The future is in marketing

  • We had an issue with background services between march 10th and 15th or there about. This meant the payment services were not linking to automatic upgrades. If you paid for premium membership and are still seeing ads please let me know and the email you used against PayPal and I cam manually verify and upgrade your account.

jbb/james

First Grader
Premium Member
Tipping Member
I know much of what i will say has been raised before, but more than ever I am convinced that manly are shooting themselves in the foot. I James, as a fan love signs such as Nobody like us, we don't care, and guess what manly hates you too. They are hilarious. I have one of the shirts and it comes out whenever i have Non manly friends over. But these signs stem from an attitude( which I totally understand)

In order to receive , you must be prepared to give/ concede, and Manly need to concede ground while they still have a foot hold.Its time for Manly to hold up the white flag and try to set things right. If we dont change we can never expect out detractors too

While the Manly district will always produce Manly fans, probably not as many as they used too but they will, where will Manly find its next generations of fans other than the peninsula. Dads like me will try to influence there kids, as i have done but to what point

I'm in Brisbane and its fair to say Manly have spent time in Qld over the last few years, promoting the team and have managed to bring many fans from the woodwork but still what about the next generation.There are no guarantees that the families can hold these fans against the dark side

I take my son to school daily, invariably wearing a manly hat, or something, and almost daily i get booéd, or kids as young as 6 confront me and tell me they hate manly, not dislike but hate. Now , they have no idea why, other than there dad told them too, but generational hate is reserved for Manly

I applaud the clubs recent child membership but essentially id be surprised if they achieved anything other than locals, and kids brainwashed by there mums and dads. What about conversions and absolute new fans

Our recent success in my eyes has all been wasted. I think the club has done an amazing job considering, by increasing membership and support but until someone takes the bull by the horns and aims to change manly's image,and if they have i havnt seen too many examples of it, growth will always be limited to awareness more so than actual growth,

Every generation will dilute manly's fan base and Manlys approach from afar, seems to be preaching to the converted. This is my assumption only

My son who is an avid Manly fan due to my extensive brain washing technique,( available from Dr Nick for $19.95) but with every year of school, his mettle is being tested more and more and if one day he decides its better to support the titans or the broncos, rather than to continually face , ridicule, and aggressive behaviour from kids who have experienced a similar brainwash technique,my love for my son makes the decision so easy its not funny

Just wondering if down the track my love for him, and my desire to do whats best for him , may have impact on his fathers loyalty. Gee i hope not and it seems a crazy thought, but who knows

I'm honestly sick of the hate, and to say we havn't contributed to this mess or cant change is is lunacy. Maybe we could start by saying sorry to the rabbits, wests and the roosters for there stolen generations. What have we got to lose other than a few chips from our ever sagging shoulders

Feel the love, not the hate. Im tired of it all
 
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

- (the great) Leonard Cohen
 
I was booed and heckled every day as a youngster for being a Manly fan.

It only made my resolve stronger.

If your kid decides to go for the 'popular' team at school, chances are he'll switch teams every 2-3 years as teams fortunes change.

Manly fans rarely change allegiances.
 
I'm not sorry at all.

And I'm definitely not tired of any of it.

"Maybe we could start by saying sorry to the rabbits, wests and the roosters . . ."
 
Hey James you do make some good points. Living in Brisbane no doubt you cop it much more than Manly supporters living in Sydney.

I believe our image will change for the better under Toovey's guidance. Hasler was a polarising influence & his constant attacks on anything outside the Northern Beaches was wearing thin with supporters from other NRL clubs. I also hope Tooves can help Snake move on from his feud with Gallop.

Successful clubs are often hated by other club supporters who are green with envy. Unless Manly starts propping up the ladder for a number of years like Cronulla, the sympathy vote won't go our way but who would want that anyway...?

Let's face it some footy fans e.g. old Norths supporters, some Cronulla & Parra supporters etc will hate us no matter what we do!
 
Thehill said:
I was booed and heckled every day as a youngster for being a Manly fan.

It only made my resolve stronger.

If your kid decides to go for the 'popular' team at school, chances are he'll switch teams every 2-3 years as teams fortunes change.

Manly fans rarely change allegiances.


This is GOLD.

I have to presume, you spent the time to read it, missed the point entirely but still however concluded with how great you are compared to a 6yo, who hasn't change teams at all, just faces obstacles, as do all of OUR FUTURE FANS
 
Definitely top 3.

If you are in any way doubting your allegiance to Manly then you are not a True Supporter ;)
 
DVS Matt said:
worst post........ever

Since apologies have been called on this website to rectify "sins" of recruitment from Wests, Rabbits and Parramatta [have I missed someone else?] by offering an apology, I wonder how these clubs compare with us over the years regarding outside recruitment generally? Are we that bad or are some of these other clubs worse? Is this reputation of past excesses largely fictional fired by envy or genuine anger? Certainly our recruitment over recent years has been minimal...A stats freak may have more than a few sleepless nights doing all the sums to resolve these questions but our reputation, after all, is at stake...and fact may disprove prejudice. We need this ammunition, now....
 
arty said:
DVS Matt said:
worst post........ever

Since apologies have been called on this website to rectify "sins" of recruitment from Wests, Rabbits and Parramatta [have I missed someone else?] by offering an apology, I wonder how these clubs compare with us over the years regarding outside recruitment generally? Are we that bad or are some of these other clubs worse? Is this reputation of past excesses largely fictional fired by envy or genuine anger? Certainly our recruitment over recent years has been minimal...A stats freak may have more than a few sleepless nights doing all the sums to resolve these questions but our reputation, after all, is at stake...and fact may disprove prejudice. We need this ammunition, now....

Nah...stats are **** mate. ;)
 
My suggestion of apolagising to the teams we raided was a suggestion , thus the Maybe attached. As far as I can see Manly became hated because of these raids and not due to there success.While manly have had success it doesnt rank along the st georges 11 straight or the broncos, who while they have detractors are hardly presented in the same light a to which Manly are. Our success is not the main reason we are hated

Funnily ive watched these past few months how posters on this site have bitched insessently as to why manly are singled out for hate from every journalist and fan this side of the equator. Ive watched posters grab snippets from other fans forums and cry about how other fans hate us just for being us, and all i seen as a reply is anger and sarcasm and nothing of any substance. In fact all ive seen is people following the same route they curse

This little bubble we live in called silvertails at times gives us a false reality until, les, rebecca or phil sling mud at us. But do we ever ask why, is it healthy. While tribal is great in sport it doesnt satify the bean counters

When kevin rudd said sorry, was he sorry and did it do any good. It sure as hell didnt do any harm, and was howard remembered as the man that wouldnt say sorry

Essentially my post asks a valid question, who will be our fan base in 25 or 30, 50 years. Because as far as I see there are many more negatives than positives for young people to accept the sea eagles into there lives. When i started following Manly almost 40 years ago, there was no where near the resentment toward us as there is now.

Yet has our attitude changed. I understand this is difficult for some to understand, maybe im wrong, so please take the time and educate me.

What do our crowds and membership say
Brookvale oval is always blamed for poor crowds and i accept in dubious weather its a problem. I also accept corporate facilities make it less profitable but our crowds have nearly halved in 20 years. Memebership is harder to quantify as we have been giving freebies and the NRL is trying to change the culture

I just want Manly to be a brand that people want to support, sponsers want to be part of, regardless of our position . And can we honestly say they are.
 
Going to have to disagree there James those of us that live interstate are generally ridiculed yes but are staunch supporters.

Look at Collingwood arguably the most hated club in Australia but somehow manage to attract the biggest membership in all codes in Australia.
Other codes successful teams are hated as well ManU etc.
So all in all it's up to the club to cultivate and nuture these 'next gen' and future generation supporters.

arty said:
DVS Matt said:
worst post........ever

Since apologies have been called on this website to rectify "sins" of recruitment from Wests, Rabbits and Parramatta [have I missed someone else?] by offering an apology, I wonder how these clubs compare with us over the years regarding outside recruitment generally? Are we that bad or are some of these other clubs worse? Is this reputation of past excesses largely fictional fired by envy or genuine anger? Certainly our recruitment over recent years has been minimal...A stats freak may have more than a few sleepless nights doing all the sums to resolve these questions but our reputation, after all, is at stake...and fact may disprove prejudice. We need this ammunition, now....

At the moment we've got one of the highest junior retention rates in the league other then Brisbane, Dragons.

Ironically it's the club that brought out that famously stupid shirt 'Bred Not Brought' that buys a lot of NRL stars.
 
As it stands we have a unique selling point compared to any other club.

In a crowded market place, like the nrl (and sport in Australia) i could not see why you would give this up.

The challenge is how the club uses this rather than looking to change what it can not control.

Then again I stopped reading the post halfway through so i might be right off base here.....
 
All successful clubs are hated by other team supporters. All clubs with a history of 'something' are hated by other teams supporters. I think Saints and Souths and Roosters... probably wonder where they will get the next generation of supporters if it is not through the brainwashing of dedicated fathers to their children. I don't live in Brisbane so I don't understand the bitter vitriol that stems from the mouths of brainwashed babes. I do live in Castle Hill which is in the heart of Parra territory. I love being the minority over here; my kids love being a Manly supporter in this part of the world. Mind you, like their dad, they like to be different... and love knowing at least, compared to their friends, they follow a successful team. I'm sure all the kids from all the parents on this site feel the same.
As for the marketing, you can't change the minds of those that already have a strong feeling against us. However, with continual success, I believe the future of marketing our club is assured. We can market all we like, but if there is not a successful team on the paddock...well, nobody wants to choose a losing team.
I believe the marketing strength and dollars comes from waving the club's flag overseas: USA, China, Japan... even England. Most of us whom support a English football team or US baseball team may have something of their merchandise in our cupboards. Marketing success won't come from trying to extract extra bums on seats here in Oz. Our population is too small and we are not about to steal fence sitting supporters from other codes and clubs. I think this whole avenue is a wrong way of looking to the future.
With the success of the club now, this is where the Sea Eagles Inc capitalise on Dads and Mums (whom are already supporters) into giving their kids a real Manly experience. (thats another post)
But as for dollars pumping into the club - maybe reciprocal relations with a similar branded American gridiron team, if you know what I mean jellybean - it may just be the mass production of merchandise to other football loving countries. (what about a membership drive in England when the MWTS are there with Australia's most successful NRL team...?)
 
I thought of collingwood at the time. Not a big AFL fan but my understanding is they are hated but respected.Even smashing the storm by a record margin and we gained very little respect except from other coaches. They also have an annual turnover of 75 plus million, the highest of any club in australia i believe.Like the roosters they run with the heavy hitters in town. They also have enough fans to fill any stadium on the planet and DO, all of which is in direct contrast to us

My observations in life is that people like murdoch with unlimited resources and connections get to behave any way they wish, and those at the other end of the scale have to adjust. Its just an analagy.
 
jbb/james said:
I thought of collingwood at the time. Not a big AFL fan but my understanding is they are hated but respected.Even smashing the storm by a record margin and we gained very little respect except from other coaches. They also have an annual turnover of 75 plus million, the highest of any club in australia i believe.Like the roosters they run with the heavy hitters in town. They also have enough fans to fill any stadium on the planet and DO, all of which is in direct contrast to us

My observations in life is that people like murdoch with unlimited resources and connections get to behave any way they wish, and those at the other end of the scale have to adjust. Its just an analagy.

So we play it like the Oakland A's (money ball) and not try to imitate a rich team like the Yankees.
 
Like Izy said we have a unique selling point that no other club has.

"I'm a Silvertail" and being the most hated team in the NRL says it all and that's what we should be marketing to our advantage and I am not sorry for anything.

[attachment=279]
 
I Love the fact that we are hated , and we are basically hated because we are good simple as that. Also being hated makes it even more sweeter when we are doing well !!

Its always going to be the case manly are this manly are that and people will have the same opinion no matter how un true it is or brainwashed into them.
Just got to stay strong and show your true Manly colours ;) at the end of the day they cannot argue with success and passion.
 
Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
4 3 1 28 6
3 2 1 10 6
4 2 2 39 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
Back
Top Bottom