| Post deleted 20:24 - Apr 13 with 15578 views | ColDale |
Right that post is gone. Either its a troll or we have people again within the first team airing their grievances on here. Time will tell but either way its not healthy for the club to have such things on here. Call it censorship call it what you want but on the eve of a game which could see us relegated, it is clear that whoever is behind it doesn't have the best interests of the club at heart. If further posts need deleting, then so be it. |  | | |  |
| Post deleted on 20:43 - Apr 15 with 1682 views | RAFCBLUE |
| Post deleted on 20:27 - Apr 15 by Doris |
i take your word as the " can be " part of your post and apologise for the misunderstanding (no idea what the editing was)
"Off-field though we haven't moved with the times and that's the challenge/opportunity here."
As you say since he has been in charge since 2006 why has this not been targeted as a priority,you dont to be told of this ,its basic marketing .If our directors are apparently succesful in their own businesses why hasnt this been transmitted to the off field activities of the club or designated to somebody who could do it. |
Editing was because I can't spell!
As I said elsewhere I'm suprised that the shareholders of the company (not the directors) don't appoint a paid, accountable employee to head up the off-field stuff. We believe in appointing a football head so why not a non-football head?
If I was the shareholder, I'd look for a structure for a league 1 club as follows:
Chairman - Chris Dunphy managing three individuals:
1) Head of Football matters - John Coleman
2) Head of Football administration - Colin Garlick
3) Head of non-football matters - TBA
Now I write this without ever working within the club, and not knowing any of the individuals but the roles work as follows:
1) Head of Football matters - responsible for all football matters, team selection, player target identification, tactics, age groups from seven to first team and all matters football.
2) Head of Football administration - responsible for all FA matters, compliance, administration, HR, Finance and support. If it is support related this individual answers for it.
3) Head of non-football matters - responsible for matchday management, media, merchandising, ticketing, marketing, corporate entertaining, sponsorship, partnering.
The collective brief is to break even on an agreed budget with the target of a top 12 League 1 finish, a third round Carling cup appearance and a third round FA Cup appearance. Obviously, the success of role 3) against the demands of role 1) (supported by role 2) are what would need to be appraised.
The three heads can have whatever tools they feel are needed to do their job, as long as they can a) business case prove they add benefit/value and b) included in the budgets set at the start of each season.
The final part is honesty and proper appraisals for all - including playing staff, This might happen already, but is needed to assess and reward good performance, improve on non-performance where it exists and weed out those who consistently don't perform. |  |
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| Post deleted on 20:45 - Apr 15 with 1671 views | SalwaDale |
| Post deleted on 20:43 - Apr 15 by RAFCBLUE |
Editing was because I can't spell!
As I said elsewhere I'm suprised that the shareholders of the company (not the directors) don't appoint a paid, accountable employee to head up the off-field stuff. We believe in appointing a football head so why not a non-football head?
If I was the shareholder, I'd look for a structure for a league 1 club as follows:
Chairman - Chris Dunphy managing three individuals:
1) Head of Football matters - John Coleman
2) Head of Football administration - Colin Garlick
3) Head of non-football matters - TBA
Now I write this without ever working within the club, and not knowing any of the individuals but the roles work as follows:
1) Head of Football matters - responsible for all football matters, team selection, player target identification, tactics, age groups from seven to first team and all matters football.
2) Head of Football administration - responsible for all FA matters, compliance, administration, HR, Finance and support. If it is support related this individual answers for it.
3) Head of non-football matters - responsible for matchday management, media, merchandising, ticketing, marketing, corporate entertaining, sponsorship, partnering.
The collective brief is to break even on an agreed budget with the target of a top 12 League 1 finish, a third round Carling cup appearance and a third round FA Cup appearance. Obviously, the success of role 3) against the demands of role 1) (supported by role 2) are what would need to be appraised.
The three heads can have whatever tools they feel are needed to do their job, as long as they can a) business case prove they add benefit/value and b) included in the budgets set at the start of each season.
The final part is honesty and proper appraisals for all - including playing staff, This might happen already, but is needed to assess and reward good performance, improve on non-performance where it exists and weed out those who consistently don't perform. |
There you go, vision and structure. |  |
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| Post deleted on 21:04 - Apr 15 with 1617 views | R17ALE |
| Post deleted on 20:43 - Apr 15 by RAFCBLUE |
Editing was because I can't spell!
As I said elsewhere I'm suprised that the shareholders of the company (not the directors) don't appoint a paid, accountable employee to head up the off-field stuff. We believe in appointing a football head so why not a non-football head?
If I was the shareholder, I'd look for a structure for a league 1 club as follows:
Chairman - Chris Dunphy managing three individuals:
1) Head of Football matters - John Coleman
2) Head of Football administration - Colin Garlick
3) Head of non-football matters - TBA
Now I write this without ever working within the club, and not knowing any of the individuals but the roles work as follows:
1) Head of Football matters - responsible for all football matters, team selection, player target identification, tactics, age groups from seven to first team and all matters football.
2) Head of Football administration - responsible for all FA matters, compliance, administration, HR, Finance and support. If it is support related this individual answers for it.
3) Head of non-football matters - responsible for matchday management, media, merchandising, ticketing, marketing, corporate entertaining, sponsorship, partnering.
The collective brief is to break even on an agreed budget with the target of a top 12 League 1 finish, a third round Carling cup appearance and a third round FA Cup appearance. Obviously, the success of role 3) against the demands of role 1) (supported by role 2) are what would need to be appraised.
The three heads can have whatever tools they feel are needed to do their job, as long as they can a) business case prove they add benefit/value and b) included in the budgets set at the start of each season.
The final part is honesty and proper appraisals for all - including playing staff, This might happen already, but is needed to assess and reward good performance, improve on non-performance where it exists and weed out those who consistently don't perform. |
Good post. The business structure of the club has fallen apart somewhat and needs clear realignment with the constraints of Dale, but with the ambitions of a professional football club.
Key middle managers to run all departments headed up by a senior Managing Director is the way forward.
I genuinely feel for CG here. He works himself silly fire fighting and coping with the Stadium Company, plus running the football admin side of things. He cannot be expected to run all the middle managers as well. My advice would be to appoint the right person to take pressure off CG and to put pressure on the middle managers.
When we revel in all the additional payments we get for the likes of Lambert, Alfie, Buckley, Dawson etc. then CG has paid for himself time and time again with his innovative clauses and keen negotiating skills. Now then, can the rest of them say that? |  |
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| Post deleted on 21:13 - Apr 15 with 1579 views | 49thseason |
I have watched Rochdale for over 50 years now, the only thing I have ever bought from the shop other than tickets is a rattle in (about) 1962.
The club was tin pot when I started watching and little has changed. We still have floodlights with bulbs out, a sound system you can’t hear properly playing music you don’t want to listen to, an announcer with as much charisma as a lettuce, witless stewards, catering I wouldn’t feed to a dog, a dismal half time raffle with a biro-written result board carried by an imbecilic grey “character” , presentations of god-knows-what to god-knows-who without audible explanations, no mentions of forthcoming matches, a competition to kick a ball through a hole which only takes place at one end of the ground accompanied by what sounds like an episode of Taggart. Tin pot hardly starts to describe it.
I bought two season tickets two years ago — I have had no further contact from the club. Not even a renewal offer , Christmas card or kiss my ar5e!
I have no idea who the directors are other than Mr Dunphy and Mr Kelly , both of whom have businesses of their own to run and probably spent too much time at Spotland already so I imagine most of the problems lie with an underpaid, under-valued and probably under-trained staff who have no real management other than Colin Garlick who is probably mowed-out trying to figure out how many loan players we have used.
Any attempt to bring this club into the 21st century has about as much chance of success as we have of avoiding the dreaded drop and whilst I am hugely encouraged by the creativity and desire to help generated in these posts my fear is they will come to naught because no one has the remit, inclination or sheer bloody-mindedness to make things happen.
I assume we are about to have a clear-out of players — it’s obviously time for a massive clear-out in-house too ... over to you CD and AK — Make it so !
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| Post deleted on 21:18 - Apr 15 with 1569 views | YouTubeDale |
If we do take the drop to League 2 I think that Coleman will do a good job of keeping us in the top half of the table, and hopefully the play-off places. But we cannot take that for granted. If we slip even further into the Blue Square Premier then it would be very difficult for Dale to climb out, in my opinion. This is one very good reason why we need to get going on the marketing issue NOW.We can't wait any longer and everyone at the club needs to be working harder and smarter than ever before. Times are tough,especially in the borough of Rochdale.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going...or perish!! |  |
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| Post deleted on 21:23 - Apr 15 with 1554 views | 442Dale |
" a competition to kick a ball through a hole which only takes place at one end of the ground accompanied by what sounds like an episode of Taggart."
Close this thread now, line of the century! |  |
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| Post deleted on 21:31 - Apr 15 with 1521 views | YouTubeDale |
I thought "I have watched Rochdale for over 50 years now, the only thing I have ever bought from the shop other than tickets is a rattle in (about) 1962" was the line of the century.
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| Post deleted on 21:31 - Apr 15 with 1516 views | DALEYCADDERS |
Getting children to support Rochdale.
I am 12 years old and am from Birmingham so what made me want to support Rochdale?
My dad has been a Rochdale fan for most of his life and followed them even more closely after Keith Hill took over. At the age of about 7 he used to take me to roughly 15 games a season even though I preferred the big Midlands teams like Villa. But gradually I was liking Rochdale more and more, and wanting to go back. The reason me and my dad wanted to make the 200 mile round trip every saturday was for two main reasons.
1) The football that was being played was great to watch with lots of goals going in.
2) Supporting a smaller club you feel like you are part of the club. If I supported Man Utd I'd never be able to talk to the players or be able to celebrate with them. On the Exiles day for fans all around the country the players were all very friendly made you feel welcome. For example in the dressing room we spoke to Simon Hackney and Temitope Obedayi and wasn't like it was just me asking all the questions. Both of them were taking an interest by asking me what position I played in and what sort of player I am like. I am a winger and playing in same position as them they giving me some advice and tips. Also on that day (Rochdale v Walsall) when Obedayi came on he had a very good game which I'd like to think was partly down to me and my dad giving him some encouragement before the game. We told him he was a good player and to just be himself, play his natural game and be confident.
The main reaction of when I told people I was a Rochdale was "their crap". I said how do you know if you've never watched them? So i took a few mates to a game and they were surprised at how good they were. At the start of last season Rochdale played Birmingham in the Carling Cup and most of our school watched it on T.V. After all my mates watched Dale play Birmingham off the park they never said a bad word about them again. One day someone even said "Gary Jones is a miles better player than all of the blues midfielders!" From that day on Rochdale the second team of a lot of people at our school.
I think the key to attracting youngsters to Rochdale is:
1) The parents need to be willing to take them and the prices need to be fairly cheep for that to happen.
2) The football being played needs to be exciting, a kids not going to come back to see Dale again because the prices are cheap, they are going to want to come back because they enjoy watching them play! That is by far the most important reason why kids are going to want to come back to see Rochdale.
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| Post deleted on 21:35 - Apr 15 with 1498 views | D_Alien |
| Post deleted on 20:30 - Apr 15 by SalwaDale |
Very interesting thread this one. Key thing (for me anyway) seems to be for the board to invest in the "non-football" squad. I have no idea how many staff a club like ours should have, or how the staffing structure should work. Forget the ideas and all that kind of thing, the structure is the one of the first things that must be in place, it is the same in any place of work. One thing comes before that, and that is the vision, not the nitty gritty but the vision of what our club should be.
1. Big Picture/vision
2. Structure
3. Start doing the things that make the big picture a reality
One of the main reasons that any organisation fails is that people don't always know where they are heading. There is no reason whatsoever why the trust and some of the experts within it cannot be involved in the first two parts. Once they are done part 3 will be run by the club. |
That's the difference between being reactive (lets take it as it comes) and pro-active
Surely, the Hillcroft years and their "seven year plan" should have turned at least a few lightbulbs on?
Do the directors not have business plans in their own businesses?
I suspect that a few souls in the boardroom were frightened out of their wits by Hillcroft. And - is it just possible - that had some bearing on the appointment of SE and the Beech trial period? Subconsciously, it may have been an attempt to gain some respite from an over-demanding manager. Not doubt JC is a different kettle of fish altogether - I hope so!
Now I've been critical on here about posters trying to regurgitate the debate about SE's appointment, but that was in purely footballing terms - I also thought it was a good one at the time. I do wonder though, how much his non-confrontational personality played a part in his appointment, in the light of the need to re-market the club from top to bottom. [Post edited 1 Jan 1970 1:00]
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| Post deleted on 21:39 - Apr 15 with 1480 views | YadHoDale |
| Post deleted on 21:31 - Apr 15 by DALEYCADDERS |
Getting children to support Rochdale.
I am 12 years old and am from Birmingham so what made me want to support Rochdale?
My dad has been a Rochdale fan for most of his life and followed them even more closely after Keith Hill took over. At the age of about 7 he used to take me to roughly 15 games a season even though I preferred the big Midlands teams like Villa. But gradually I was liking Rochdale more and more, and wanting to go back. The reason me and my dad wanted to make the 200 mile round trip every saturday was for two main reasons.
1) The football that was being played was great to watch with lots of goals going in.
2) Supporting a smaller club you feel like you are part of the club. If I supported Man Utd I'd never be able to talk to the players or be able to celebrate with them. On the Exiles day for fans all around the country the players were all very friendly made you feel welcome. For example in the dressing room we spoke to Simon Hackney and Temitope Obedayi and wasn't like it was just me asking all the questions. Both of them were taking an interest by asking me what position I played in and what sort of player I am like. I am a winger and playing in same position as them they giving me some advice and tips. Also on that day (Rochdale v Walsall) when Obedayi came on he had a very good game which I'd like to think was partly down to me and my dad giving him some encouragement before the game. We told him he was a good player and to just be himself, play his natural game and be confident.
The main reaction of when I told people I was a Rochdale was "their crap". I said how do you know if you've never watched them? So i took a few mates to a game and they were surprised at how good they were. At the start of last season Rochdale played Birmingham in the Carling Cup and most of our school watched it on T.V. After all my mates watched Dale play Birmingham off the park they never said a bad word about them again. One day someone even said "Gary Jones is a miles better player than all of the blues midfielders!" From that day on Rochdale the second team of a lot of people at our school.
I think the key to attracting youngsters to Rochdale is:
1) The parents need to be willing to take them and the prices need to be fairly cheep for that to happen.
2) The football being played needs to be exciting, a kids not going to come back to see Dale again because the prices are cheap, they are going to want to come back because they enjoy watching them play! That is by far the most important reason why kids are going to want to come back to see Rochdale.
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An excellent post.
Get this lad a pint paid on for 2018 :GRIN: |  | | |
| Post deleted on 22:09 - Apr 15 with 1412 views | blackpoolcol |
| Post deleted on 19:26 - Apr 15 by Ralphs12 |
Why did Junior Dale stop by the way? |
Was it not the case that Paul and Steve ran the Junior Dale. I do recall the trust launched a "free membership" for under 16s and basically took over the junior Dale.
I do remember a "Dale Dragons" promotion by the Trust but sadly it never seemed to be pushed forward.
How many of these young faces started watching with junior Dale then progressed and are still with us?
http://www.rochdaleafc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10441~381990,00.html
Going off the story I think it would have been around 2006/07 when "Junior Dale" stopped |  |
| With my little stick of Blackpool Rock, along the promenade I'll stroll |
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| Post deleted on 22:26 - Apr 15 with 1370 views | middale |
| Post deleted on 11:05 - Apr 14 by R17ALE |
Right,bollocksto it. I'm going to copy and paste the conclusions 6 or so fans came to after six months of Think Tank meetings.
I might be breaking a confidence, but I'm not arsed anymore. It's a long read, be warned!!
1.
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING A FOOTBALL CLUB, IN THIS CASE, ROCHDALE AFC.
The Think Tank has met monthly since Sept 2011 to discuss various ideas to retain and increase customer loyalty and our main findings are:
1) We need to adopt a "Brand" that the club promotes themselves on. Tesco and their "Every little helps" go hand in hand. We need something similar to this as a strapline to each time the Dale badge is used.
2) We need to embrace modern technology and make it work for the good of the club. The club need to actively take on board the likes of facebook, twitter, SMS voting, Bluetooth etc. We live in an interactive world, and this is what the next generation want. They expect information to find them. This also embraces the need to capture personal data of supporters and potential customers.
3) We need to engage the current fanbase by improving the matchday experience at Spotland, and by pulling out all the stops to ensure that the current fanbase is retained at all costs. This above anything is a priority.
4) We need to become professional at self promotion for anything which might bring money into the club, whether that is tickets for games, or merchandise for sale. The status quo, where supporters are continually left in the dark must end.
5) We need to accept that winning football or League One on their own, are not sufficient to attract supporters to the club. This will have the biggest effect on the income of the football club and should be the biggest off the field focus of the club. Besides which, those that are attracted by a winning team are the first to stop attending when the team is losing!
6) We need a generation of young people in Rochdale to have experienced football at Rochdale, and to associate it as something that they feel part of. Ideally, every child in the Borough needs to have visited Spotland at least once, by the time they reach 11.
Since the Think Tank meetings commenced in September 2011, the rest of this report is a fair reflection on the conclusions reached, coupled together with a few ideas and general direction the club could pursue.
It is widely accepted amongst the fans on the committee, that the Dale does not do enough to engage with the local population, to enthuse it, and to actually tell them what is happening.
At the start of this process, everybody was issued with a blueprint spirited to us by an employee of the company which invented the Tesco Clubcard. In it, are the secrets of how to run a football club as though it were a supermarket. How to
increase loyalty and win a greater “wallet share” and interact with customers. CG has a copy for anyone wishing to read this paper.
1) The Branding of the Club
Advertising, branding and marketing are all totally separate sciences which are nearly always mistakenly lumped in together.
The first stumbling block we discovered is: What exactly is the Brand of Rochdale AFC? We don’t have one! What image do we convey to the general public? No-one can answer these questions, as the questions simply have never been asked. Early on we agreed that there needs to be a strapline attached to Rochdale AFC, even going as far as incorporating it into the crest replacing “The Dale” on the blue circle which encircles the coat of arms. “Bringing families together” or “where kids go free” were our two front runners.
Branding is very important in positioning yourself in the market place. Does anyone really believe that 9 out of 10 cats said they preferred Whiskas when reaching for a tin? Is Dale bringing families together? Probably not, but it creates an image/brand that so many other things can be tied under this umbrella which, sub-consciously, is suggesting that Dale is the premier day out for the whole family in Rochdale.
The shopping habits of the country have changed beyond all recognition in the last ten years. The internet is the Number One tool in building a brand and selling products off the back of that brand. The club’s website could/should be the first to appear in any google search when words like “kids” “families” “things to do in” and “Rochdale” are entered into a search engine.*
The website should then be geared up to direct incoming traffic to certain parts of the website. ie families, kids, ex-Premiership fans, ex-Dale fans and so on, with the web journey taking them on a voyage which ends with them purchasing a ticket — indeed choosing a seat by a virtual tour of the ground. To produce a website of the quality required, is an expensive undertaking but the website (not the Rochdale Observer) will probably be the first port of call for any potential new fan. Visit www.redimps.com to see how much better non-league clubs are than us at coping with a ptv network!
Back to the branding however, this is something that can only be achieved when it is decided what is going to be the official brand of the club. It then needs to be advertised heavily — billboards, local publications like Norden Delivered, Rochdale on-line, official website, club crest, and so on. You never know, James Alexander Gordon might even add it to Rochdale “bringing families together” 0! Everton have mastered the art of this and you should already know the words “the people’s club”. Manchester City also recently rebranded themselves with their “This is your City” campaign. The club with millions in the bank still thought it was worthwhile to spend a few grand positioning themselves as the club to which Mancunians should look towards as their club.
Branding and image rights are important. The old and decaying fixture advert hoarding on the corner of Willbutts and Sandy Lane does not really show the club in a modern light. Truth be told, it is a very accurate depiction of the state of the club off the pitch. It was great when it went up in the 80’s, but surely a digital screen should operate there, so night time traffic can also see the advertisement. At this time of year (January), more people pass that sign when it is dark than when it is light.
2) Embracing New Technology for the good of the club
The club can have as many initiatives as it likes, but getting the message out is proving to be something of a stumbling block. Gone are the days of Ceefax, the Rochdale Observer etc. Now are the days of Social Networking, messageboards, and Bluetooth.
RS is producing a separate paper, arguing for the club to invest in Bluetoothing every person in the Borough, advertising every fixture, every event plus anything else the club wants to publicise via this media which represents excellent value if measured by pence per hit.
One advertising model worth examining is the FCUM one where fans run an internet radio site (presumably as volunteers) promoting all things FCUM. We are certain media students at Hopwood Hall would gladly run this as part of their ongoing coursework. Or, a handful of younger Dale supporters might want to take up the cudgels voluntarily.
3) Engaging the Current Fanbase
Loyalty is the key word. Football clubs usually make the mistake of expecting it. Once a brand is established it is paramount to exploit the brand and encourage loyalty towards it. The Yeovil match and the Twelve days of Christmas run by the club was a small, but significant step, in the right direction.
We established early on, that the club never talks to its current fanbase. We have no idea about their trends and habits, and in order to understand them, we have to get to know them. Why do some fans pick and choose their games? Why have we lost around a third of our fanbase since the Centenary season? What can be done to encourage these people to get back into the habit? Market research is a key element and will probably need outside, and professional, assistance as this is also another entirely separate science.
It was also agreed that varying projects need to be managed in the short, medium and long term. The Yeovil match, for example, was a short term initiative. The medium term initiative could be to get to know the fan base, and the long term view has got to be to establish a day out at Dale as the premier family day activity in the Borough. In other words, each match is seen as an event, and therefore increases loyalty.
It is clear that any attempts to increase numbers should not lose sight of retaining the existing numbers. You wouldn’t run a bath without first putting the plug in was an early sound bite in the first September meeting. This brings us back once again to researching the fanbase, but early indications from general chat amongst our peers, is that there is a requirement to improve the matchday experience. Atmosphere cannot be artificially produced but it can be encouraged. Currently, fans drift away after a match and by the time they get home they have no memories of the day out. The Yeovil match ended in a dour 0-0 draw, but 400+ fans will fondly remember the day as the day they sat in Willbutts Lane. The Think Tank accepts that the ground layout and economics make wholesale change virtually impossible, but there may exist a few opportunities in selected matches to change things round. A couple of examples to create a different matchday experience could be:
1. For the Sheffield games give the Sandy Lane to the visitors as well as Willbutts, and make Pearl Street £15 for the day.
2. Engage with local bands and allow them to do a gig pre-match. Give Band members a ticket to stay and watch the match and band members will bring their families and we’re back to our brand again! And if one of these bands do one day ‘make it’, the potential spin offs for the club could be sizeable.
3. Select a fixture where U16’s can come for free. Don’t inconvenience them by insisting they have to have a ticket. U16’s should be able to roll up and go
through a designated turnstile for free on the day. Again, this sits in with the family brand as many will bring a parent.
4. Build up a database of supporter’s mobile phone numbers. One way of doing this is asking fans to Text their man of the match to a 33345 type number from 4.30pm. One fan will receive the matchday shirt of the player if they select the winning candidate. Bournemouth do this successfully. We tried it out last October at our 1-1 draw at Dean Court. By the time we got home, we’d had two texts advertising other events at the club including their next home fixture versus Bury which, co-incidentally, was also their designated family day.
It’s not just the matchday experience however that retains loyalty. Fans want to feel included by the club. There are several simple ways this can be done — on-line surveys are the easiest, but next season’s kit design could be a competition. This is another way to engage fans, in particular, the younger ones.
And for the older end — what should the club do with Studds for example? Give the fans the opportunity to create the ground and matchday experience they want!
4) If we can’t promote ourselves, then who will?
An untapped large group of people are the Goldbond members. The club have an army of agents who visit around 8000 homes per week where the householder must have at least a fleeting interest in the club. Giving out result sheets is outdated (although probably still essential in a very small percentage of cases).
The club should therefore, seek to possess the email address of every Goldbond member under the guise of “we will email you the Goldbond results sheet every Monday”. The club then emails them a link to the club’s website every Monday. This then also doubles up as an advert for the club, as users invariably may browse other stories on the website. This form of advertising will save the club money due to not printing anywhere as near as many result sheets, and the database (unlike our Wembley one) should always be bang up to date. It is also an obvious way to recruit the collectors and canvassers of the future. As an example, DC recently retired leaving around 7 rounds to fill. How much easier would it have been, to be able to email every member on that round asking them if they wanted to take it over?
Given the massive rise in people having Smart Phones these days, this has to be part of the strategy. Using twitter and facebook means that we have the ability to directly contact hundreds / thousands of people in an instant with no financial implication for the club. Doing so via SMS would cost us loads. Look at clubs like Walsall which advertised their facebook and twitter accounts pitchside, in the programme and around the ground. They do not see these things purely as an afterthought.
Look at what works. TVOS contributor Girlonaterrace has built up a following on Twitter where she has built up a following where anything she does is read by over 6,000 people — a following she has built up in less than a year. Lessons learned from people like her would allow us to reach many, many more people than we currently do.
Facebook can be used to push events and promote things in a similar way to Twitter. “Tag Yourself” in the crowd recently saw the number of followers on RochdaleAFC.com’s facebook page double in the space of a week. It makes people far more involved if they could tag their faces in crowd shots.
Other free club medias also exist. The tannoy at matches, plus the matchday programme. As an example of how we slip up, not one club shop product line has been advertised in the matchday programme this season. (in April this is still the case!) The club shop must be the heartbeat of the whole operation as this is where customers go to further demonstrate their loyalty to the brand, and they also pay you for the privilege! Every item purchased is then a visible advert to anyone who sees it and it further increases the bond between fan and club.
Any forward thinking organisation as well as looking at increasing its customer base, looks to try and increase the revenue from each existing customer. Look at Sky — you take out the subscription with them, and then they are on at you to take out extra channels, HD, 3D tv, broadband, phone services etc. We want supporters not just paying their admission fees — we want them buying programmes, pies, stuff in the club shop — United push for the out of town supporters because they know these fans will be more likely to visit their megastore than your average Salford Joe. But we cannot assume our fans will visit the club shop just to have a nosey, especially given how much confidence has been lost since the introduction of Carbrini. It is criminal that we have things for sale in there that have not been advertised in either TVOS, the official website, emails, facebook, twitter etc.
Another free and easy way to advertise shop products is to get players and coaching staff wearing the new training top or whatever item that needs selling. Fans will identify with Gary Jones warming up in product x, and they will then want to buy it. This is precisely why replica shirts are always the biggest selling item at every club. If the Chairman is being interviewed for the official website for example, this is where a Dale mug/calendar/tie etc should all be on display. Advertising is possibly one of the hardest sciences to evaluate a decent return on your outlay, but when so many opportunities exist to do it for free, they have to be grasped — especially if the end result increases customer loyalty.
The club must put together a Modus Operandi for publicising all matches/events. The build up to each match should begin on the Monday with interviews, stories etc from key personnel like the Physio, Captain and Manager. This costs nothing, should increase Dale World subscriptions, and includes everybody more fully into what is happening up at Spotland. The “closed door approach” has been a reoccurring grumble amongst fans on the terraces for a good few years now.
5) Winning Football is not enough
Just as a starter, ask yourselves the following questions:
- How many supporters didn't renew their season ticket last season?
- What percentage of supporters do we lose when a supporter goes from U16 price to the Adult rate?
- What is the difference to the % of U-16's attending a home game depending on whether it’s an afternoon or evening kick off?
- What is the impact of a midweek home game clashing with a Champions League game?
- How many home games per season does the average supporter attend?
- Which games during a season does a ticket promotion have the biggest impact on? Higher profile games or the hum drum matches?
- How many of the 16000+ who went to Wembley have been to Spotland since?
- How many of the 8000 Goldbond households have never been to Spotland?
- How many supporters after a tickets promotion will attend the next game?
It goes without saying that we don’t know the answers to any of the above questions. But a forward thinking football club that doesn’t take the attendance of a single supporter for granted, would consider each of the above (and more beyond it) and ensure that some sort of marketing strategy is put in place with this criteria in mind.
Whatever the Club’s Board of Directors chooses to do, they will need someone to run it. Back in September it was stressed by all those present that we were happy to meet and brainstorm, but we would not be willing to execute ideas in our own spare time. We felt there was an opportunity for the club to recruit, say a Fan’s Liaison Officer, who would report to the Think Tank and would have their job description written by the Think Tank. Part of the pay should be performance based with the sort of targets that would operate in any other business — things like having specific targets for season ticket sales, average attendance, new supporters, developing the customer fanbase (in fact all club employees should be operating under such specific targets). Such an employee could also actively spend time looking at the work undertaken by other clubs and seeing what ideas we can poach for ourselves.
Any such move has to be done professionally, and we cannot exclusively rely on volunteers from well meaning supporters, nor can something of this size be issued as additional duties for a current employee. It might even be worth copying Bury, who not too long ago, recruited a Marketing man to their Board of Directors to run that side of the club. He’s called Mark Caitlin and the buckets speak very highly of him so he must be good! The type of work undertaken would be to address the answers to the sort of questions above.
6) The Next Generation of Dale Supporters
Children are essential to the long term planning.
Several ideas have been floated in the meetings. These are:
1. Adopt a different primary school for each match. This is something Notts County do very well. The Trust are currently on the verge of launching Junior Dale which, once done, needs to be run by the club. The principal of adopting a school for the day could be an educational one. Children arrive in the morning and are given an education on the history of Rochdale. The Co-op may have a part to play. They are then given an education on the history of the football club, with use of promotional dvd’s. A tour of the ground plus lunch and by 3pm, they should be on the edge of their seats in anticipation! A half time kick about can be incorporated into the day along with a ticket for the next home match. This fits in with the new brand.
2. The mascot package needs to be re-thought. At circa £175, it is unrealistic to expect a mascot at every home fixture. As with international matches, why not one mascot per player? It’s free to any child who has bought the full strip from the club shop and buys one adult ticket for the match. Again, this sits nicely in with the new brand. When a parent is in the shop buying a Junior shirt they can be made aware by staff, that if they also buy the shorts and socks, their child can have a free mascot package. This is tremendous PR (worthy of the National Media who will spin it as Dale give away 253 — 23x11 - mascot packages) and will most likely ensure that child’s loyalty remains for life.
3. Any supporter who buys an adult season ticket, is automatically given a free U11’s season ticket. Most of us started watching when going with a mate’s Dad, or a neighbour. Use the current fan base to seek out (and hook) the children in.
4. Make all U16’s entry free of charge, or a token admission price. One off promotions won’t have the long term effect that is wanted, so lets develop a culture where young supporters have been going week in week out for years, and friendships developed where going to Spotland is part of that friendship. The social side of football is often underplayed, and such a bold move would be groundbreaking in football, easy to market, but more importantly, it would develop the habit forming of attending games. I don’t know what the figure is that the club receives for junior admission over a season, but consideration should be made to the extra benefits such a move would bring. This could be pitched as free season tickets to allow the club to charge away supporters for kids, and allow a bit more “product” to such a package rather than just a free turnstile, whilst collecting in supporter information at the same time for the club database.
In addition
*Here is a copy and paste of the results for a Google search of “Family day out in Rochdale. What appears below is part of the competition!
1. Family Days Out and Places to Visit Near Rochdale Great Britain ...
www.distance-calculator.co.uk/familydayout-near-rochdale-great%2...
Showing Family Type Days out nearest to rochdale - Zoom in Or Out on the map to view more - Family Days Out Near Rochdale other Things to Do Near ...
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13.
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There are plenty of places you can go near you for days out. ... First aid may seem boring, but sadly if your own family needs it in an emergency, it is the… ...
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Touchstones Rochdale, The Esplanade, RochdaleOL16 1AQ ... We offer parents andfamilies the best restaurants for little ones, events in Manchester, parks and ...
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9. Tourist Information - Link4Life
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2. The mascot package needs to be re-thought. At circa £175, it is unrealistic to expect a mascot at every home fixture. As with international matches, why not one mascot per player? It’s free to any child who has bought the full strip from the club shop and buys one adult ticket for the match. Again, this sits nicely in with the new brand. When a parent is in the shop buying a Junior shirt they can be made aware by staff, that if they also buy the shorts and socks, their child can have a free mascot package. This is tremendous PR (worthy of the National Media who will spin it as Dale give away 253 — 23x11 - mascot packages) and will most likely ensure that child’s loyalty remains for life.
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Absolutely right! £175 is way, way, too high. I enquired about this package for my lad having entered the "12 Days of Christmas" package and was gobsmacked at the price. It should be £20-£30 tops and just think of the longer term benefits of getting a fan for life. Dale should be all about offering this sort of personal touch/experience to children. This current policy is ludicrous - get it sorted someone please. |  |
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| Post deleted on 22:34 - Apr 15 with 1339 views | Doris |
just a thought like
Who has the ultimate responsability at the club ,usually its the MD ,we dont have one .
we have a chairman and as of lately 5 directors,who will take the blame if a major problem hits the club. [Post edited 1 Jan 1970 1:00]
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| Post deleted on 08:05 - Apr 16 with 1234 views | NigelWatson |
| Post deleted on 23:50 - Apr 13 by Doris |
you have a PM ,you asked for it enjoy and if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask. |
Any chance of PM for me too?
My guess: Jones was fed up with Coleman's
1. Hoofball / Pub fotball
2. Team selections - scouse only
3. Unprofessional training, circa 1973 | | | |
| Post deleted on 08:09 - Apr 16 with 1231 views | R17ALE |
| Post deleted on 22:09 - Apr 15 by blackpoolcol |
Was it not the case that Paul and Steve ran the Junior Dale. I do recall the trust launched a "free membership" for under 16s and basically took over the junior Dale.
I do remember a "Dale Dragons" promotion by the Trust but sadly it never seemed to be pushed forward.
How many of these young faces started watching with junior Dale then progressed and are still with us?
http://www.rochdaleafc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10441~381990,00.html
Going off the story I think it would have been around 2006/07 when "Junior Dale" stopped |
The Trust launched Dale Dragons circa 2005 as Junior Dale had ceased.
We acquired a decent number of members but it became too big for a volunteer to run, so we handed it over to the club.
Nothing was ever heard of it again!
I really don't think many fans appreciate just how much time is put into voluntary work for the club, it is never seen nor is it rewarded, but the voluntary hours probably exceed the paid hours in some cases. | |
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| Post deleted on 09:28 - Apr 16 with 1181 views | SuddenLad |
| Post deleted on 22:26 - Apr 15 by middale |
2. The mascot package needs to be re-thought. At circa £175, it is unrealistic to expect a mascot at every home fixture. As with international matches, why not one mascot per player? It’s free to any child who has bought the full strip from the club shop and buys one adult ticket for the match. Again, this sits nicely in with the new brand. When a parent is in the shop buying a Junior shirt they can be made aware by staff, that if they also buy the shorts and socks, their child can have a free mascot package. This is tremendous PR (worthy of the National Media who will spin it as Dale give away 253 — 23x11 - mascot packages) and will most likely ensure that child’s loyalty remains for life.
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Absolutely right! £175 is way, way, too high. I enquired about this package for my lad having entered the "12 Days of Christmas" package and was gobsmacked at the price. It should be £20-£30 tops and just think of the longer term benefits of getting a fan for life. Dale should be all about offering this sort of personal touch/experience to children. This current policy is ludicrous - get it sorted someone please. |
The mascot package (last season), included a full Dale home kit for the mascot, 4 match tickets for the main stand & lounge passes, a tour of the ground, access to the home dressing room at 2.40pm, autographs from and photographs taken individually with each player, photographs with the team captains and match officials prior to kick-off, and of course the honour of leading the team onto the field at 2.55pm. Each mascot also gets a 'goody bag' full of assorted Dale merchandise.
The photographs are top quality 7x5 prints, and I dare say this package alone would cost a small fortune if commissioned privately. We got almost 40 photographs the last time we paid for the package. Loads of extra photographs, and DY did a fantastic job, no doubt about that.
Add the full retail cost of a kit, (shirt, shorts, socks) the contents of the 'goody bag', 4 match tickets, and there is no possibility you could offer that at £20-£30 a time.
Perhaps there needs to be a 'tiered' system of mascot packages, perhaps some merely walking out with the team, but others taking a full deal as it currently stands, but of those parents/grandparents I know who have bought the mascot package, I don't know anyone who feels 'ripped off' by the experience. All that was missing was a cup of tea !!
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| “It is easier to fool people, than to convince them that they have been fooled†|
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| Post deleted on 09:38 - Apr 16 with 1176 views | electricblue |
| Post deleted on 21:31 - Apr 15 by DALEYCADDERS |
Getting children to support Rochdale.
I am 12 years old and am from Birmingham so what made me want to support Rochdale?
My dad has been a Rochdale fan for most of his life and followed them even more closely after Keith Hill took over. At the age of about 7 he used to take me to roughly 15 games a season even though I preferred the big Midlands teams like Villa. But gradually I was liking Rochdale more and more, and wanting to go back. The reason me and my dad wanted to make the 200 mile round trip every saturday was for two main reasons.
1) The football that was being played was great to watch with lots of goals going in.
2) Supporting a smaller club you feel like you are part of the club. If I supported Man Utd I'd never be able to talk to the players or be able to celebrate with them. On the Exiles day for fans all around the country the players were all very friendly made you feel welcome. For example in the dressing room we spoke to Simon Hackney and Temitope Obedayi and wasn't like it was just me asking all the questions. Both of them were taking an interest by asking me what position I played in and what sort of player I am like. I am a winger and playing in same position as them they giving me some advice and tips. Also on that day (Rochdale v Walsall) when Obedayi came on he had a very good game which I'd like to think was partly down to me and my dad giving him some encouragement before the game. We told him he was a good player and to just be himself, play his natural game and be confident.
The main reaction of when I told people I was a Rochdale was "their crap". I said how do you know if you've never watched them? So i took a few mates to a game and they were surprised at how good they were. At the start of last season Rochdale played Birmingham in the Carling Cup and most of our school watched it on T.V. After all my mates watched Dale play Birmingham off the park they never said a bad word about them again. One day someone even said "Gary Jones is a miles better player than all of the blues midfielders!" From that day on Rochdale the second team of a lot of people at our school.
I think the key to attracting youngsters to Rochdale is:
1) The parents need to be willing to take them and the prices need to be fairly cheep for that to happen.
2) The football being played needs to be exciting, a kids not going to come back to see Dale again because the prices are cheap, they are going to want to come back because they enjoy watching them play! That is by far the most important reason why kids are going to want to come back to see Rochdale.
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Nice post and true..
My daughter is 22 and attended her first match in august of the year she wbs born..
I took her to all the home games on a saturday (not a mid week game as it was too cold).
She would be in the sandy end in her buggy/pram after being passed over by the lads sat there asleep in with 300 baying screaming pie munching beer swilling degenerates with wholm i trusted her with dearly..
Again on away matches, we would travel on the coach and after setting off again i would not see her until we arrived at the ground..
That is what i call a family run club you wouldnt get this at a prem club..
On her 18th birthday she contacted colin garlick and explained to him about her birthday and would it be possible to have a signed shirt by lefondre, she even said that she would buy one for him to wear...
Colin organised for her to meet and to have his match day shirt at the next home game..
You wouldnt get that elsewhere...
Oh at two she was club masscot against chesterfield and it was free thanks to maureen.. |  |
| My all time favourite Dale player Mr Lyndon Symmonds |
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| Post deleted on 10:11 - Apr 16 with 1138 views | ColDale |
| Post deleted on 09:28 - Apr 16 by SuddenLad |
The mascot package (last season), included a full Dale home kit for the mascot, 4 match tickets for the main stand & lounge passes, a tour of the ground, access to the home dressing room at 2.40pm, autographs from and photographs taken individually with each player, photographs with the team captains and match officials prior to kick-off, and of course the honour of leading the team onto the field at 2.55pm. Each mascot also gets a 'goody bag' full of assorted Dale merchandise.
The photographs are top quality 7x5 prints, and I dare say this package alone would cost a small fortune if commissioned privately. We got almost 40 photographs the last time we paid for the package. Loads of extra photographs, and DY did a fantastic job, no doubt about that.
Add the full retail cost of a kit, (shirt, shorts, socks) the contents of the 'goody bag', 4 match tickets, and there is no possibility you could offer that at £20-£30 a time.
Perhaps there needs to be a 'tiered' system of mascot packages, perhaps some merely walking out with the team, but others taking a full deal as it currently stands, but of those parents/grandparents I know who have bought the mascot package, I don't know anyone who feels 'ripped off' by the experience. All that was missing was a cup of tea !!
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Whilst it may be value for money given what is given, it is not accessible for 90% of the families who go watching Dale. Being a mascot should be something that helps cement Dale in the heart of a young supporter. | | | |
| Post deleted on 10:18 - Apr 16 with 1126 views | SuddenLad |
| Post deleted on 10:11 - Apr 16 by ColDale |
Whilst it may be value for money given what is given, it is not accessible for 90% of the families who go watching Dale. Being a mascot should be something that helps cement Dale in the heart of a young supporter. |
Hence my last paragraph. As I said, a 'tiered' set of packages would be more suitable, and each prospective purchaser could decide which specific package they wanted to buy.
Make no mistake, £175 is a big whack on the pocket, and out of my personal reach too, but fortunately, several family members 'clubbed together' for the deal as a birthday present.
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| “It is easier to fool people, than to convince them that they have been fooled†|
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| Post deleted on 10:22 - Apr 16 with 1117 views | G_Dale |
After the fans forum last year, or the year before, I had a quick chat with Colin garlic. I suggested a scheme/project/affiliation between RAFC and Rochdale sunday football leagues. I suggested packages/ticket discounts being available to Sunday league teams. Something along the lines of selling 15 or so tickets to the Sunday league team at reduced price. This way the ametur team has a day out, builds team spirit, etc and the dale make money and increase interest/following in our team.
Colin said a foreign ametur team over here for a break had already do such a 'deal' after they approached the club via email. So this shows the club are willing to do such deals with amateur clubs but only when they approach the dale.
Seems like another case of it's not worth the hassle, even though it would increase revenue and fan base. I'm not saying it would make united/city/Blackburn fans switch n follow the dale, but it would mean they come and watch and all be it support Rochdale for the day. Thought? | |
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| Post deleted on 10:28 - Apr 16 with 1104 views | 442Dale |
| Post deleted on 08:05 - Apr 16 by NigelWatson |
Any chance of PM for me too?
My guess: Jones was fed up with Coleman's
1. Hoofball / Pub fotball
2. Team selections - scouse only
3. Unprofessional training, circa 1973 |
Will ask again, when exactly have we played hoofball? We continued to pass it at two down on Saturday.
Jones upset at Scouse only selections? Yes. Quite. | |
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| Post deleted on 11:24 - Apr 16 with 1052 views | BlueDutch |
| Post deleted on 18:50 - Apr 15 by R17ALE |
Yes. Anything can be texted out for free.
For example, last Monday, the active computers could have been programmed to issue a reminder that the Sheff Utd match is all ticket which also doubles up as a reminder that we are playing on the Tuesday night.
At 7.15pm on Tuesday, the club based computer could have been updated to say, "Don't forget to buy your programme from the sellers outside the ground."
At half time, another text advertising the Exeter game could have been delivered.
And sponsors can be added - indeed it is an additional perk to being a match sponsor.
If the technology is installed across the Borough, it can be used to announced postponements and game on messages, new kit arrivals....anything you like really. |
Just one point. You said earlier that any idea of using the town centre would be a waste of time, yet you would consider setting up a PC for the Bluetooth project in the town centre. Surely it would be wiser to set a PC up near to either Tesco or Asda, giving you chance of reaching more customers. I think the question asking the customer if they would like to receive a message, should include a degree of temptation or curiosity, increasing the likelyhood of the customer accepting the text. |  |
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| Post deleted on 12:20 - Apr 16 with 999 views | Boss_Hog |
| Post deleted on 11:24 - Apr 16 by BlueDutch |
Just one point. You said earlier that any idea of using the town centre would be a waste of time, yet you would consider setting up a PC for the Bluetooth project in the town centre. Surely it would be wiser to set a PC up near to either Tesco or Asda, giving you chance of reaching more customers. I think the question asking the customer if they would like to receive a message, should include a degree of temptation or curiosity, increasing the likelyhood of the customer accepting the text. |
I'm not really a big poster on the website but am a frequent reader and have been rather drawn to this currect thread and more particularly the level of commitment and/or energy given by essentially volunteers.
My only thoughts on the situation are that RAFC personnel are clearly employed at the club in specific roles and as with any job, surely it is common sense that you live and die by your success in that position; or lack of it, if that is the case.
The club has the opportunity to employ 'professionals' in every aspect of its business. This stems from our manager to his playing staff, from CEO to all off-the-field staff and maximising every commercial revenue streams would be one of the first things on the agenda for off-the-field employees. Can we honestly say any of our commercial revenue streams are being operated to their maximum potential? If they aren't, and I was Chairman, I would be asking why and seeking to rectify this. They may well be for all we know but from the outside it would appear not.
It was only in 2007 that The Club Shop was voted 'the best' in a Football League survey after Dale supporters gave it a higher average mark than any other outlet in the FL. It may not have been 'the best' in choice and variety due to its size but Dale supporters were obviously extremely happy with what was on offer and I presume this equated to profits back to the club. How have things gone so badly wrong since then and perhaps more importantly how have they been allowed to go so badly wrong?
As R17 has said the 'Team Rochdale' tag now appears a distant memory but we need to re-establish this again over the summer months as our club will only get stronger if we stick together.
We cannot afford to be infighting for us to prosper long term.
Up The Dale! | | | |
| Post deleted on 12:47 - Apr 16 with 940 views | ColDale |
| Post deleted on 11:24 - Apr 16 by BlueDutch |
Just one point. You said earlier that any idea of using the town centre would be a waste of time, yet you would consider setting up a PC for the Bluetooth project in the town centre. Surely it would be wiser to set a PC up near to either Tesco or Asda, giving you chance of reaching more customers. I think the question asking the customer if they would like to receive a message, should include a degree of temptation or curiosity, increasing the likelyhood of the customer accepting the text. |
Whilst the town centre was mentioned, the use of Supermarkets was also talked about for simple reasons that those shopping on the Saturday morning are more likely to have their Saturday afternoon free. | | | |
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. Anyway, keep the faith and "Up the Dale". 