2015 Membership Thread - Can we get 35,000

[the dog's kennel]

The membership numbers have really plateaued - even in comparison to previous years. Next week we could easily be overtaken by 2010 and 2014 as well. The pre-season games can't come quick enough.

 

[DognBones]

The membership numbers have really plateaued - even in comparison to previous years. Next week we could easily be overtaken by 2010 and 2014 as well. The pre-season games can't come quick enough.

This is why, unlike many other teams, we do not have the luxury of fielding inexperienced teams during the NAB Challenge. We will need a strong showing to revitalise our profile and to provide hope for those who are less committed than the contributors to this forum.

 

[GreatSouthWest]

Good luck to Mr Reeves or whoever the new CEO will be. Many have tried, all have failed. I'm out of ideas. 4 dollars a week give or take ffs. If we had the mob mentality of the pies or tigers supporters we'd likely be out of financial burden, but our non-member 'supporters' only think individually, lacing the burden on the few.

 

[Mattdougie]

We simply have to be honest we don't have a large membership base whether it be loyal or band wagoners. People talk about 40k members well they simply don't exist.

I know people get annoyed at me for continuing to harp on this but we followed a very successful coach with media savey with a spud with the personality of a post. We had rising membership then we gave the reigns to the wrong bloke who did more damage than good.

We as a club need a coach that wins AND someone that can sell the club in the media at every chance. Ie Eade Wallace

Now Bev wants to hope he wins games coz he isn't exactly a Media guy.

In the last 3 years the club has given very few reasons to go and buy a membership and like it or not many of OUR supporters need a reason. We were not winning and were God awful to watch most weeks. Ivan honestly say for the first time I didn't mind if I missed watching a game. That's the reality

And this year we lost Griff and Cooney and most people think we will really struggle.

Our membership department is poor at best. They don't call members that don't resign they just send impersonal texts or emails. I cancelled my memberships the day Griff left and told the club the minute Macca goes I would reinstate them, did they call me when he went?? No I had to call them and that's 6 memberships.

When u add it up in the plain unbiased light of day we had a piss poor product being sold poorly by amateurs that didn't really seem to care.

I love my club and I hate where we are but the only people we can blame is the club and until they change I fear we will never ever win a flag

 

[skooshtamart]

Marketing gimmicks are short lived, Continued freakish acts on field drives a crowd. Let the forwards create something from nothing. Give Stringer and Bonts a licence to thrill. "The Dynamic DUOgs". The big bloke only needs to take 1 strong pack mark a game, that will do me for now.

 

[candymanwb]

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2015-02-14/the-membership-race

Well this is depressing...

 

[dogwatch]

The membership numbers have really plateaued - even in comparison to previous years. Next week we could easily be overtaken by 2010 and 2014 as well. The pre-season games can't come quick enough.

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2015-02-14/the-membership-race

Well this is depressing...

This is about what we should expect from a club that did its best to self destruct in the 2nd half of 2014. We can only regain credibility and the trust of fans one step at a time. We need stability first, results second and exciting football third. We probably need to resign ourselves to the membership wooden spoon for 2015 (in Victoria) and just hope we can build on momentum and stability in 2016 and beyond.

 

[Hrovat24]

Good luck to Mr Reeves or whoever the new CEO will be. Many have tried, all have failed. I'm out of ideas. 4 dollars a week give or take ffs. If we had the mob mentality of the pies or tigers supporters we'd likely be out of financial burden, but our non-member 'supporters' only think individually, lacing the burden on the few.

People don't have to buy memberships if they don't want to

 

[candymanwb]

People don't have to buy memberships if they don't want to

How do we make them 'Want to' buy a membership though?
We've tried selling hope, the future and big name players but none of those seem to have worked...
Ultimately only success will bring in memberships.

 

[dogwatch]

How do we make them 'Want to' buy a membership though?
We've tried selling hope, the future and big name players but none of those seem to have worked...
Ultimately only success will bring in memberships.

It's like in politics - disunity is death. We shouldn't expect people to want to even support the club, let alone join if three first round draft picks (including a brownlow medallist and a captain) are turfed out or want to go elsewhere, anywhere but VUWO. When you chuck out the senior coach and the CEO too it's not an attractive proposition.

 

[Beasley]

The lack of positive media stories up until the past week would have contributed to the poor memberships numbers.

Our media/pr people must have been asleep on the job. No wonder the CEO has been moved on.

The outside world would not have known our club went to the Sunshine Coast for a training camp ........ however we are very much aware of the summer training camps of many other clubs.

 

[Dogs till i die]

We simply have to be honest we don't have a large membership base whether it be loyal or band wagoners. People talk about 40k members well they simply don't exist.

I know people get annoyed at me for continuing to harp on this but we followed a very successful coach with media savey with a spud with the personality of a post. We had rising membership then we gave the reigns to the wrong bloke who did more damage than good.

We as a club need a coach that wins AND someone that can sell the club in the media at every chance. Ie Eade Wallace

Now Bev wants to hope he wins games coz he isn't exactly a Media guy.

In the last 3 years the club has given very few reasons to go and buy a membership and like it or not many of OUR supporters need a reason. We were not winning and were God awful to watch most weeks. Ivan honestly say for the first time I didn't mind if I missed watching a game. That's the reality

And this year we lost Griff and Cooney and most people think we will really struggle.

Our membership department is poor at best. They don't call members that don't resign they just send impersonal texts or emails. I cancelled my memberships the day Griff left and told the club the minute Macca goes I would reinstate them, did they call me when he went?? No I had to call them and that's 6 memberships.

When u add it up in the plain unbiased light of day we had a piss poor product being sold poorly by amateurs that didn't really seem to care.

I love my club and I hate where we are but the only people we can blame is the club and until they change I fear we will never ever win a flag

Glad you love the club MD but will never understand why you or any emotionally involved supporter/member would cancel memberships over ANY matter when that simply hurts the club you say you love.

 

[Mattdougie]

Glad you love the club MD but will never understand why you or any emotionally involved supporter/member would cancel memberships over ANY matter when that simply hurts the club you say you love.

How else can I protest against the man that has put us in this bloody hole we are in? I wouldn't continue to silently throw money at the club while PETER those mark 2 was burying us so sorry it was my last option mate

He Pushed players out of the club,left us last on membership and with a list undeveloped and average at best. He was a direct reason for us losing Lake Griff Cooney Jones Cross and Higgins they are nearly a 1/3 of our best 22 and most should still be regardless of age

And I can promise you when I spoke to the girl and told her why I was suspending my memberships she said your not the only one.

 

[Dogs till i die]

How else can I protest against the man that has put us in this bloody hole we are in? I wouldn't continue to silently throw money at the club while PETER those mark 2 was burying us so sorry it was my last option mate

He Pushed players out of the club,left us last on membership and with a list undeveloped and average at best. He was a direct reason for us losing Lake Griff Cooney Jones Cross and Higgins they are nearly a 1/3 of our best 22 and most should still be regardless of age

And I can promise you when I spoke to the girl and told her why I was suspending my memberships she said your not the only one.

All fair points MD, but bad coaches never last and Macca didn't either.

Maybe I'm different, I barrack for the jumper not who is in the coaches box and after 1990 will never, for any reason, not financially support my club again.

 

[Mattdougie]

All fair points MD, but bad coaches never last and Macca didn't either.

Maybe I'm different, I barrack for the jumper not who is in the coaches box and after 1990 will never, for any reason, not financially support my club again.

Mate I bleed red white and blue but I screamed for that moron to go for 2.5 years and told the club any chance I got.

So I made a stand and I know some disagree but If anything I'm honest and I could not indirectly support Macca by continuing to by memberships

I told everyone on here what hole Macca was putting us in year after year and when I heard Griff was going that was it and I can honestly say I would not have resigned if he stayed and until he was gone

 

[Next Waiting]

This is about what we should expect from a club that did its best to self destruct in the 2nd half of 2014. We can only regain credibility and the trust of fans one step at a time. We need stability first, results second and exciting football third. We probably need to resign ourselves to the membership wooden spoon for 2015 (in Victoria) and just hope we can build on momentum and stability in 2016 and beyond.

Agree all the above is not helpful. I'd maintain that (of the Victorian based teams) our biggest problem is that our only ultimate success resides in the living memories of those 65 and over. It's simply too long and the remedy, in part, is to win a flag soon. A sustained period in a successful on-field spotlight, where even those who don't want to watch us play are forced to because we're playing in all the big games and winning (including our turn at Anzac day or the Good Friday game), and milk it for all it's worth. Our continued association with success will eventually resonate with the young and impressionable, the as yet uncommitted and/or the new which is our hope for expanding the base. The rusted on, relatively small in number as they are, are the existing base.
Much has been said about the AFL's commitment to us because of our links with the West and the growth corridor. Despite these assurances, I think we could still be in a win soon (the next 5-6 years) or perish scenario.

 

[DognBones]

Agree all the above is not helpful. I'd maintain that (of the Victorian based teams) our biggest problem is that our only ultimate success resides in the living memories of those 65 and over. It's simply too long and the remedy, in part, is to win a flag soon. A sustained period in a successful on-field spotlight, where even those who don't want to watch us play are forced to because we're playing in all the big games and winning (including our turn at Anzac day or the Good Friday game), and milk it for all it's worth. Our continued association with success will eventually resonate with the young and impressionable, the as yet uncommitted and/or the new which is our hope for expanding the base. The rusted on, relatively small in number as they are, are the existing base.
Much has been said about the AFL's commitment to us because of our links with the West and the growth corridor. Despite these assurances, I think we could still be in a win soon (the next 5-6 years) or perish scenario.

There is no doubt that despite the rhetoric which comes out of AFL headquarters about the importance of the western suburbs to the future of the competition, the league powerbrokers would be far more satisfied with sustained success of both the Gold Coast and GWS than with ours, after all, these clubs are creations of the AFL's strategic ideology. Correspondingly, we are now further back in the pecking order of developing clubs who are just as desperate for success as we are.
There are no simple answers and no short cuts for us, all we have is faith and hope that all the stars will somehow align just once and the door may open to a sustainable future. But you are right, the clock is ticking.

 

[TempleKelvington]

Membership while important is subject to onfield performance. I think per head we do just as good as anyone else. I think the key is developing non onfield performance related income streams that don't depend as much on week by week or year by year onfield performances.

The other key thing is to live within your means, we can't keep up with dollars the bigs clubs spend so we just have to be smarter more innovative and agile enough to be able to adjust to falls in income when they happen.

Nothing wrong with being a smaller club, just have to be one of the smartest. Gordon has said that we will double our revenue in the next 5 years and from what I gather it's not from a massive membership increase but from other sources of future income, Ballarat, Footscray and stuff like Edgewater.

I think too much emphasis is placed on membership numbers.

 

[Beasley]

Once again this week in the HS Sunday paper, not a mention of the Bulldogs but plenty about Carlton again. Whoever is looking after the Blues PR/media is doing a damn good job this off season.

There was plenty on our website last week about how the team is coming along, but surely the club could provide the journos with the same update opportunities to get some awareness out there to create interest and drive membership.

 

[timtamWB]

Once again this week in the HS Sunday paper, not a mention of the Bulldogs but plenty about Carlton again. Whoever is looking after the Blues PR/media is doing a damn good job this off season.

Do you want to know who is looking after the Blues PR and media? It's the same guys that look after the Collingwood media, and the Essendon media, and the Richmond media.

It's the Herald Sun. It's the AFL. These clubs don't have to do anything and they'll still get stories in the papers and online because they're the original big 4. Even though they're pretty much all bad clubs in different ways now, Collingwood/Carlton are just horrible teams, Richmond think they're way better than they are, I don't even need to mention the Bombers.

But despite this they'll still get stories and interest.

 

[Beasley]

Do you want to know who is looking after the Blues PR and media? It's the same guys that look after the Collingwood media, and the Essendon media, and the Richmond media.

It's the Herald Sun. It's the AFL. These clubs don't have to do anything and they'll still get stories in the papers and online because they're the original big 4. Even though they're pretty much all bad clubs in different ways now, Collingwood/Carlton are just horrible teams, Richmond think they're way better than they are, I don't even need to mention the Bombers.

But despite this they'll still get stories and interest.

We didnt have trouble getting media coverage when Terry Wallace and Rocket Eade were at the club because the club was continuously pushing us in front of the media.

 

[Next Waiting]

Maybe I'm different, I barrack for the jumper not who is in the coaches box and after 1990 will never, for any reason, not financially support my club again.

No. Just genuine.

 

[McCraeBF]

I have said a lot over the years...re alternative member options.

I spent a lot of time in the states and they are in love with our game....

I have spoken to the senior marketing operations manager for the NFL yes NFL.....

I gave there name to our marketing guys in 2013 .... no call even made by us??? we don't need a 2 million dollar sponsor for 5 years....

It was an easy venture...

1.NFL logo are on our shorts
2.NFL offer add on memberships to team members for $35 American
3.They get free online downloads of every bulldog game.
4.They get a t-shirt and sticker
5.NFL clubs have over 10 million members

Say we picked up say 5% of there current members is yes 5000 members at $35 =WE s**t ON COLLINGWOOD

Now please send this to anyone you want at the club its free -I usually charge $500 an hour

 

[McCraeBF]

I have said a lot over the years...re alternative member options.

I spent a lot of time in the states and they are in love with our game....

I have spoken to the senior marketing operations manager for the NFL yes NFL.....

I gave there name to our marketing guys in 2013 .... no call even made by us??? we don't need a 2 million dollar sponsor for 5 years....

It was an easy venture...

1.NFL logo are on our shorts
2.NFL offer add on memberships to team members for $35 American
3.They get free online downloads of every bulldog game.
4.They get a t-shirt and sticker
5.NFL clubs have over 10 million members

Say we picked up say 5% of there current members is yes 5000 members at $35 =WE s**t ON COLLINGWOOD

Now please send this to anyone you want at the club its free -I usually charge $500 an hour

Forgot to mention they love RED WHITE AND BLUE....

 

[Easty]

Whilst I think it's bullshit that you've actually discussed the idea with exec's in the states it's actually not a half bad idea.