Hi guys,
I'm not sure if Gutsy will put the following in the VFL Record (I've emailed it to him - might have just missed the deadline), but I've written a little opinion piece.
I haven't had much time to read it back or edit it - so you are seeing it in its rawest format - but let me know what you think.
Pete
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Last week I found myself going back to where I use to watch Essendon as a little kid, the famous Windy Hill. This time however, I would be going as an opposition supporter, following the mighty Borough.
A number of Port Melbourne fans tried to capture the feeling of years gone by, by meeting up for a meal at the local pub before the game, then marching as one to the ground.
As I walked into the hallowed Windy Hill, I felt something was a miss.
No, it wasn’t the fact that the old entrance gates are gone and a number of old grandstands have been pulled down. It was the ground, the game, lacked a certain vibe.
This got me thinking about “Game Day Marketingâ€. What are the clubs doing to create passion amongst their supporters and to keep people coming through the gates.
As a Port Melbourne supporter, one of the VFL’s two stand-alone clubs, we are often told how the Port Melbourne players appreciate the loud vocal support the borough fans give them in a tight match when things might not be going their way.
I’ve even heard a comment an opposition player once made, that the loneliest place on earth is the Half-Forward Flank at TEAC Oval when the Port supporters start getting stuck into them.
I noticed at Windy Hill last week that the Bombers supporters, who are famously loud and passionate when following Essendon, were rather mute when their team Bendigo need their support to rally any kind of comeback.
Possibly, the home club needed to do more to create hype amongst their supporters.
For example, when both sides first ran onto the ground for the first time, there was no playing of either team’s theme songs.
PA announcements where only heard twice through the afternoon with no mention of VFL around the ground scores (and a missed opportunity for Bendigo to promote any social events).
Nothing on at half-time to interest the crowd, where clubs like Box Hill have held footy clinics and half-time sprints (even the VFL had a super-kick comp in the finals 3 years ago).
At the end of the game, there was no theme song for the winners and no PA announcement of when the next Bendigo home game would be.
These are small things that could be easily fixed with the right planning and help create a vibe amongst supporters.
I should point out that Bendigo is not alone in this.
I ventured out a month ago to see the Northern Bullants to host Port Melbourne at Preston.
Now the Bullants have been very proactive in creating a youtube video to attract new members and also run a merchandise stall at home games – they need to be congratulated on positive marketing like that.
However, like Bendigo, they need to understand the PA microphone is an undervalued marketing tool – use it to its maximum potential (and also play the theme songs!).
Something else that caught my eye at Preston (and earlier in the year at Sandringham) is the dominance of AFL supporter colours over VFL supporter colours.
I recalled many Carlton Navy Blue jumpers, though the Bullants are Red and White, while seeing also seeing many Saints instead of Zebra scarfs.
There needs to be some thinking outside the square on this issue. Maybe a deal struck where people who sign up as an AFL Member get a free scarf of their VFL aligned team?
Does more need to be done to encourage AFL Cheer Squads to come along to VFL games and create the noise and colour for their VFL club?
Considering how many staff are working on marketing at AFL Clubs to make match-day at AFL level memorable (and to keep supporters coming back), the question has to be asked, should these marketing people be spending a little more time and resources working on the ‘VFL match day experience’?
In closing, the thing we all love about going to the football, at any level, was the COLOUR and the NOISE. As a league, as clubs and as supporters we need to ask ourselves, what are we doing to make the match-day experience memorable, so we all want to come back?
By Peter Holden.
*Peter Holden is a football commentator for 3WBC and also works in the PR industry.
