Roast WCE Marketing and Comms in need of overhaul?

[BlueandGoldforever]

Nice try. I'm actually pretty apathetic politically. The electoral department cancelled my enrolment after I moved to Melbourne and didn't change my address, and so I didn't vote in the most recent Federal or Vic elections. I'd rather not vote if I can keep it that way. I'm not interested in politics, but I am quite interested in branding, marketing and communications.

I really don't think my language was that 'over the top', though admittedly my writing style could be considered a bit pretentious.
After losing two recent State elections and having a leadership spill the Coalition really is in a 'spot of bother', and Abbott (whose public image is seen as one of the causes of the Qld loss) is up there with the least popular PMs we've had in recent times. I referenced articles as evidence to back that up. I would have also considered it silly to post a slimy picture of Kevin Rudd around the time of the Labor leadership spills. As hudson2006 suggests, I don't think it takes a genius or a diehard Labor supporter to think that at the current moment you would be better off keeping your brand away from such a controversial figure.

I do know that almost every young (18-30) non-WC fan from Perth that have met recently thinks the club has an extremely undesirable brand, and unlike the normal contrived 'footy rivalry' banter, they give me a bemused, almost disgusted look when I tell them who I support. They almost always ask why - as if it's such an anomaly it needs justifying. That irks me because I've always loved the team and always will, but I don't love its current brand.

The dark days of the 2000s were vindicated to us fans because we were dominant on-field. But to non-fans - particularly to Perth folks who were old enough to know what was happening around town but young enough to still care about image - the club was associated not just with smoking meth and running away from cops, but with the the worst of the Perth's famous cashed-up boganism.

Here's an example of what our marketing people are up against: Tame Impala. One the biggest bands in the world right now, Grammy nominated for Best Album, and top of the line-up of one of the world's largest music festivals. Last year they play live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon wearing a Freo scarf on stage, which is broadcast all over international TV, and posted all over the blogosphere. Their mates' band Pond (who aren't as big, but still have almost 100,000 fb fans and are touring internationally) record a cover version of the Dockers' anthem, which Triple J promotes and again gets shared all over people's news feeds. Eskimo Joe are not as trendy but still associated themselves strongly with the club when they did their own version of the song.

Now obviously Freo's marketing team didn't directly arrange for these things to happen, but their work is made a lot easier by virtue of the fact they weren't the Eagles during the 2000s. The fact they're being associated with fashion/music trends (things considered highly important to people in an important age demographic), and since our club's brand was dented so badly in the Cousins era, means we can't afford to bring out super lame advertising strategies like 'The West Is Ours', and we can't be posting obvious promo shots by politicians trying to keep their seats while the guys down the road are writing articles about rock stars frothing over Clive Waterhouse and Modra.

Perhaps it's just my own personal gripe, and that I just have the wrong friends. Maybe after they delisted Dalziell I've just had a chip on my shoulder.

You waffle on don't you? You do realise that federal elections are three years apart so opinion polls are largely irrelevant 18 months out? You do realise that we are seeking funding as well and there is a state liberal government and a federal liberal government in power?

Opinion polls also vary quite considerably from month to month too. Granted Tony Abbot will never be Mr Popular but if you do your research you will several Prime Ministers such as John Howard, were extremely unpopular in their first year.

Anyway, yes, everyone agrees that the brand needs an overhaul. We need a new CEO, a new fitness coach/manager, a clean-out of our recruiting department, the injury management team needs to be investigated and the media team could also do with more than a few changes.

But guess what, none of this will happen until Mr Nisbett leaves the building. So, you would be far better off starting a campaign aiming at the CEO than one of the departments.

A lot of footy clubs pride themselves on their long-serving staff but sometimes that is not always to the club's advantage.

 

[Dark Sharks]

If anyone is interested- most of the footage from this years campaign was shot last year: Shuey running at Kings park (exact same shoes and clothes etc, same people running on the beach, in the same order).

I noticed the same thing. Our media department needs an uppercut.

Stupid slogan for 2015 - Tick
Recycled promotional pieces from last year - Tick
Infant running the WCE facebook page - Tick
Next to no training updates, or updates of any kind recently - Tick
Minimal highlights packages of players from the 2014 season - Tick. I mean nothing on Mcgovern or his breakout season, highlights of Hutchings, and Hill. Hutchings FFS! Nothing on Darling, Shuey, Gaff, Hurn, Sheed in his debut season.....

 

[nameless]

How does it work when it's not true? How's it going to look if Fremantle win the premiership and/or beat us in every Derby this year?

Because that's not what the slogan stands for (and Freo Premierships? pfft, come on!!) - It's small minded to just focus on Freo and think that's the one and only meaning of the message, it's far broader than that and works very well in keeping a consistent message across all marketing pieces.

If you watch the ad, you're a member or you've visited the website you'll see the use of "The West is..." is put to a variety of different uses, but keeps the consistency of that slogan and the message. I think it works really well across all marketing comms.

And who cares if it's a shot at Freo, and it "back fires"? I'd much rather us look to take the #1 mantle back, back to where we belong as the #1 team in WA, with a strong message used to unite the whole STATE and used to inspire the team and fans. Much rather go down fighting than just meekly concede defeat to our main rivals before the season has even begun.

 

[Keys]

Lol at the picture of Masten on the website. Someone's taken the photoshop eraser to his arm and rubbed off his sleeve tatt

 

[jakethebear]

I noticed the same thing. Our media department needs an uppercut.

Stupid slogan for 2015 - Tick
Recycled promotional pieces from last year - Tick
Infant running the WCE facebook page - Tick
Next to no training updates, or updates of any kind recently - Tick
Minimal highlights packages of players from the 2014 season - Tick. I mean nothing on Mcgovern or his breakout season, highlights of Hutchings, and Hill. Hutchings FFS! Nothing on Darling, Shuey, Gaff, Hurn, Sheed in his debut season.....

Tbh the recycled promotional pieces don't bother me at all. Makes more sense than reshooting it just for the sake of it. Might as well save a little bit of money. I just thought it was interesting. The footage used this year was not used in last years campaign anyway, just in the explanation by Shuey.

 

[flamingEMBERS]

No idea why people don't like the new slogan.

Works so well.

Good ad.

It just sounds like we are limiting ourselves to being the best in the West only. A little Fremantlish really. I mean I guess we are called West Coast. I'd just prefer Australia to be ours.

 

[SpaceClef]

Lol at the picture of Masten on the website. Someone's taken the photoshop eraser to his arm and rubbed off his sleeve tatt

Lol. Pretty bad resolution images too.

 

[SpaceClef]

You waffle on don't you?

Waffling on is what this website is all about. No bonus points for being concise. Dargie multi-quote time:

Granted Tony Abbot will never be Mr Popular but if you do your research you will several Prime Ministers such as John Howard, were extremely unpopular in their first year.

I did do my research, which is why I linked to this article in the OP:

With an approval rating of just 29 per cent, Mr Abbott trails Mr Howard's approval rating of 46 per cent at the same point during his first term...Mr Abbott's rating as preferred prime minister is 34 per cent which again trails Mr Howard's history on 48 per cent

Look, I may have overstated the whole political thing, and sure, sporting clubs have a duty to get whatever they can out of the government of the day, regardless of who is in power. But you put that stuff in the yearbook or AGM report, or whatever the equivalent is.

You don't share it to 200,000+ peoples personal News Feeds. It's still a social/personal platform despite it also being a source of news, and people want to feel some sense of control over what kinds of things they see when they open the app. Unless you are someone who likes to think about the club's off-field financial situation (and I'd wager that the majority of people who follow AFL teams on facebook do not), I really don't think too many people would have wanted to see Abbott come up in their feeds.

Anyway, yes, everyone agrees that the brand needs an overhaul. We need a new CEO, a new fitness coach/manager, a clean-out of our recruiting department, the injury management team needs to be investigated and the media team could also do with more than a few changes.

But guess what, none of this will happen until Mr Nisbett leaves the building. So, you would be far better off starting a campaign aiming at the CEO than one of the departments

Well I figured it would make more sense to keep the focus of this thread to Marketing and Comms, rather than try and start a megathread about the club in general.

We already have threads that touch on recruiting, injury management, etc.

 

[lewigie]

Have people out there seen that photo of our number one ticket holder in a carlton jersey..

 

[SpaceClef]

Have people out there seen that photo of our number one ticket holder in a carlton jersey..

 

[nameless]

^ Sigh

I mean, i'm sure he's still a WCE fan having grown up in Perth, but still.

Wow, this board is really bad - are you guys sure you actually follow West Coast?

3 years ago Ricciardo went to Visy Park to meet Carlton to give the large International Media a chance to see what AFL football is, Carlton just happened to be the one's to show him and the media around, no doubt used to show off Melbourne/Australia as a key destination of sport for F1 racing, he also did a few other cultural things around Vic.

As is customary with these things, celebrities/visitors are presented with a jumper of the club they visit - much like the PM was with us. It in no way means the two are affiliated, it's just the done thing.

http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite...-Ricciardo-visits-Carlton-AFL-021243177894376

White and Kreuzer presented Ricciardo with a Carlton guernsey, which the Toro Rosso man already has plans for.

“I’ll be hanging it up on the wall. Maybe at home in England, that would be a nice little touch,” he said. “The only problem is I’m a West Coast Eagles fan. I grew up supporting them but I think I might have a soft spot for Carlton after today.”

 

[RookiePick]

Nah he's just getting ready to rip that thing in half!

 

[Valleyboy9]

Waffling on is what this website is all about. No bonus points for being concise. Dargie multi-quote time:

I did do my research, which is why I linked to this article in the OP:

Look, I may have overstated the whole political thing, and sure, sporting clubs have a duty to get whatever they can out of the government of the day, regardless of who is in power. But you put that stuff in the yearbook or AGM report, or whatever the equivalent is.

You don't share it to 200,000+ peoples personal News Feeds. It's still a social/personal platform despite it also being a source of news, and people want to feel some sense of control over what kinds of things they see when they open the app. Unless you are someone who likes to think about the club's off-field financial situation (and I'd wager that the majority of people who follow AFL teams on facebook do not), I really don't think too many people would have wanted to see Abbott come up in their feeds.

Well I figured it would make more sense to keep the focus of this thread to Marketing and Comms, rather than try and start a megathread about the club in general.

We already have threads that touch on recruiting, injury management, etc.

Whether you like it or not politicians are no different to you or me and play an important role in many forms within our state and across Australia, the same as high profile athletes.
Why would a football club not use this to their advantage. Forget your political preference, it would be bizarre of the West Coast Eagles to turn their nose up at the Prime Minister being the highest profile and most influential position in Australia.

 

[MKMatty]

Our media and comma departments are truly dated. Doesn't help when a lot of people associate the current brand with the early 2000's, which involved drug culture, the introduction of two awful uniforms, and getting smashed most weekend until Woosha came to ressurect the ship.

15 years is a looooong time to retain one look, and our current logo just looks super dorky IMO. Some clubs like Sydney didn't focus on the era they were in when they designed their logo, where as with WC, they went with something "now".. For 1999/2000..

Then there is the whole management thing. As some posts have already mentioned, its quite odd how Nisbett and co have retained their spots, especially after cuz and co and all this s**t in the mid 2000's. Sure, he was around for a premiership, but that doesn't wipe his hands clean of all the other stuff. Him and his cronies need to go, hell. The club needs clearing. Everyone bar coaching staff. I honestly think Nisbett will be in the top job until someone hangs him by his tie, either that or he reaches retirement age, then he'll hand it down to a mate no doubt. Clubs ****ed.

Seeing how other clubs function, treat their fans and overall manage themselves online etc has made me really off put by our clubs maeketing. Fair enough, they are going to get the same 40+ year old reapplying for memberships each year (soz). But guess what WC! There a new stadium and new opportunities to be building on! Create some hype! Interact with the fans, update your style! Do something to prove that WC is the club we want to follow.

I've had mates desert clubs based on how the perform communications wise.. Hell, one of my mates switched to GWS last year based on their interaction with that club.. Complacency is something that we the fans shouldn't accept.

I imaging we're only a rich club because those running the club do * all with that money. Just stash it.

 

[kranky al]

Last time I checked Port don't have a real live eagle flying around pre-game.

Really, what more do people want?

What do they have as a matter of interest? - a bunch of wharfies punching durries and discussing compo claims whilst looking allergic to work?

 

[SpaceClef]

Whether you like it or not politicians are no different to you or me and play an important role in many forms within our state and across Australia, the same as high profile athletes.
Why would a football club not use this to their advantage. Forget your political preference, it would be bizarre of the West Coast Eagles to turn their nose up at the Prime Minister being the highest profile and most influential position in Australia.

Who said they should turn their nose up at the PM?

Where did I say that? The PM didn't ask the Eagles to promote him, they shared a picture from Steve Irons's facebook page. The PM and the MP probably discussed the stadium for all of 5 minutes, Steve then asked him to pose with the scarf for a promo snap, and that was that.

I'm not suggesting the Eagles should be anti Abbott or pro Sex Party or anything...just that whoever is in charge of their facebook page likely didn't think it through very well.

 

[MIKE85]

On the plus side, we have a shiny new teamstore website

http://www.wceteamstore.com.au/

Actually is heaps better than the old one, and is actually using current stock to advertise the merch, rahter than 2012 gear, flogged off as 2014 etc.

 

[Valleyboy9]

Who said they should turn their nose up at the PM?

Where did I say that? The PM didn't ask the Eagles to promote him, they shared a picture from Steve Irons's facebook page. The PM and the MP probably discussed the stadium for all of 5 minutes, Steve then asked him to pose with the scarf for a promo snap, and that was that.

I'm not suggesting the Eagles should be anti Abbott or pro Sex Party or anything...just that whoever is in charge of their facebook page likely didn't think it through very well.

bit touchy mate...
Read your epistle again.................
The PM and the MP probably discussed the stadium for all of 5 minutes.
Got a link to prove this statement

 

[Valleyboy9]

How does it work when it's not true?[/B] How's it going to look if Fremantle win the premiership and/or beat us in every Derby this year?

And what if they don't.....Ever thought of that.....
By the way, Dalziell was a chump...so get over it.

 

[lewigie]

Wow, this board is really bad - are you guys sure you actually follow West Coast?

3 years ago Ricciardo went to Visy Park to meet Carlton to give the large International Media a chance to see what AFL football is, Carlton just happened to be the one's to show him and the media around, no doubt used to show off Melbourne/Australia as a key destination of sport for F1 racing, he also did a few other cultural things around Vic.

As is customary with these things, celebrities/visitors are presented with a jumper of the club they visit - much like the PM was with us. It in no way means the two are affiliated, it's just the done thing.

http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite...-Ricciardo-visits-Carlton-AFL-021243177894376

All I did was see the photo floating around and ask the question.

But now after you've researched the picture, read the articles, and posted the link, boy are we stupid! Geez that benefit of hindsight.

 

[hudson2006]

Whether you like it or not politicians are no different to you or me and play an important role in many forms within our state and across Australia, the same as high profile athletes.
Why would a football club not use this to their advantage. Forget your political preference, it would be bizarre of the West Coast Eagles to turn their nose up at the Prime Minister being the highest profile and most influential position in Australia.

West Coast should absolutely have relations with the federal government - the more influence, the better.

However this should be done discreetly. The club's public image is another matter entirely, which is yhe work of the Media/comms department (which is specifically the department of the club being criticised here).

Abbott and other ecent PMs are swathed in controversy - regardless of his profile and influence. That controversy is something we don't want associated with the club's public image.

 

[SpaceClef]

bit touchy mate...
Read your epistle again.................
The PM and the MP probably discussed the stadium for all of 5 minutes.
Got a link to prove this statement

How am I being a bit touchy? Got a link to prove they discussed the stadium in depth? How much time do you think the Prime Minister would have set aside to meet with Steve Irons one on one, and how much of that do you think he would have dedicated to the Federal Government funding the stadium?

I've got to admit I've never sat in on a meeting between two members of parliament, but agenda items typically don't stretch much past 5 to 10 minutes, and I can't see the stadium being high on the priority list for the PM at the moment.


Look, if you want to argue that our brand, marketing, and communications is at the level one would expect for one of the richest clubs in the league, then please do so. This isn't meant to be argument about whether or not it's important for the club to lobby the government to fund the stadium. Obviously it's important that the club gets as much out of the government as possible. I never said the club should 'turn their nose up' at anyone.

I just think the politics and lobbying needs to be kept separate from its facebook page, especially given the sensitive political situation at the moment. (maybe it's not such a sensitive issue over in WA, but the Vic/Qld State election losses and the knighting of Prince Phillip were big news in the media over here).

And what if they don't.....Ever thought of that.....

Well, that's entirely possible, but given where the teams are at it's more likely that they will finish above us and play finals while we get an early holiday. I think we should have waited to use the slogan when it was a little more accurate, even if that's just a superficial reading of it.

By the way, Dalziell was a chump...so get over it.

lol...
You're just jealous you never got to sponsor him

 

[SpaceClef]

And who cares if it's a shot at Freo, and it "back fires"? I'd much rather us look to take the #1 mantle back, back to where we belong as the #1 team in WA, with a strong message used to unite the whole STATE and used to inspire the team and fans. Much rather go down fighting than just meekly concede defeat to our main rivals before the season has even begun.

I'd much rather us look a bit more broadly and try to take back the #1 mantle as the #1 team in the AFL.

Also never said we should meekly concede defeat to anyone - just think the slogan can easily be taken as a statement that our number 1 focus is on being the superior WA team (on/off the field), rather than winning premierships.

 

[hudson2006]

West Coast should recognise and be proud of its Western Australian foundations, it's a big beautiful state which is doing very well (at least for those connected with the mines or who bought houses more than ten years ago) thus it makes sense for the Eagles brand to want to connect itself with a great big image of success.

 

[hudson2006]

I like the new ad campaign's focus for this reason, however it does waste an opportunity to mention how well we've conquered the East.

Some footage of our Vic fans doing their great job suporting the team in Melbourne in hostile territory would have been a more complete picture.

The footage does look a bit recycled though, and the editing was a bit disjointed (timelapses are great but hard to cut smoothly with slow motion imo).