Re: Challenge Cup draw : Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:01 pm  

Not sure why you say skolars have set the bar? The first professional league game for toronto is just that, it can't be repeated it was a one off.
The pull of the CC game is not the same, there is nothing g special about it. It's a championship team playing a NL1 team so what? I reckon 6 or 700 tops

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:26 pm  

A team in the league below us, with arguably a much smaller fan base managed to draw 1500 to their ground with a little bit of creativity and hard work. To be honest, they seem to be much more professional on their approach to their marketing their events, while we rely on a big gate from a larger club.

Toronto seem to be a club that is proactive and willing to work with their opponents to help create an event and a presence. I wonder if our great club will be as co-operative?

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Mon Mar 06, 2017 10:00 pm  

Maybe Skolars have set the bar for marketing a one off event?
As far as I'm aware Broncos are charging the usual price for a match ticket ( think it was half price for the same round last year v Fev but I'm happy to be corrected) and as for promotion I saw an A4 poster stuck to the door of the 'club shop' advertising the game.
There's a bit of time to promote the game but knowing London it's usually the Kevin Costner approach.

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:13 am  

Unfortunately the kick off date / time will also take out a chunk of those who travel in from outside London. I'm looking at half a day off work realistically and I'm probably less than 30 miles away. Ludicrous but true given the trave scenario on Friday nights.

No complaints about the timing though. I understand there are issues and frankly a well marketed Friday night event could work in London. The well marketed bit is the key though.

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:48 am  

You would think that some effort would be put into marketing this game. I suspect the poster on the door was it.
It will be the usual approach, wait and see who turns up.

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Tue Mar 07, 2017 11:06 am  

Dan, are you doing the game by train, if so what route?

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Tue Mar 07, 2017 11:08 am  

Halfdan of t'wide embrace wrote:

Unfortunately the kick off date / time will also take out a chunk of those who travel in from outside London. I'm looking at half a day off work realistically and I'm probably less than 30 miles away. Ludicrous but true given the trave scenario on Friday nights.

No complaints about the timing though. I understand there are issues and frankly a well marketed Friday night event could work in London. The well marketed bit is the key though.

Happy to stand corrected but the last well marketed game I can recall was one against Cas on a Friday night at the Stoop, wasn't there a cheap/ free ticket offer in the Standard?
I understand the difficulty some will have getting into Ealing on a Friday night, but I can't be the only one who works in town and could make it?

Think the club need to rethink ticket prices for this one, a tenner ought to do it.

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Tue Mar 07, 2017 11:29 am  

The marketing issue is always going to be a discussion point. Where do you market the game? We continue to go through this loop, target the locals always seem to be the theme! Why? What makes rugby league anymore appealing to the Ealing locals than anything else going on. Our fan base is much wider spread so who do you target? And where do you market?
Fri night is not ideal, yep travel is a challenge for lots of folk but folk find a way around like halfdan, I will be there and I am 90 odd miles away and working all day!
All those fans that walked away from years gone past are still there, they just don't bother coming anymore, the only marketing that will get them back is by us being back in Super League, a poster on a tube station wall is not going to convince them to come and watch again.

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Tue Mar 07, 2017 2:47 pm  

mickyb1234 wrote:

The marketing issue is always going to be a discussion point. Where do you market the game? We continue to go through this loop, target the locals always seem to be the theme! Why? What makes rugby league anymore appealing to the Ealing locals than anything else going on. Our fan base is much wider spread so who do you target? And where do you market?
Fri night is not ideal, yep travel is a challenge for lots of folk but folk find a way around like halfdan, I will be there and I am 90 odd miles away and working all day!
All those fans that walked away from years gone past are still there, they just don't bother coming anymore, the only marketing that will get them back is by us being back in Super League, a poster on a tube station wall is not going to convince them to come and watch again.

I'm one of the fans that walked, and it wasn't relegation from SL that caused it by a long shot! I walked because the club was run pathetically from top to bottom for years on end and I'd finally had enough of it - but that's all been done to death.

I went to a couple of games last season - mainly because my dad was missing live games (as I was truth be told) - and we've been to both HullKR and Bradford this season. I like what Henderson is doing on the pitch, and I don't just mean winning a few games, it's about players and staff being responsible for their performances and building something that's accountable. If only the same could be said of the club off the field! It's just as poorly run as ever, with the sole intention seemingly that the owner has a game of rugby to watch. I live in Ealing and the club has done absolutely nothing to make people aware of their existence, they honestly couldn't have a lower profile if they tried.

How embarrassing for all concerned that the Challenge Cup game will likely get half as many spectators as the Skolars achieved.

Re: Challenge Cup draw : Tue Mar 07, 2017 3:34 pm  

If you go back as I do to the early days at Charlton, there were vouchers in The Sun giving entry for Five Pounds. I got quite a few to go on the back of that and they kept going until we moved to The Stoop. There was also the promotion which gave away a Ford Fiesta, one person a game got picked out and at the end of the season there was a thing where each pulled out a key and if it opened the door they were a winner. That got a few in.
We do not seem to have put that much effort in since those days.