2021 Memberships Released

BigBreakfast

Brownlow Medallist
Sep 19, 2019
10,266
14,883
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
Lakeshow
Yep, but it's hard to see a scenario where most members are rewarded with prioritised entry. That's where the level of membership comes into play.

Richmond have 100,000 members, which doesn't leave a lot of room to move if the capacity is limited to say 50%. How will they determine the home/away members ratio? Do only Carlton supporters with the 17 game (all Melbourne based games) reserved seat package get to go?

Round 2 versus Pies is our home game, but we could have 75,000 members trying to fit into 35,000 seats (factoring in MCC members, AFL members, Corporates etc. taking a chunk of the pie). That's before even considering the Collingwood members.

I don't envy the decision makers, because there is going to be a lot of disgruntled supporters/members from all clubs. We need to hope there are no more outbreaks before the season, and that frontline health and quarantine workers, the aged and vulnerable are all vaccinated ASAP. That should allow the crowd capacities to rise closer to 100% in the early rounds.

Alternatively, everything might have turned to sh*t and we are playing at Metricon and the Gabba again and none of us are going :(
Lots of interstate members who only attend games in Melbourne sporadically if at all. Not sure if every Melbourne based member could attend every game either. Swings and roundabouts. Richmond and WC manage.
 

Juddrockz

Premium Platinum
Oct 22, 2007
5,437
6,529
melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
Lots of interstate members who only attend games in Melbourne sporadically if at all. Not sure if every Melbourne based member could attend every game either. Swings and roundabouts. Richmond and WC manage.
According to the Herald Sun today some clubs are opting for the ballot ticketing system,Richmond was one that was mentioned,Carlton haven't decided as yet.
It's gonna be fun trying to get a ticket into a game.
 

sosos

Premiership Player
Apr 5, 2007
4,717
11,634
Melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
As a latecomer to Melbourne in the mid 80s, and the first in my family to follow the code, I did not understand the whole membership thing, nor even how clubs work. I thought Carlton were rich and successful and that was a good thing.

I was your typical barracker, never a signed up member until the s**t really hit the fan in the early 2000s. Thought we were impregnable before that, and had not understood the rot we were in.

Having witnessed Fitzroy's sad demise from the AFL (still going strong in the VAFA though), I realised I could no longer stand on the sidelines. My 1st year of membership was 2004, and although I dipped out occasionally, have been signed up since then.

I don't need to tell any Carlton supporter over a certain age where we were in those years, or how bad it got, but we could have died very easily. 70k is a tribute to us all - supporters, benefactors, sponsors, players, staff, volunteers, admin, coaches etc..

It's an amazing effort considering the lack of onfield success. And I thank everyone who helped us survive through that dark time.

The lesson for me was to never take anything for granted.
 
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agro

Norm Smith Medallist
Jun 7, 2003
8,324
23,249
Melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
As a latecomer to Melbourne in the mid 80s, and the first in my family to follow the code, I did not understand the whole membership thing, nor even how clubs work. I thought Carlton were rich and successful and that was a good thing.

I was your typical barracker, never a signed up member until the sh*t really hit the fan in the early 2000s. Thought we were impregnable before that, and had not understood the rot we were in.

Having witnessed Fitzroy's sad demise from the AFL (still going strong in the VAFA though), I realised I could no longer stand on the sidelines. My 1st year of membership was 2004, and although I dipped out occasionally, have been signed up since then.

I don't need to tell any Carlton supporter over a certain age where we were in those years, or how bad it got, but we could have died very easily. 70k is a tribute to us all - supporters, benefactors, sponsors, players, staff, volunteers, admin, coaches etc..

It's an amazing effort considering the lack of onfield success. And I thank everyone who helped us survive through that dark time.

The lesson for me was to never take anything for granted.


Not many people realise that as of 1944 - Fitzroy in terms of premierships had won 8 and were by those standards the most successful club in the VFL, 50 years later they were gone.

It will be 26 years this year since our last flag - our longest premiership drought - time marches on quickly, if we haven’t won a flag in the next 24 years then ..... :think:
 

Casual_Observer

Team Captain
May 28, 2011
388
484
Perth
AFL Club
Carlton
Out of curiosity what has changed for such large increases? Are the memberships more attractive either by cost alone or by perceived value, or is it something different?

And is it mostly since Liddle took over?
 

drunkill

Club Legend
May 16, 2017
1,484
4,229
AFL Club
Carlton
If they are counted, there are some freebie memberships being handed out, but most people would have ignored that email and not handed their free one out to friends.

I'm not sure they are counted by us because we've been very close (within a dozen) to the official AFL audit numbers at the end of seasons for the past few years, they only count memberships of a value of $50 or over.

AFLW memberships have risen this year because of ticketed games, those count in our numbers as they cost $50 or more for game access memberships.

I think another reason is (some) people have had a lot of idle funds this past year due to not much to spend money on except bills. So some splurge cash for memberships, perhaps.



And the biggest issue is that with covid restrictions:

General admission this year looks like it won't be a thing. For the larger clubs (us included) I doubt any tickets will go on sale to the public if there is some sort of lotto system to secure tickets after members have their tickets confirmed.
People are signing up so they know they can get to a game or three in 2021 because it won't be guaranteed for the public.

Plus, finishing just outside the 8 last year would have helped, plus out aquisitions in the offseason, we're on the rise and the club is good at chasing down past members or other fans on mailing lists to sign up.
 

Koutamightafides

All Australian
Feb 21, 2019
902
1,701
AFL Club
Carlton
If they are counted, there are some freebie memberships being handed out, but most people would have ignored that email and not handed their free one out to friends.

I'm not sure they are counted by us because we've been very close (within a dozen) to the official AFL audit numbers at the end of seasons for the past few years, they only count memberships of a value of $50 or over.

AFLW memberships have risen this year because of ticketed games, those count in our numbers as they cost $50 or more for game access memberships.

I think another reason is (some) people have had a lot of idle funds this past year due to not much to spend money on except bills. So some splurge cash for memberships, perhaps.



And the biggest issue is that with covid restrictions:

General admission this year looks like it won't be a thing. For the larger clubs (us included) I doubt any tickets will go on sale to the public if there is some sort of lotto system to secure tickets after members have their tickets confirmed.
People are signing up so they know they can get to a game or three in 2021 because it won't be guaranteed for the public.

Plus, finishing just outside the 8 last year would have helped, plus out aquisitions in the offseason, we're on the rise and the club is good at chasing down past members or other fans on mailing lists to sign up.
So my dog's membership doesn't count being only $40 a year ?
 
Jun 21, 2007
30,444
35,766
Melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
Manchester United
Ha, Essendon down 20%

Fitting that *'s reads as 666.

And after the offseason that Collingwood have had, surely our membership tally as of today has already beaten what Collingwood will end up finishing on this year given what they finished with last year.
 

Earls Smother

Club Legend
Oct 4, 2019
1,332
4,371
AFL Club
Carlton
If they are counted, there are some freebie memberships being handed out, but most people would have ignored that email and not handed their free one out to friends.

I'm not sure they are counted by us because we've been very close (within a dozen) to the official AFL audit numbers at the end of seasons for the past few years, they only count memberships of a value of $50 or over.

AFLW memberships have risen this year because of ticketed games, those count in our numbers as they cost $50 or more for game access memberships.

I think another reason is (some) people have had a lot of idle funds this past year due to not much to spend money on except bills. So some splurge cash for memberships, perhaps.



And the biggest issue is that with covid restrictions:

General admission this year looks like it won't be a thing. For the larger clubs (us included) I doubt any tickets will go on sale to the public if there is some sort of lotto system to secure tickets after members have their tickets confirmed.
People are signing up so they know they can get to a game or three in 2021 because it won't be guaranteed for the public.

Plus, finishing just outside the 8 last year would have helped, plus out aquisitions in the offseason, we're on the rise and the club is good at chasing down past members or other fans on mailing lists to sign up.


We've been 10,000 ahead of last year since mid-November. Most nominated new free members would have had their details provided by current members late last season when the offer was made i.e. they would have been processed early.

Last season finished late and people got no tangible value for their memberships. There was (and still is) total unknown in regard to the coming season. The AFLW was still a long way off back then, with similiar uncertainty. Do you really think that is a recipe for people to rush to sign up early? And if so, why is there not at least some other clubs where the same thing is happening? Are Carlton supporters the only ones with idle cash?

It's fantastic that our numbers are growing, but it seems some people don't want to see part of the reason for that.
 
Aug 30, 2017
6,190
20,818
Melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
The reason, fans know we were ready to rise after building the list. Membership staff capitalized.

Nothing extrodanairy.

Tigers jumped from 72K to 100K after they won the flag, simple
In the last month or two of the 2017 season plenty came out of the woodwork. I've got friends who had never been members but decide to sign up for a chance at finals tickets and also to 'get on board the tiger train'... to be a part of it. I'm expecting we'll have a similar outcome if we're looking to play finals after so many years out in the wilderness.
 

Earls Smother

Club Legend
Oct 4, 2019
1,332
4,371
AFL Club
Carlton
The reason, fans know we were ready to rise after building the list. Membership staff capitalized.

Nothing extrodanairy.

Tigers jumped from 72K to 100K after they won the flag, simple
Absolutely. This is the bit that people are missing.

St. Kilda were a club like us that had a significant rise in members last year. They made finals and look promising again (injuries aside). So why are their numbers not way ahead of last year like ours? The difference is not in the attitude of the fans, it is the strategies of the respective membership departments.

Our similiarity with the Tigers is clearly the bloke running the show.
 
Nov 13, 2015
46,385
133,527
In Transit
AFL Club
Carlton
Absolutely. This is the bit that people are missing.

St. Kilda were a club like us that had a significant rise in members last year. They made finals and look promising again (injuries aside). So why are their numbers not way ahead of last year like ours? The difference is not in the attitude of the fans, it is the strategies of the respective membership departments.

Our similiarity with the Tigers is clearly the bloke running the show.

Think you need to take into account the number of supporters, one of if not the highest, we have, that can be converted

Sides like the Dogs, even after a flag, will never reach our or big 4 side numbers
 

Earls Smother

Club Legend
Oct 4, 2019
1,332
4,371
AFL Club
Carlton
Think you need to take into account the number of supporters, one of if not the highest, we have, that can be converted

Sides like the Dogs, even after a flag, will never reach our or big 4 side numbers
Think you need to look at % rises rather than raw total numbers. St. Kilda rose by 12% last year. Not happening this year.
 
Dec 18, 2005
17,223
23,281
Barstow, Cal14nia
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
GAVROI MOUNIA... GAMW TON PIRAEA
The one major method Liddle used to build the Richmond numbers was rolling out a targeted market research project to find out which communities housed the highest number of dormant Tiger supporters (from memory it was Casey/Cardinia shires) and from there he started to integrate the club into these communities in order to launch all sorts of initiatives and promote the brand:

Launch of Partnership w/ Cardinia Shire
Tigers to train in Cardinia Shire
Tigers to play VFL games in Cardinia Shore

I'm not sure if he rolled out something similar yet for us, but if not - we could have some more serious room for growth membership wise.

Good watch below for any prospective Marketing students:

 
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new_blue

Team Captain
Aug 19, 2018
576
2,595
AFL Club
Carlton
The one major method Liddle used to build the Richmond numbers was rolling out a targeted market research project to find out which communities housed the highest number of dormant Tiger supporters (from memory it was Casey/Cardinia shires) and from there he started to integrate the club into these communities in order to launch all sorts of initiatives and promote the brand:

Launch of Partnership w/ Cardinia Shire
Tigers to train in Cardinia Shire
Tigers to play VFL games in Cardinia Shore

I'm not sure if he rolled out something similar yet for us, but if not - we could have some more serious room for growth membership wise.

Good watch below for any prospective Marketing students:



That’s brilliant. Thanks for sharing.

If you look at the last slide, there’s a quote from Cain Liddle, which he says...

“if i ever when to another club that’s the first call I’d make” in relation to analysing the supporters demographics.
 
Aug 30, 2017
6,190
20,818
Melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
Not many people realise that as of 1944 - Fitzroy in terms of premierships had won 8 and were by those standards the most successful club in the VFL, 50 years later they were gone.

It will be 26 years this year since our last flag - our longest premiership drought - time marches on quickly, if we haven’t won a flag in the next 24 years then ..... :think:

...we'll still be a lot better than Melbourne & St Kilda who will be at 81 & 79 years respectively?
 

Koutamightafides

All Australian
Feb 21, 2019
902
1,701
AFL Club
Carlton
...we'll still be a lot better than Melbourne & St Kilda who will be at 81 & 79 years respectively?
Would suck to be a St Kilda fan especially when they drew that GF a while back only to capitulate a week later . Would like to see Ratts win one maybe this year even but after that move over its Carlton dynasty time and back to finals every year where we belong .
 
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