What Membership Brings To A Club

[MarkInTheStands]

Not according to this...

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ssion-to-boost-membership-20121022-281j6.html


or this...

http://www.parraeels.com.au/news-display/Weve-hit-12000-members/68296



Unless they're all dealing with different sets of membership types

Humm, wow, that is bad for last year, cools we have done better with membership this year. I guess that speaks to the power of hope. Amazing what a change of coach will deliver.

 

[TheRam]

Yes, obviously it's tied together. But so is winning some football games and not finishing with the f**king spoon :lol:.

Yes that would be helpful. :lol:

On a contribution to the bottom line membership revenue is important, sponsorship more so, ownership of assets is an ultimate goal that will reduce rental costs and make the membership and sponsorship dollar go further.

Yes to all of that, but I cite membership as the number one indicator of long term and continual success in acquiring all of the above mentioned.

Can you imagine if we Parramatta could ever have 72,688 paid up members like Collingwood did last year? The type of power and influence that that would give any club in Sydney? The freebies, or subsidized benefits from government and or private business. The bending over backwards by everyone to get involved with the juggernaut that is the Parramatta Eels? Not to mention the hype and hysteria that would sweep and engulf us all, the fans?

It's ALL about the numbers. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Politicians and business only care about the numbers. They only live and breathe for the numbers and so should we if we want to win in the big game that is the NRL. Otherwise we are just playing in the sand with the little kiddies, who eventually always end up playing with their own poo.

 

[TheRam]

Thanks mate, appreicate you stating that, I am sure you feel much better now.

Yes it does.

However, as a member at Hawthorn and that being a club that has only one peer in this country for membership, and having written the infamous report to the Board about our shortcomming in membership in 2007/8 I fail to see how I have ever dismissed membership, but indeed it is not the only plank.

Sponsorhips is great and linked to membership as memberships provides direct eyeballs for sponsors. The other thing that is important for revenue is game day, guarentted game day revenue is the best and that is what teams like Souths and the Bulldogs get and has helped them grow their membership, indeed allowing those clubs to double dip finacially with thier season tickets and the stadium fees.

Will memberships replace pokie revenue in this club? That is a hard one to see, I think even with our memberships we are still $3 million shy for NRL and another $1 Million for other Football operations.. Now the NRL's new TV deal will help that but still we would need to double our membership to get there. The only way we are going to double our memberships is to become a consistant success, so that tickets to Parramatta Stadium are hot property, and then convert all those Blue Blood memberships into STH's, that might be a fair way away.

Exactly...more paid up members and the snowball affect happens. Members, members and more members...and then all the other good things will follow.

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Yes it does.

Exactly...more paid up members and the snowball affect happens. Members, members and more members...and then all the other good things will follow.

The problem you have got then is how do you get Parramatta people to be members.

We had almost 6 thousand members in the 2009 season which was down from 8000 in the 2008 season (after just falling in the GF qualifier to a Storm side only 700,000 over the Cap).

We have gone up to 12,000 after the 2009 season and the great run. but that as I have been informed has slipped markedly.

However I suggest that we will need to perform this year to get any sort of increase.

Now the problem is the normal Parramatta fan is well not that engaged.

Example, a few years ago, my local news paper ran a section for Eels supports each week. The Eels supporter of the week would get their photo in the Paper and would answer a series of questions.

One of the questions was "How often do you attend Eels games?" Now I swear to you, there were times the answer was "I watch them when they are on Channel 9"

This speaks to the fickle nature or eels fans. They I read a comment recently that People from Drumoyne to Blacktown will be wearing Eels jumpers when they are doing well. But when they are not . . . where are our fans?

Our fan engagement has never been that good. For the longest time our Players were stand-off-ish and some could say while they appreciated their fans they weren't exposed to their fans regularly as fans at other clubs. We needed to be a winning club, regularly to get over this.

One of the main drivers in Hawthorns recent Membership drive was the president?s plan Five-2-Fifty. The Plan called for a goal in Five years won two Premierships and to get to 50K members. We got to 50 K in year 3, Just missed out on the Second premiership though, but we did get to two grand finals out of 4 finals campaigns even if we missed out on the major prize a second time. But then again you can't win a Grand final scoring only one point in a quarter of footy. But the initial Premiership drove that and the club reached its membership goal as I said in three years. So success drives memberships as well as membership driving success.

 

[emjaycee]

Yeah all good, but like ME said "how is money made anyway?"

 

[eels81236]

Forget money. Silver is where it's at.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

The Silver Slipper this Saturday. Go Charlie Boy!

 

[mickdo]

One of the questions was "How often do you attend Eels games?" Now I swear to you, there were times the answer was "I watch them when they are on Channel 9"

This speaks to the fickle nature or eels fans.

Not necessarily. We've had these discussions before, but league is a game that is better suited to viewing on TV, while AFL is the complete opposite. Not everyone can afford Foxtel either.

 

[MarkInTheStands]

Not necessarily. We've had these discussions before, but league is a game that is better suited to viewing on TV, while AFL is the complete opposite. Not everyone can afford Foxtel either.

Indeed, but it seems they can afford an Eels Jersey.

When my family and I were not doing well, yes I followed Parramatta and watched them on Television (there was no foxtel back then). I couldn't afford to go to the games, hell sometimes we were lucky to afford food. But I never called myself the Eels biggest fan.

When I started my career and I started to get paid one of the big things I did was start to go to Eels games it was my treat and at the time somewhat affordable. In 1997 when I was lucky enough to become employed full time, I managed to get a season ticket, but until that year, I never bought an Eels Jersey, and I would be damned if I would send in my photo in it to a Paper and call myself the Eels biggest fan.

Memberships is about ownership, having that feeling of being part of the team owning your part. But for mine, most Eels fans believe they own the club without the need for Memberships or coming to games. This is the big challenge for Ken Edwards and our new membership manager (poached I am told from the Bulldogs AFL team).

 

[Maroubra Eel]

Sorry I'm too poor to be a good fan.

 

[Bigfella]

Surely Casper will know???????