The purpose of the below post is to hopefully spark fresh ideas /discussion about possible revenue raising that is realistic and within our means as a club with the most passionate fans...i believe we are missing a great opportunity with regards to the FAN DAY, which i think , if done properly would represent a major day on the Manly calendar with regards to revenue raising and possibly membership increases. Please , i welcome any comments , especially if you disagree, no hard feelings as eveyone has their own opinion and am open to differing view points ...would just like to know if i am in the minority here . ( Apologies for the length of the post, but that's what happend when you decide to stop smoking and try to use your time constructively - LOL )
1. The fan day should be held BEFORE the season starts.
2. The day should be held at Brookvale oval.
3. Memberships ( ticketed , leagues club , footy club etc ) should be made available on the day with each entity represented.
4. The club organises BBQ /food and drinks for sale at the event.
5. Players putting on skills demonstrations, training clinic for the little ones, manning the BBQ and drinks tent.
6. The Eagle Angels - doing their bit.
7. Sponsors having tents or displays on the day.
8. Have local junior league teams within the area – have their registration days at the event.
9. The “online store†– selling last year’s gear at basically ‘ break even ‘ price.
10. Invitation sent out to businesses in the area to take the opportunity to get on board for the coming season.
The 2012 fan day was held at Warringah Mall , on a Sunday , and a massive 2 hours was designated for it – between 1pm and 3 pm...in JUNE = ???...to the outsider (ie- fan not living in the area ), it seems as though this fan day was more a nuisance and something that had to be done , gotten out of the way – the shorter the better
The 2010 fan day was held at Harbord Diggers , on a Friday in February between 3.30 – 7.00. A working day – ???? again, did the club really want / expect a bumper turn out.
I’ve tried finding details of a 2011 fan day – can’t find anything..if anyone can please post details.
The points I’m trying to make are these –
1. Most people would have already exhausted their “ manly purchases moneys†before the season starts. (The fan day should be held BEFORE the season starts.)
- For those not on the north side, most likely , and sad to say , Rebel or Peter f-in Wynn would have got the jersey , beanie and flag money because he is closer and you have bought the gear in person – tried it on, made sure it fit, no BS about Reebok medium compared to Classic large or ISC sizing, and probably hit him up for a discount however small , for multiple purchases. No waiting for delivery and no paying for postage, and he gets the impulse buy also, however small.
No waiting for delivery
2. Wouldn’t it have been better that WE made the profits of any food /drinks sales at the fan days as compared to say , the food court businesses at Warringah mall in 2012 and the diggers in 2010 ? I know the club lets fans onto the ground after most home games etc, but couldn’t it be seen as an attraction to the vast majority of kids who can’t get out to the games regularly, or have never set foot onto the ground, as compared to a mega shopping centre or pub ??
It also allows for more room, and more control as to what the club is able to do on the day
3. How many times have people read threads / posts about – third party mail houses, missing caps for out of towners, vouchers to pick stuff up – confusion about memberships between the entities -footy club , leagues , ticketed , non ticketed etc, regardless of how many times Vid or others have attempted to clarify ?? The package contents seems to change every year . How about keeping it simple – you want ticketed membership –pick the amount of games fullstop.
If you want a drink bottle , lanyard and other stuff then add /buy it as an extra.
What’s wrong with having a supporters pack - team poster , team stickers, lanyard ,maybe car flag – one pack for the kids and maybe one for the oldies – that is totally separate from a ticketed membership?
4. The Eagle Angels – apart from adding to the publicity of their famous members - seriously have they added any value in the form of memberships ? No really seriously. All the female manly fans I’ve spoken to would rather pay to have the opportunity to chat to wolfman , brett stewart etc , and talk footy believe it or not ,rather than sit on the couch in “their roomâ€. Are they working to raise manly awareness /members or , is it the other way around – THEY get recognition for being attached to manly ? I can only hope they raise some corporate dollars, and they aren’t just some glorified exclusive yuppie girls club. Full marks to Wendy Harmer for at least getting out on the hill on occasion, mixing it with us mere mortals. If their purpose was to change the perception of the club to the general female supporter , in light of recent events , manly or otherwise, then they have done their job. IMO they should be sourcing /designing a member/supporter pack that once purchased entitles the member to discounts that would appeal to the fairer sex – like a discount voucher booklet valid for that year = cosmetics / homewares / fashion whatever
5. How long do the club try and flog off last year’s merchandise ? Every year we get a new range of colours , styles in the off field stuff – would it not be in everyone’s interest if it was a known thing , that the manly fan day is where you can get it even cheaper that the online store etc – same deal no waiting , no postage etc and club clears it out instead of having to store it and keep trying to flog it off for the year/s to come ?
6. A fan day at brookie - would this not be the best way to bring ALL the junior clubs together under the one umbrella by offering them the chance to come together for the day, do their registrations etc, and maybe even allocate a first grade player to each junior club for the year to assist in their presentations / fund raising etc for the year ?? Now with the NRL draw being known in advance for the first 20 round from here on – there really isn’t any excuse for the sea eagles NOT to assist the life blood of the game in our area in this small way.
Here’s a scenario –
you ask a person who they follow and they say manly = ok
you ask them when did you last attend a game at brookie ? – they say years ago
why years ago you ask ? reasons = too hard with family – too far – too expensive – no time
are you a member ? – no whats the point - i don’t go to games and they are privately owned.
So in essence this person and family is not a manly fan any more, than they are, say a tigers or panthers fan , as they make no difference to our bottom dollar – they do not contribute ANY hard earned in any form – they are in actual fact a channel nine fan or a foxtel fan, nothing more , nothing less.
Ok – here’s my point – from the fan perspective.
The club will only get 160 bucks from me with the 3 game family pass. ..AT MOST.
It’ll cost me about 15 / 20 bucks - there and back
I have eaten enough cold pies and drank enough warm beers to know – eat beforehand - even at the maccas across the road. There’s 30 bucks the club didn’t get.
I will buy some drinks at the games but that goes to the caterer doesn’t it ? so manly miss out yet again – the 600ml cokes etc must 4/5 bucks from memory = 4 family members =20 to the caterer.
So for three games – all up – costs me approx 370 , lets say 400.
NOW -back to the fan day – NOTE – fan DAY – not fan hours or half day.
Would i purchase - a sausage sandwich / pie / sausage roll / steak sandwich or hot chips , and a can of coke whilst i was there = yes (X 4 )...and if the fan day was long enough probably two lots of food and most likely more than a couple of drinks each = all profits to manly – say even 1 dollar profit on each hot food item and 60 cents on the can = 12.80 / 13 bucks profit to the club
Would i be likely to buy my 2 eight years olds, myself and the missus an ice cream or sweet of some description whilst there all day = most likey – say 1 dollar profit minimum to the club = say 4 bucks
Would i be inclined to purchase raffle tickets whilst there – for the chance to win a decent prize donated by our sponsors and to be drawn on the day = yes – all profit to club – say 10 buck worth of tickets
Would i be inclined to pay for my child to have his / her picture taken with a smiling player of their choice , and have it emailed to me = yes – say 10 bucks each
Would i be inclined to buy a “ manly show bag “ that contained manly stickers , a poster and other knick knacks – the drink bottle / lanyard etc = yes X 2 ( not sure what the profit here would be )
Would i be inclined to purchase heavily discounted manly supporter gear from the previous year , if it was there in front of me , as an impulse buy , knowing that all profits go to my club, as compared to online = yes
Would i be inclined to purchase a “ supporter t shirt “ produced by MWDRLFC , that did not have any licensed NRL , sea eagles , or ISC emblems , for the coming season year – with all the profit going to the club – ABSOLUTELY ( X 4 )
This is my pet hate , where the club get sweet nothing really, from the sale of jerseys and is in competition with major retailers selling the same item.
Why can’t we have a yearly supporter shirt , designed by a group of fans , voted on by the members etc –and all monies going to US ?? – at 20 bucks a pop – im sure we would be making 10 bucks easily on each shirt.
We need to be doing things differently, as we have the worst ground in the comp and probably the smallest membership base of any Sydney club in 2013.....the opportunity to make 90 bucks profit from me , in a single day , where my kid gets to meet his favourite player and i come home with some merchandise that i can wear , put on my car ,compares more favourably than the current game day experience at Brookie TBH - getting either sunburnt , staring into the sun , either a wet / dirty behind from sitting on the grass , queuing for the privilege of getting ripped off for warm mid strength beer and cold pies , not to mention the game time lost should have the misfortune of needing to use the toilet facilities.
These are honest opinions – not a dig at anyone – and have been posted in the hope we can maybe change the way the club views the Fan Day . I believe we are missing a great opportunity to rally the fans and add to the bottom line.
1. The fan day should be held BEFORE the season starts.
2. The day should be held at Brookvale oval.
3. Memberships ( ticketed , leagues club , footy club etc ) should be made available on the day with each entity represented.
4. The club organises BBQ /food and drinks for sale at the event.
5. Players putting on skills demonstrations, training clinic for the little ones, manning the BBQ and drinks tent.
6. The Eagle Angels - doing their bit.
7. Sponsors having tents or displays on the day.
8. Have local junior league teams within the area – have their registration days at the event.
9. The “online store†– selling last year’s gear at basically ‘ break even ‘ price.
10. Invitation sent out to businesses in the area to take the opportunity to get on board for the coming season.
The 2012 fan day was held at Warringah Mall , on a Sunday , and a massive 2 hours was designated for it – between 1pm and 3 pm...in JUNE = ???...to the outsider (ie- fan not living in the area ), it seems as though this fan day was more a nuisance and something that had to be done , gotten out of the way – the shorter the better
The 2010 fan day was held at Harbord Diggers , on a Friday in February between 3.30 – 7.00. A working day – ???? again, did the club really want / expect a bumper turn out.
I’ve tried finding details of a 2011 fan day – can’t find anything..if anyone can please post details.
The points I’m trying to make are these –
1. Most people would have already exhausted their “ manly purchases moneys†before the season starts. (The fan day should be held BEFORE the season starts.)
- For those not on the north side, most likely , and sad to say , Rebel or Peter f-in Wynn would have got the jersey , beanie and flag money because he is closer and you have bought the gear in person – tried it on, made sure it fit, no BS about Reebok medium compared to Classic large or ISC sizing, and probably hit him up for a discount however small , for multiple purchases. No waiting for delivery and no paying for postage, and he gets the impulse buy also, however small.
No waiting for delivery
2. Wouldn’t it have been better that WE made the profits of any food /drinks sales at the fan days as compared to say , the food court businesses at Warringah mall in 2012 and the diggers in 2010 ? I know the club lets fans onto the ground after most home games etc, but couldn’t it be seen as an attraction to the vast majority of kids who can’t get out to the games regularly, or have never set foot onto the ground, as compared to a mega shopping centre or pub ??
It also allows for more room, and more control as to what the club is able to do on the day
3. How many times have people read threads / posts about – third party mail houses, missing caps for out of towners, vouchers to pick stuff up – confusion about memberships between the entities -footy club , leagues , ticketed , non ticketed etc, regardless of how many times Vid or others have attempted to clarify ?? The package contents seems to change every year . How about keeping it simple – you want ticketed membership –pick the amount of games fullstop.
If you want a drink bottle , lanyard and other stuff then add /buy it as an extra.
What’s wrong with having a supporters pack - team poster , team stickers, lanyard ,maybe car flag – one pack for the kids and maybe one for the oldies – that is totally separate from a ticketed membership?
4. The Eagle Angels – apart from adding to the publicity of their famous members - seriously have they added any value in the form of memberships ? No really seriously. All the female manly fans I’ve spoken to would rather pay to have the opportunity to chat to wolfman , brett stewart etc , and talk footy believe it or not ,rather than sit on the couch in “their roomâ€. Are they working to raise manly awareness /members or , is it the other way around – THEY get recognition for being attached to manly ? I can only hope they raise some corporate dollars, and they aren’t just some glorified exclusive yuppie girls club. Full marks to Wendy Harmer for at least getting out on the hill on occasion, mixing it with us mere mortals. If their purpose was to change the perception of the club to the general female supporter , in light of recent events , manly or otherwise, then they have done their job. IMO they should be sourcing /designing a member/supporter pack that once purchased entitles the member to discounts that would appeal to the fairer sex – like a discount voucher booklet valid for that year = cosmetics / homewares / fashion whatever
5. How long do the club try and flog off last year’s merchandise ? Every year we get a new range of colours , styles in the off field stuff – would it not be in everyone’s interest if it was a known thing , that the manly fan day is where you can get it even cheaper that the online store etc – same deal no waiting , no postage etc and club clears it out instead of having to store it and keep trying to flog it off for the year/s to come ?
6. A fan day at brookie - would this not be the best way to bring ALL the junior clubs together under the one umbrella by offering them the chance to come together for the day, do their registrations etc, and maybe even allocate a first grade player to each junior club for the year to assist in their presentations / fund raising etc for the year ?? Now with the NRL draw being known in advance for the first 20 round from here on – there really isn’t any excuse for the sea eagles NOT to assist the life blood of the game in our area in this small way.
Here’s a scenario –
you ask a person who they follow and they say manly = ok
you ask them when did you last attend a game at brookie ? – they say years ago
why years ago you ask ? reasons = too hard with family – too far – too expensive – no time
are you a member ? – no whats the point - i don’t go to games and they are privately owned.
So in essence this person and family is not a manly fan any more, than they are, say a tigers or panthers fan , as they make no difference to our bottom dollar – they do not contribute ANY hard earned in any form – they are in actual fact a channel nine fan or a foxtel fan, nothing more , nothing less.
Ok – here’s my point – from the fan perspective.
The club will only get 160 bucks from me with the 3 game family pass. ..AT MOST.
It’ll cost me about 15 / 20 bucks - there and back
I have eaten enough cold pies and drank enough warm beers to know – eat beforehand - even at the maccas across the road. There’s 30 bucks the club didn’t get.
I will buy some drinks at the games but that goes to the caterer doesn’t it ? so manly miss out yet again – the 600ml cokes etc must 4/5 bucks from memory = 4 family members =20 to the caterer.
So for three games – all up – costs me approx 370 , lets say 400.
NOW -back to the fan day – NOTE – fan DAY – not fan hours or half day.
Would i purchase - a sausage sandwich / pie / sausage roll / steak sandwich or hot chips , and a can of coke whilst i was there = yes (X 4 )...and if the fan day was long enough probably two lots of food and most likely more than a couple of drinks each = all profits to manly – say even 1 dollar profit on each hot food item and 60 cents on the can = 12.80 / 13 bucks profit to the club
Would i be likely to buy my 2 eight years olds, myself and the missus an ice cream or sweet of some description whilst there all day = most likey – say 1 dollar profit minimum to the club = say 4 bucks
Would i be inclined to purchase raffle tickets whilst there – for the chance to win a decent prize donated by our sponsors and to be drawn on the day = yes – all profit to club – say 10 buck worth of tickets
Would i be inclined to pay for my child to have his / her picture taken with a smiling player of their choice , and have it emailed to me = yes – say 10 bucks each
Would i be inclined to buy a “ manly show bag “ that contained manly stickers , a poster and other knick knacks – the drink bottle / lanyard etc = yes X 2 ( not sure what the profit here would be )
Would i be inclined to purchase heavily discounted manly supporter gear from the previous year , if it was there in front of me , as an impulse buy , knowing that all profits go to my club, as compared to online = yes
Would i be inclined to purchase a “ supporter t shirt “ produced by MWDRLFC , that did not have any licensed NRL , sea eagles , or ISC emblems , for the coming season year – with all the profit going to the club – ABSOLUTELY ( X 4 )
This is my pet hate , where the club get sweet nothing really, from the sale of jerseys and is in competition with major retailers selling the same item.
Why can’t we have a yearly supporter shirt , designed by a group of fans , voted on by the members etc –and all monies going to US ?? – at 20 bucks a pop – im sure we would be making 10 bucks easily on each shirt.
We need to be doing things differently, as we have the worst ground in the comp and probably the smallest membership base of any Sydney club in 2013.....the opportunity to make 90 bucks profit from me , in a single day , where my kid gets to meet his favourite player and i come home with some merchandise that i can wear , put on my car ,compares more favourably than the current game day experience at Brookie TBH - getting either sunburnt , staring into the sun , either a wet / dirty behind from sitting on the grass , queuing for the privilege of getting ripped off for warm mid strength beer and cold pies , not to mention the game time lost should have the misfortune of needing to use the toilet facilities.
These are honest opinions – not a dig at anyone – and have been posted in the hope we can maybe change the way the club views the Fan Day . I believe we are missing a great opportunity to rally the fans and add to the bottom line.
