QuoteI 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.Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Should this be split, incidentally?
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.
You can't spell failure without FAI
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.
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.
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.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.
You can't spell failure without FAI
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?
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...!
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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?
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.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks