There's a reason companies spend billions of $'s a year on marketing! Until the NRl wake up to this fact we will continue to slide further into our little pools of interest. NRL cant do it in its own backyard, what hope of getting on the front foot in AFL territory? We get $100mill+ of contra advertising as part of the media deals, what's that going on? Why isn't the NRL linking up with KFC given we advertise the frickers so much? You can walk around Sydney or Brisbane city and not know at all that they are RL cities. Indeed last time in Sydney AFL had auskick set up in the city cbd area! Out TV and attendnaces are dropping (and don't even start to calculate them as a % of population growth because they are dropping even quicker). NRL needs to get on the front foot with significant national promotion. Playing one or two games a year in Adelaide or Perth and wallowing in the success of SOO isn't going to cut it for much longer.
And despite all the advertising, all the money poured into Brisbane and Sydney,all the ads in Maccas stores ,where people appear to be more concerned getting their fries and Big Macs in a queue,the TV ratings are shockers.
And AWFUL via the Swans has been here since 1982,been in and won grand finals and been consistently in the top group,had the assistance of a SL war and the flick and amalgamation of 5 ARL teams, had love ins with the Sydney media.
They now have a Brisbane team losing millions over years not months,a Gold Coast team with a high profile player and their attendances have dwindled,the Gnats who are at the top yet no one gives a rats, this despite their grassroots growth.The fans have maintained decent crowds but outside attendees their TV ratings are static and ordinarily static.
I repeat whilst it's good to throw huge sums(if you've got it) around in marketing ,you want results .Grassroots growth is important but it is not translating into big growth in crowds or eyes on TV sets.
And until it sinks into your head, whilst our earlier TV deals were well under the AWFUL's,the fact that code had large sums of money in the bank in addition not sucked up by any type of SL war, they had money to throw around on grassroots and Maccas whilst we didn't .
And they learnt how to lobby Governments for financial assistance for stadiums,and grassroots,somnething our earlier administrators were hopeless at.
Gallop continually ignored requests by the Storm for development funding assistance, in an area with a team fighting to get a niche.He stuffed up even in places like Wagga.
And we under Smith decided to spend millions on high priced execs who achieved little, money that could have been spent on grassroots.How much extra would we have got, from Murdoch if Smith hadn't decided to go rogue?
The code can spend more money nationally repeat nationally on grassroots from the current deal 2018 onwards,provided @ the players don't get too greedy wanting too much of the pie b)Expansion is not pushed ahead too early as that means $26m taken out of the kitty.
Yes the AFL is ahead, but that code has had steady leadership, and a press even in non heartland areas
that rarely gives them a harsh word.
That code got into GPS and Assoc schools ,the NRL could not (and apparently has tried before)because of their union ties and the old school tie mob not wanting it.That certainly helped their AWFUL's cause.
Might I further add you won't get bigger crowds with stadiums like ANZ,and on TV when your major drawing teams are not performing like Dogs,Tigers and Dragons Knights,and when your scheduling is not family friendly.That is the situation currently facing the NRL.And getting a small crowd in Perth does not help crowd averages or viewing on the box.
