Promoting the club

[CollegeTillIDie]

It speaks volumes for the Eircom League that a game involving the top team in the League can barely break the 500 barrier in terms of attendances.
I know a lot of the normal Cork travelling support were not there owing to saving there Euros for the Lithuania trip.

It seems a lot of our semi-regulars couldn't be arsed to attend last night ! :(
We got bigger gates than last night on a couple of occasions last season when we were still a First Division side!

Is summer soccer an overhyped product? Has it really improved attendances?
I have serious doubts that it has made any significant impact on the attendance front. When you factor in people on holidays in July and August, I honestly believe that a winter season with a short break at Christmas and slightly later finishing time would have achieved as much.

[el tk]

Wow, I can't remember the last time the team got beaten so bad. I think the attendance thing hurts UCD more because there's a ready-made fanbase of what 25,000 people but they're not there for most of the season and I've never really seen an attempt by the club to advertise games or even its existence to the local populace.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Wow, I can't remember the last time the team got beaten so bad. I think the attendance thing hurts UCD more because there's a ready-made fanbase of what 25,000 people but they're not there for most of the season and I've never really seen an attempt by the club to advertise games or even its existence to the local populace.

The advertising the game to students thing was tried for years and failed to elicit much of a response except to the extent that we now have a Supporters club and STIG and those guys started to come to games some years ago when they started studying. Students either go home for the weekend during term time, are GAA or Rugby heads or are like the vast majority of so called Soccer fans, in this city, more interested in booze than going to games :p

[Poor Student]

It's not the students of the college we should be aiming at really, it's the people of the locality just like all eL clubs should. Sadly we're in the heart of rugby land though. Then people have stupid perceptions of the team like that we're just a bunch of students literally and assume they can't follow us like any normal club. Plus I think the summer thing really could be knocking attendences. Last two home league games have been quite low. I myself have been missing for 3 weeks.

[el tk]

We've been here so many times I don't think we should even bother anymore. They all like Rugby!

I live fairly close and admittedly, I do like rugby a good bit, but i still think if the club actually got off its arse and tried advertising the fact that a football team in the Eircom league plays nearby they'd get a response, I mean even the ground is basically hidden away in a corner of the campus. If people know there's a match on they'd be more likely to maybe wander down. The last time I ever found out anything about the club without having to search myself was when we were in the Inter-Toto cup and the club made those discount offer thingies (which I actually delivered).

[pineapple stu]

I live fairly close and admittedly, I do like rugby a good bit, but i still think if the club actually got off its arse and tried advertising the fact that a football team in the Eircom league plays nearby they'd get a response.
True. The problem is that there are actually so few people involved in running the club that things like this are hard to organise. I suppose we have to hold our hands upand say it's something the Supporters' Club should be more involved in. That said, the tickets for the InterToto Cup you mentioned got a very poor take-up.

However, the likes of the summer soccer camps are great - all the kids get season tickets (for the second half of the season, of course) and also membership of the Supporters' Club - I send out a monthly newsletter to about 120 e-mail addresses (which is probably 200+ people).

I suppose it should be noted that four years ago when we played Cork, we got two crowds of 250. Galway (twice) and Monaghan were below 200. In 2002, Derry was 300 and Bray 350. Now 500 is disappointing. There were about 100 Cork fans - and 100 away fans at the Derry and Waterford games, which had similar crowds - so our base support is now up to 400. That's 33% up on our average for last season. So something's going right at least. It's a slow thing to build up and increase a support, as any eL club will tell you, but I think we are going the right way. Which isn't to say that we couldn't be doing more.

[Poor Student]

Perhaps there should be a specific effort made to raise awareness during Freshers Week? Maybe free entry or ridiculously cheap entry for any UCD student for the first few weeks of college. Perhaps even some of us still in the college could perform the embarrasing task of going around before lectures and making an awareness announcement and dropping a message on the projector? Maybe some of us should get the finger out one week and drop leaflets and a few others things and see if it makes a difference in the following match.

[CollegeTillIDie]

I live fairly close and admittedly, I do like rugby a good bit, but i still think if the club actually got off its arse and tried advertising the fact that a football team in the Eircom league plays nearby they'd get a response, I mean even the ground is basically hidden away in a corner of the campus. If people know there's a match on they'd be more likely to maybe wander down. The last time I ever found out anything about the club without having to search myself was when we were in the Inter-Toto cup and the club made those discount offer thingies (which I actually delivered).

We've only been in the League for 26 years... is this another abject lesson in the unimportance of the National printed media?

[Bald Student]

i still think if the club actually got off its arse and tried advertising the fact that a football team in the Eircom league plays nearby they'd get a responseYou sound like your volunteering. The club would apreciate any help you can offer.

[el tk]

You sound like your volunteering. The club would apreciate any help you can offer.

The me would appreciate any money you would offer in return. If you actually try something I might be interested.

[Bald Student]

Perhaps there should be a specific effort made to raise awareness during Freshers Week?


If you actually try something I might be interested.

Sounds like a plan is coming together. Any specific ideas post below.


P.S. el tk, good luck with your 'money in return'.

[el tk]

Sounds like a plan is coming together. Any specific ideas post below.


P.S. el tk, good luck with your 'money in return'.

That's awfully optomistic. I've recently started having the Southside People delivered to my house again, you could try a full page ad with upcoming fixtures or somesuch. Towards the front though.

As for the Inter-Toto ticket things not working, if memory serves the thing was horribly organised, I got the things to deliver the day before the match and I got them out but I knew of others who weren't able to or didn't bother.

Another thing you could do is advertise in the Sports Centre, with all the summer camps, Crunch Fitness and the rest of it there's a fair amount of people going through there on a day to day basis. The women's team put up posters with match dates there.

[CollegeTillIDie]

That's awfully optomistic. I've recently started having the Southside People delivered to my house again, you could try a full page ad with upcoming fixtures or somesuch. Towards the front though.

As for the Inter-Toto ticket things not working, if memory serves the thing was horribly organised, I got the things to deliver the day before the match and I got them out but I knew of others who weren't able to or didn't bother.

Another thing you could do is advertise in the Sports Centre, with all the summer camps, Crunch Fitness and the rest of it there's a fair amount of people going through there on a day to day basis. The women's team put up posters with match dates there.

Also someone should liaise with the Montrose Hotel. Maybe some of the American tour parties might like to see a University team , who uniquely in Western Europe are playing " major League soccer " while they are here!

P.S The Women's team are the reigning Champions of the League and barely manage an attendance numbering 50.

[pineapple stu]

I've recently started having the Southside People delivered to my house again, you could try a full page ad with upcoming fixtures or somesuch. Towards the front though.
I've tried on a couple of occasions to have regular match reports - similar to the ones here really - included in the Southside People. No luck, unfortunately. They never got back to me.

[John83]

Perhaps there should be a specific effort made to raise awareness during Freshers Week? Maybe free entry or ridiculously cheap entry for any UCD student for the first few weeks of college.
We've spoken with Diarmuid McNally, the club's development officer, about this in the past. His view on that is illuminating - the club's tickets, even given away free, don't interest the students. Part of the problem is that they're just some text printed on coloured card. Giving away professionally made, high quality tickets might get a larger response, but it's just too expensive. The Soccer Supporters' Society got a tiny (read: ~0) response during Freshers' Week in 2003/04, even though we were offering discounted entry to games and access to our allocation of Ireland tickets. Students suck at supporting things. They need to be hit with info at every turn before they'll think twice about anything - which is why I like your next suggestion.


Perhaps even some of us still in the college could perform the embarrasing task of going around before lectures and making an awareness announcement and dropping a message on the projector? Maybe some of us should get the finger out one week and drop leaflets and a few others things and see if it makes a difference in the following match.
Even just droping a slide on the projector might make a difference if we're doing it for every match. I'd definately be up for that.

[Poor Student]

Even just droping a slide on the projector might make a difference if we're doing it for every match. I'd definately be up for that.

I'll actually try to do that if I'm a tutor next year. When the college year nearly starts I'll post up again and see if some of us left in the college can try this. Though if I recall correctly all the big societies like C&E are vying for pre-lecture announcing and projector space and students are generally apathetic to these announcements. It's a pity Victor Connerty isn't still around as he'd have dropped a word in is lectures if asked.

[Poor Student]

As a matter of interest what was the attendence at the Inter Toto game?

[Poor Student]

Ah crap, I was looking at the fixture list. Unless we're involved in a home tie in the FAI Cup quarter finals there isn't a home game until two weeks into the college year in October and that's against Waterford.

[John83]

As a matter of interest what was the attendence at the Inter Toto game?
Fairly large from what I recall the lads saying (I didn't start coming to games until the following season). It's the return rate of the flyers (which had discounts associated IIRC) that was poor.

[pineapple stu]

About 1000 or so at the Velbazhd game. Looked larger at the time, but I think it was seated only, so the AIB stand was packed. A couple of thousand tickets were dropped out around the neighbourhood; less than 1% went to the game.


Perhaps even some of us still in the college could perform the embarrasing task of going around before lectures and making an awareness announcement and dropping a message on the projector?
Remember thinking about that when I was in college. Can't remember why we didn't go ahead with it - whether it was just cost/organisation or whether services had a problem with it. The latter is quite possible.

[pineapple stu]

Should this be split, incidentally?

[John83]

Remember thinking about that when I was in college. Can't remember why we didn't go ahead with it - whether it was just cost/organisation or whether services had a problem with it. The latter is quite possible.
I can't see why - other societies do it often enough. If needs be, we can dress it up as an official SSS action, thus lumping all the blame on Bald Student. :)

[Bald Student]

Lads,
I think we just didn't bother. None of us wanted to look like an eejit standing up in front of a lecture. Any of the other initiatives we've tried; posters, cheap tickets, free beer have all failed.

If someone wants to organise anything for next freshers week I'd be happy to help. My suggestion would be to hand out fliers for cheap tickets at the registration day that first years do the week before term starts.

[John83]

Lads,
I think we just didn't bother. None of us wanted to look like an eejit standing up in front of a lecture. Any of the other initiatives we've tried; posters, cheap tickets, free beer have all failed.

We don't have to start speaking to theatre L or anything John, just drop the slide on the projector and turn the thing on. People don't read posters, they don't value the free tickets. I don't know why free beer didn't work; perhaps the free beer market is saturated(!). If you're sitting in a theatre, waiting for a lecture to begin though, you'll read the thing on the projector.


If someone wants to organise anything for next freshers week I'd be happy to help. My suggestion would be to hand out fliers for cheap tickets at the registration day that first years do the week before term starts.
That's not a bad idea. We'll have to see when that is, and when the next home game after it is. From what Kev said, it may be a good while away.

[Poor Student]

I think this should be split, yeah. Look I'm going to assume college starts on Monday 12th of September. Here are all the fixtures from then on:

Fri 16/09 Bray Away 7:45 pm
Weekend Ending Sunday 23/09 — FAI Cup Quarter-Finals
Fri 30/09 Cork Away 7:45 pm
Fri 07/10 Waterford Home 7:45 pm
Fri 14/10 Pats Away 7:45 pm
Fri 21/10 Derry Home 7:45 (or Cup Semi Final)
Fri 28/10 Bohs Home 7:45 pm
Sat 05/11 Harps Away 7:45 pm
Sat 12/11 Longford Away 7:30 pm
Fri 18/11 Rovers Home 7:45 pm

Possibly it's better to launch a campaign for that Waterford game as the massive societies would just muscle us out anyway in Freshers Week. Would McNally actually agree to free tickets or something of the likes?

How the hell did free beer fail? Does anyone know why our attendences actually have risen over the last 5-10 years?

[pineapple stu]

How the hell did free beer fail?
Lots of places gave free beer - overcrowded market, as mentioned... Plus, the college started clamping down on beer promotions a few years back amid fears that they were turning our fine undergraduates into raving alcoholics...!


Does anyone know why our attendences actually have risen over the last 5-10 years?
Hard to give a definitive answer, but I'd say the switch away from College advertising has helped hugely. The soccer camps we run each year are great - 400/500 kids are each coached by the players, get some freebies including a season ticket and obviously the idea is that they'll want to go and see their coaches in action. They also get free membership to the Supporters' Club, receiving the e-mail newsletter each month which reminds them of the upcoming matches each month. There's a similar thing done for kids in disadvantaged areas around the area, and they are all brought to a match at the end as well. There's some sort of link with Mount Merrion as well - don't know what that entails though outside of giving the kids season tickets.

[Bald Student]

There's a home match on the Friday before term starts aswell. It's not been confirmed yet but it's likely that 2,000 first years will be registering in admin that afternoon and milling around campus that evening. That'd be the best place to target in my opinion. If any of them turn up for that game they might well come along to an away trip to Bray the following Friday.

[Poor Student]

If any of them turn up for that game they might well come along to an away trip to Bray the following Friday.

That's pretty ambitous to expect about the Bray thing. But you're right on the registration thing. We play Drogs at home. Is there any gimmicky thing we could do to entice them? Some freebies to give away should they actually turn up. Most of the societies seem to get them hands on free crap from sponsors to entice people.

[Poor Student]

Shooter ideally we should attack all angles. We should try and persuade students at the college, as this is most convenient with a giant lump of people being in the one place. However we should try to convince non-students at the same time that we are not just a college team but a real team on their doorstep that is one of the best in Ireland. Do you have any suggestions as to how to attract 2nd level students?

[el tk]

Yeah I think you're right, I'm a second-level student and I usually go with a few people but we've tried to get other people along and their response is along the lines of 'eL is crap', 'I support Rovers' etc.

[Poor Student]

Yeah I think you're right, I'm a second-level student and I usually go with a few people but we've tried to get other people along and their response is along the lines of 'eL is crap', 'I support Rovers' etc.

How many of you are there el tk? Why don't you join the rest of us at the end near the programme shack/turnstiles end of the stand? I also think that you get a feeling when you come to the game that we have no support. Years ago when I went a few times and sat more to the middle I used to think I was the only person there to see UCD. The more of us that can congregate, sing and show colour in the one spot, the more likely people are to feel part of a group of supporters and not buy into the myth that we have 10 supporters.

[Poor Student]

The best way to approach 2nd level students I believe is something along the lines of 'get a taste of what life is like in UCD' cos apart from the open days, 2nd level students have little way of finding out what its really like. I know football matches offer little in showing what lectures etc are like but to any 4th/5th year who is keen to go to UCD, they want to get associated with the place when they are still in school so they can feel more at home when they arrive in 1st year. Football is an ideal way to do that. Get what I mean?


Also as an aside, I think a promotion of say 3 for the price of 2 is better than money off because if you get a group of friends going to a match, they are more likely to return than a person by themselves

I see where you're coming from. It's certainly something we as people can't do though. It would have to be the club or college. The 3 for 2 sounds good in theory but would be abused by regulars or away fans more than availed of by new supporters.

[pineapple stu]

Do you have any suggestions as to how to attract 2nd level students?
One way would be to put up posters in the schools about upcoming matches; maybe put them on the e-mailing list so they can print off a few copies of the monthly newsletter and stick it in the libraries. Posters can be e-mailed and printed off by the schools, saving on postage.

UCD are in a good position to get some sort of favourable deal going with schools because of the link with the third level institution - the idea being that in promoting the football club, you're getting people into the habit of going to UCD from an early age, so they'll be a small bit more motivated to study harder and get into UCD, etc. I think we could get a good response from that alone.

Couple of problems (as always - sorry!)

1) School is September to June, which leaves out two or three months of the season. Though I suppose you can't have everything.
2) Ideally, you'd want someone to go around to schools and talk to them about this personally. This brings up the issue of people having time, etc.
3) There is a scheme in Hollypark school, I think, where free tickets are available for some games. I know of some kids in the school who would be mortified at the thought of going to a UCD game - one said that "there's no money" in the eL, so they were happy supporting Manchester United. Unfortunately, that's the sort of thing we're up against at times...


Also as an aside, I think a promotion of say 3 for the price of 2
I suggested to the committee that for the Kilkenny game last season, we announce on all the local media that we were doing free entry for the game. They weren't too keen on this - though I think it has huge potential - saying that it wasn't budgeted for. Oldham Athletic did this in 2003/04 and got twice their average crowd (13,000) - about 4,000 more than they'd had for he past few years.

[pineapple stu]

Another thing the Supporters' Club do is to give away four free tickets - together with two programmes and two fanzines - to every home league game to someone at random from the membership list. The idea, obviously, is to try and catch someone who's lapsed - or who went to the soccer camp but never to a UCD game - and get them back along to Belfield Park. Most - though not all - who get the tickets do head along, in fairness.

[Poor Student]

I suggested to the committee that for the Kilkenny game last season, we announce on all the local media that we were doing free entry for the game. They weren't too keen on this - though I think it has huge potential - saying that it wasn't budgeted for. Oldham Athletic did this in 2003/04 and got twice their average crowd (13,000) - about 4,000 more than they'd had for he past few years.

Last night may have been perfect to experiment this actually. No one was attending anyway plus it was a cup quarter final and being a latter stage cup game it was hardly budgeted for.

By the way would the college/club actually help out if we were to print posters and the likes to attempt to advertise?

[pineapple stu]

By the way would the college/club actually help out if we were to print posters and the likes to attempt to advertise?
College, no.

Club - would certainly encourage it. We ususally draw up a fairly tight budget, I'd say, so the chances of getting a few bob wuold be small. 'Twas another thing we were looking at doing this season, but it required having the programme money behind us, unfortunately.

[Poor Student]

Where does the STIG money go btw?

I was thinking to be honest if we wanted to attract pure casual first timers from the student body that the student ticket price should actually be €4 maximum. I know you say McNally says low prices and free tickets don't work but surely once we crossed the fiver note barrier that creates a psychological feeling of too high an expense for someone wavering on going?

[pineapple stu]

Where does the STIG money go btw?
Don't get a huge amount (maybe E30 a game). Much of it goes on subsidising buses to away games. The last couple of years, we've bought in the scarves and keyrings as well, obviously.

[Poor Student]

Don't get a huge amount (maybe E30 a game). Much of it goes on subsidising buses to away games. The last couple of years, we've bought in the scarves and keyrings as well, obviously.

Wait you lads actually buy in the stock for the shack and not the club?

[pineapple stu]

Scarves and keyrings yes, not the jerseys. We get the money on what we buy in, obviously. That was the great thing with having the bit of money - we could look at the club and if we saw something missing, we could go out and buy it in.

[Poor Student]

Right I see, didn't realise how much voluntary work is put into the club until recently.

Another thing to do, though which may actually serve to be useless but I do often see it would be to go before a lecture in somewhere like Th. L with a free jersey and say "First one down here gets this" along with an announcement. Of course that would require the club donating free stuff and the embarrassing act of doing it. I once saw this happen for free tickets to a night out or ball or something and no one went for it. :o

[Poor Student]

Schumi will you make this a seperate thread please?

[Schumi]

Ta da!

This has the extra good effect of making the Cork scoreline less prominant :D

[Poor Student]

Ta da!

This has the extra good effect of making the Cork scoreline less prominant :D

Cheers Schumi. Good point. Now may it plummet to the depths of the board!

[Schumi]

Off topic InterToto stuff moved to the Velbazhd Kyustendil thread.

[el tk]

How many of you are there el tk? Why don't you join the rest of us at the end near the programme shack/turnstiles end of the stand? I also think that you get a feeling when you come to the game that we have no support.

There's usually 3 or 4 of us but unless it's raining we go down behind the oppostion goals so we can heckle the keeper and defenders. An idea to promote the club could be maybe to sell the jerseys in the shops around the campus (not just at games) and give away free tickets with every jersey bought, Leeds used to do it years ago. Does the committee actually admit that attendances are a problem? because if they don't they'd probably be most unwilling to allow a scheme to go ahead.

Did anyone else ever notice how if we're winning more fans materialise out of nowhere?

[Poor Student]

I thought the sports centre sold jersies. I found out the other on Monday that they're €50. They're hardly going to be bought casually anyway.

el tk, do you know a club that fans don't materialise out of nowhere once they start winning? :p

[el tk]

I'm talking about during the match, if we go one or 2 goals up the number of cheering fans increases exponentially.

[Poor Student]

Well we have a very poorly organised fan base. It's next to impossible to tell who supports UCD at a game. Fans are colourless and dispersed all over the stand in low density makes us look far less supported than we are. As I say I reckon you and your friends should join what resembles a singing section in the entrance side of the stand and join in. I myself was sitting alone near the middle until recently. It helps to join in with a bigger group.

[el tk]

I'll consider it but also if all the fans are boxed into a corner (and let's face it, it's only that one corner taken up) it looks just as bad, if you had more clearly defined home and away seating areas it would be better. I've never seen the jersies for sale in the sports centre although I haven't looked specifically