Edinburgh Rugby Supporters Club

[j_spencer]

Are we getting the maximum amount of supporters at matches based on the level of interest in the ML in Scotland, or is there untapped market there that we're simply not getting through to? After our most successful season ever and with a lot of pre-season optimism, season ticket sales haven't increased THAT much, and crowd numbers, unfortunately, could be the exact same. What have the brains trust at Edinburgh gotten right and where can they improve? I just can't accept Scotland's poor form as a reason for Edinburgh getting such poor crowds compared to Wales, Ireland and England as there's a proven interest in the sport here as seen by attendences at internationals and television viewing figures. Why can't we figure out a way to successfully market to these potential consumers?

[Derrick Lee's #1 Fan]

Bit of a silly question. There's always room for improvement!

The people who camp outside Murrayfield when the 6N tickets go on sale but are nowhere to be seen on ML nights definitely need to be educated that there are other shows in town apart from the national team. Nic Cartwright has recognised this and he and his team do seem to be working hard to rectify the situation but people's attitudes aren't going to change overnight. Give it time.
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[Danish Cookie]

At the moment there is too much marketing aimed at the existing fans and not enough directed at those who may be rugby fans but just haven't considered going to the Edinburgh games.

I personally started supporting Edinburgh after I was given free tickets to a game as a bonus for having purchased Heineken Cup final tickets a few years ago. I went along out of interest, liked what I saw and have attended regularly ever since. Would be worth a shot again perhaps with the Autumn test tickets if the SRU were in agreement. Not a massively expensive exercise either I wouldn't have thought as they would be using an existing SRU mailing run to distribute the freebies.

[j_spencer]

Yeah agree with both posts there. Are there any resources that actually provide information on the sorts of marketing activities the club is working on?

[fifelass]

Thinking back to the Caley Reds of a few years ago there were all sorts of inducements to get bums on seats and in my opinion they were pretty successful in increasing the number of those attending.

[scoobydoo]

I Like the idea of giving a voucher out at one of the Autumn Internationals. People have to phone in and give details to redeem the voucher for a free ticket to an Edinburgh match.

You've just then added at least 10k to your mailing and contact base for Edinburgh rugby as well as getting a few more bums on seats at a specific match.

Then.....make the freebie match the christmas one between us and Glasgow and then pepole will also be guaranteed to enjoy the atmosphere. Just needs the boys to put in a performance on the pitch like last year - they'll come back after that.

[Oldsalt]

Freshers week will be arriving in September. Edinburgh, Heriot Watt, Queen Margaret, Napier and the rest will all be inducting their new students. There must be a potential 20,000 fans. I know we have concession tickets but as the season will have started sell them for £50 that week only. Send a couple of players out and get the students interested. The students are there for at least three years and if they like what they see then they might just stay for life not just their University time.
Similarly the odd voucher in the student unions before some matches wouldn't do any harm.
I read somewhere else that the guy that owns Stade de Paris did the following after he took over. Gent's paid for a ticket and if they were accompanied by a lady, the lady got in free. Not advocating we change the strip to pink though.

[Derrick Lee's #1 Fan]

[Loops]

[royc]

IMHO the marketing efforts are rather poor and one-dimensional. There are half a million+ adults in easy driving/rail distance - but the marketing is aimed mainly at the committees of 30 clubs. = under 0.1% of the market.

No 48-sheet posters at Murrayfield or elsewhere. No mailers to the general public or to specific segments. No radio or tv advertising. Basically, no public profile AT ALL outside the small club rugby community. As at Newcastle, Sale and Worcester, the task is to create a following that is rather wider than the club aficionados. That means selling the thrills, challenge, social side, Embra loyalty, whatever the core proposition is deemed to be, to people who don't normally attend rugby matches.

You have to spend to accumulate. Get the big posters up. Local radio and cinema advertising can be quite cheap, as can certain tv ad packages. Get the mailers rolling out to key segments. Give away dozens, nay hundreds, of tickets to institutions per match - police, local government, forces, unis, schools, any identifiable and easily contactable group. If even 1 in 20 comes back for more, crowds will double pretty quickly. And so on.

Match nights have to be great entertainment, with lots going on, so everyone feels they've been to 'an event' - that side's pretty good so far.

You can't do it on one and sixpence though and the CEO's job has to be to balance the need for a competitive squad with the need for proper, as opposed to kiddy, marketing to get a lot more bums on seats. To date, the former is 99% priority and the latter 1%, which needs a serious rethink.

Oh, and while many of the distinguished ST holders think otherwise, move from cavernous Murrayfield to a more suitably-sized, family-friendly stadium. The other 99% of the target audience are not DSTs and different, more normal, criteria apply.

[Loops]

Have to disagree with you there, royc. There have been campaigns in the last few months where flyers have been inserted in the Scotsman; friends of mine living outwith the city centre have received mailings, having bought tickets for games in the past; there have been adverts on Radio Forth; there have been large posters in the Edinburgh city area, especially around Murrayfield. There have been other initiatives mentioned by Nic over last season, but I can't think of them off the top of my head at 7.30am!

There's still room for improvement, but I think they have been trying to spread the word as widely as possible - and at least Radio Scotland have been giving more coverage to Scottish Pro Rugby in the Sports News slots than they used to.

As you say, though, they have to prioritise where the money goes, and the first job was to get a marketable product on the pitch. It'll be interesting to see where it goes from here.

BTB, what makes you think it's only "distinguished ST holders" that have realised FOR THE MOMENT that a move from Murrayfield to a sub-standard club ground would be counter-productive? I know of lots of people who use this chatroom and are not ST holders, distinguished or otherwise, who voted on this site to stay at Murrayfield until a suitable ground can be found/built something that they're working hard to do, but again, it can't be done overnight. Perhaps if we get the same management team in place for a couple of seasons in a row, they'll have more success finding one!

[Martin Bell]

As ever, a lot of good suggestions here.

I think the promotion of the club is significantly better now than it was under the SRU previously, perhaps as a result of more latitude having been given to the CEO. But there is always room for improvement and it is clear that the message is not yet reaching many potential supporters.

For example, a friend has persuaded one of his mates to sign up for an ST this season. This guy goes to watch internationals and quite a lot of club games. He was aware of Edinburgh Rugby, but did not even know that most games are played on Friday nights, which suits his schedule very well. It's easy to underestimate just what a low profile the professional teams continue to have outwith the current supporteriat.

Marketing to the student population, as suggested above, is an excellent idea. That could generate increased attendances, which would improve the atmosphere. Word of mouth is possibly the most effective way of building crowds, so incentives for existing ST holders to recruit others should work. Once ST numbers start to grow, that should generate momentum.

The bottom line, though, is that if you win, they will come. The Leinster analogy is not inapt.

The stadium thing is a bit of a red herring. I seriously doubt that potential attendees are saying to themselves "If only I had the chance to stand on the terrace at Myreside freezing my extremities in a winter blizzard every Friday night then I would gladly buy a season ticket". Murrayfield has its disadvantages and I am one of those who - as Loops says - would like to move to a smaller venue with appropriate facilities. But where we are just now has its advantages too. If people are put off by Murrayfield at present, it is more likely as a result of the glass-half-empty merchants going on about "cavernous bowls", lack of atmosphere etc. In fact, when folk are motivated, the atmosphere is excellent.

[Derrick Lee's #1 Fan]

[Oldsalt]

Picking up on something Martin Bell said about his friend no knowing when games were on.

If and when ER puts an advert in the paper or online why not list the next three home matches in the advert.
Even if someone can't make the first one they may just pencil in their diary for the second or third, updating as adverts are made.

Oh and if and information stand was there at the freshers weeks I would be happy to volunteer to help as I have a bit of time on my hands at present.

[jrp]