Certainly judging by the hysteria created by the big AweFuL crowd on the weekend in Sydney the papers, TV etc would have us believe this. I believe this is far from the truth, but how can TGG pull crowds like this?
It starts with marketing TGG effectively. Here are some ideas which I believe could work. The following is by no means exhaustive so please add other ideas which could be used to market RL more effectively.
1. NRL promotion seems to consist of radio ads telling fans to get to
a particular game and TV "That's my team" ads for the NRL generally
for the first month of the season. What I would like to see is TV, radio
and Newspaper ads throughout the year aimed at everyone rather than
RL fans informing them not only of the when, where and who but more
importantly for the non fan or the casual fan, why they should go to the
game eg. grudge match, fight for finals, fathers day match etc.
2. Have no more than 3 possibly 4 matches in Sydney in any one round.
Build up these matches throughout the week as games that people need
to get to. Have the coaches or captains of the teams talk candidly with
the sports reporter on the news each night (1 each night). This builds
anticipation throughout the week for these clashes.
3. Promote 1 game in Sydney each week as a "blockbuster" which is
played in a large stadium. Eg. Parramatta v Bulldogs at Telstra
stadium. Some of these matches could have a trophy attached.
Provide other incentives to go such as a 'multicultural day' etc. so that it
becomes more than a game and an actual event. For other teams
select 3 or 4 games throughout the season as "blockbusters" which in
the case of Melbourne can be played at a larger venue such as
docklands. Again these games can be hyped as events
4. Encourage sponsors to use NRL players to promote their products in
advertisements. This is already starting to happen to some extent with
Crazy Johns and the sunsilk ads with the Roosters.
5. Team up with public transport to offer discounted public transport or free
public transport if a tacket to the game is presented.
6. Turn "home" fans into fans everywhere by also offering season tickets
which provide entry to "away" matches also.
7. Play some Kangaroos games in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.
Promote them as Australia's rugby team who are still the world
champions.
Unless action in taken it is possible that TGG could lose even more ground to other sports.
It starts with marketing TGG effectively. Here are some ideas which I believe could work. The following is by no means exhaustive so please add other ideas which could be used to market RL more effectively.
1. NRL promotion seems to consist of radio ads telling fans to get to
a particular game and TV "That's my team" ads for the NRL generally
for the first month of the season. What I would like to see is TV, radio
and Newspaper ads throughout the year aimed at everyone rather than
RL fans informing them not only of the when, where and who but more
importantly for the non fan or the casual fan, why they should go to the
game eg. grudge match, fight for finals, fathers day match etc.
2. Have no more than 3 possibly 4 matches in Sydney in any one round.
Build up these matches throughout the week as games that people need
to get to. Have the coaches or captains of the teams talk candidly with
the sports reporter on the news each night (1 each night). This builds
anticipation throughout the week for these clashes.
3. Promote 1 game in Sydney each week as a "blockbuster" which is
played in a large stadium. Eg. Parramatta v Bulldogs at Telstra
stadium. Some of these matches could have a trophy attached.
Provide other incentives to go such as a 'multicultural day' etc. so that it
becomes more than a game and an actual event. For other teams
select 3 or 4 games throughout the season as "blockbusters" which in
the case of Melbourne can be played at a larger venue such as
docklands. Again these games can be hyped as events
4. Encourage sponsors to use NRL players to promote their products in
advertisements. This is already starting to happen to some extent with
Crazy Johns and the sunsilk ads with the Roosters.
5. Team up with public transport to offer discounted public transport or free
public transport if a tacket to the game is presented.
6. Turn "home" fans into fans everywhere by also offering season tickets
which provide entry to "away" matches also.
7. Play some Kangaroos games in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.
Promote them as Australia's rugby team who are still the world
champions.
Unless action in taken it is possible that TGG could lose even more ground to other sports.
