoting (apologies if this seems harsh) but the perception stands.

 

[The Wheel]

[quote author=The Wheel]

Um I caught the football club bus to parra last year :twisted:

Can you give an unbiased opinion of the % of "silvertail" supporters that travelled on the supporter bus as opposed to the public housing tenants that now make up 15% of the northern beaches population.

Remember, I did ask for an unbiased opinion>
[/quote]

Not sure whether I can be unbiased, the sample was skewed, you see there were not too many rockers on the bus 😉 8D - Sen Kerry Sibraa, Tom Keneally were on the bus so I would say they would be fairly well off/educated type who reside in the North Shore/beaches.

The rest were OK I suppose, seemed like a good punch, singing Eagle Rock all the way home after a heavy loss. :roll:

Fluffy - I am born and bred on the Northern Beaches and proudly so, I also believe I fit our demographic quite well.

However after about 6 beers you would think I grew up at Macquarie Fields :lol:

 

[Guest]

[quote author=Corso_Pete]
[quote author=The Wheel]

Um I caught the football club bus to parra last year :twisted:

Can you give an unbiased opinion of the % of "silvertail" supporters that travelled on the supporter bus as opposed to the public housing tenants that now make up 15% of the northern beaches population.

Remember, I did ask for an unbiased opinion>
[/quote]

Not sure whether I can be unbiased, the sample was skewed, you see there were not too many rockers on the bus 😉 8D - Sen Kerry Sibraa, Tom Keneally were on the bus so I would say they would be fairly well off/educated type who reside in the North Shore/beaches.

The rest were OK I suppose, seemed like a good punch, singing Eagle Rock all the way home after a heavy loss. :roll:

Fluffy - I am born and bred on the Northern Beaches and proudly so, I also believe I fit our demographic quite well.

However after about 6 beers you would think I grew up at Macquarie Fields :lol:

[/quote]

Gee wheel we always thought that you were born in macquarie fields and moved to the beaches when you were young. Thanks for setting us straight on that one after all these years.

It also used to be 18 beers 20 years ago but you must be getting older now.