Ok people let's take stock for a minute.

[Pendle Red]

Most things come at a cost and in times of fiscal tightening that becomes even harder Mark I fully understand that but for all the good the Club does without some kind of marketing, initiatives and budget to achieve things it will as has proved be difficult to grow the support.

That can only be proved by trying some of the things suggested throughout most of the posts on this thread, how do you measure it simply by numbers through the gate.

Not everything also has to cost anything either but If we don't try we also don't know?

Sometimes you also have to break a cycle

[Mr T]

Neil,
At your next meeting please ask what has been tried; marketing, lower prices, free admission, lamp post flyers; I do think we've done most of it on a "one off". However do we re-visit??


What we've missed is the information to get future info out there plus we've been unlucky so many times with the damn weather!! Best example Torquay

[smobile]

Choose a game, with minimal away support expected so as not to lose away fans revenue, on an awkward weekend for attracting a crowd and make it free. I would suggest the Plymouth game the Saturday before Christmas and sell it as "to the people of hyndburn, merry Christmas from Accrington Stanley.

[mab]

Originally Posted by smobile

Choose a game, with minimal away support expected so as not to lose away fans revenue, on an awkward weekend for attracting a crowd and make it free. I would suggest the Plymouth game the Saturday before Christmas and sell it as "to the people of hyndburn, merry Christmas from Accrington Stanley.

Would that be the wkend your up smobile

[mab]

MrT your in the know,which part of the ground has seen the biggest decline in home support?

[maccawozzagod]

Originally Posted by Mr T

marketing, lower prices, free admission, lamp post flyers; I do think we've done most of it on a "one off". However do we re-visit?

therein lies the problem Mark (IMHO) Everything that has been done has been done on its own, there hasn't been anything done to back it up.

There needs to be a concerted effort made by all to push a particular campaign. Let the club agree the numbers and the fans will provide the manpower.

as a for example;

January sees Chesterfield on New Years Day and Dagenham and Wimbledon a week and three weeks later. The first would likely be a decent gate, bank holiday extras and prob 6-800 from Chesterfield, the other two wont bring 200 between them, its cold, dark and wet and folks have got post Christmas blues (and empty wallets) - this is the ideal time for any promotions.

• three games for £20
• free match ticket with every shirt sold (christmas presents?)
• bundles of tickets given as presents to local causes such as Maundy or old folks/childrens homes etc
• 11 home games left so half season ticket push
• january £5 a game (for everyone)
• £30 family ticket inc vouchers for butty vans
• get the newspaper and radio competitions rolling again

etc etc, just some ideas for a start off, but its got to be backed in every possible outlet, posters for shops, newspapers, websites, radio push, main road hoardings, double decker bus sponsored, trailer thing parked up somewhere.

Whilst all this is going on get the jelly tot smugglers pole dancing again, and get the fans out and about handing leaflets out.

Car stickers are a wonderfully cheap (relative) and VIRTUALLY PERMANENT source of advertising. Players, Officials and fans can picket EVERY supermarket in the borough handing them out to every trolley that leaves. Kids will put a building society sticker on their bedroom window just cos it sticks! If we could hand out a thousand car stickers that starts to ignite a massive subliminal message to the people of the area

A campaign has to be just that. Not a one off for a game that suddenly becomes big, it has to be part of an overall strategy. For my mind its either a christmas/new year push that might hopefully be impacted by a play off push or a january gazebo signing (we can't afford a 'marquee' signing) OR it needs to be a pre-season push with massive efforts made on season ticket sales and hyping the pre-season trash talk

If the club gives the nod to any sort of campaign then I'm sure that the OSC could co-ordinate a posse of fans to help with the push. Anything else such as gold bond agents and whatnot can be tacked on the back of a successful promotion

[smobile]

Originally Posted by mab

Would that be the wkend your up smobile

Mark, you are too cynical. Too close to Christmas for me. Will probably be up for Burton away or Wycombe at home.

[maccawozzagod]

Originally Posted by maccawozzagod

January sees Chesterfield on New Years Day and Dagenham and Wimbledon a week and three weeks later.

Rovers clash with the New Years Day and 19th matches with Forest and Charlton
There is no clash for the 5th
Burnley clash with nowt

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by maccawozzagod

[*]bundles of tickets given as presents to local causes such as Maundy

Originally Posted by maccawozzagod

Rovers clash with the New Years Day and 19th matches with Forest and Charlton
There is no clash for the 5th
Burnley clash with nowt

I think the club will be hoping the Dagenham game will be off because Stanley have another game. The reason there is no clash is because it's 3rd Rd Fa Cup

[maccawozzagod]

just found some data on the Football League website regarding average number of fans to visit each ground each season

the number of visitors to the Crown each season since 2007/08 are; 388, 287, 398, 344 and 404.
Leaving the Conference figures alone I'll put the home fan numbers in red against the League totals

2003/04 = 1792
2004/05 = 1537
2005/06 = 1894
Conference average = 1741

2006/07 = 2261
2007/08 = 1633 (1245)
2008/09 = 1424 (1137)
2009/10 = 1976 (1578) (play-offs til 8 games to go but includes all the begging bowl games)
2010/11 = 1859 (1515) (play-off season)
2011/12 = 1784 (1380) (1207 up to coley leaving and we were 1 point from play-offs)
League average 1822 (1371 home fans last 5 years only)

[cashman]

Well unless i'm reading that wrong, we had higher % fans since Coley left?

[maccawozzagod]

true Cashy, but those home games included in the post coley era included such teams as Plymouth, Rotherham, Shrewsbury and Port Vale - all of whom would have brought significantly more than the average given of 404 (didnt Shrews bring 1800?)

I wouldn't read too much into that tbh

[cashman]

Originally Posted by maccawozzagod

true Cashy, but those home games included in the post coley era included such teams as Plymouth, Rotherham, Shrewsbury and Port Vale - all of whom would have brought significantly more than the average given of 404 (didnt Shrews bring 1800?)

I wouldn't read too much into that tbh

Oh i will read much into it, I prefer the football we are playing now.

[fc:stanley]

Maccas essay is absolute bang on.

Mark I'm sick and tired in hearing of cost effective. What happened to this wealthy board we now have? We need to invest money in advertising to make the club bigger and more supported! The people on the board need to put there hands in their pocket and invest in the club and advertising in Accrington is not the most expensive!

Get a massive sign down Accrington town centre saying what games on next home and away and the price of the home game!

It's not rocket in all honesty! I say get Macca as commercial officer in all honesty!!!

[baldy]

If we have a good relationship with council and police like we keep hearing surely they will want to help us to do well, Get a board up on Broadway, Get someone to sponser it an itl surely pay for itself?

Maccas spot on as always...a free ticket with ever shop purchase over x amount of money gets a free ticket. If the stadium hold 5000 and we are gettin less than 2000 why not hand out 1000 free tickets to a game thats going to be a low attendance?...Better atmosphere, more beer sales etc which could end up with a few more season tickets being sold!!