Sorry it's taken so long....here are the clubs responses to the questions we'd pooled.
[uPre Match & Promotion[/u
1. Pre-match entertainment that's cheap and people might like - get an old player back each week. Post who it's going to be on here the week before, collect suggested questions, and have Stuart interview him on the pitch at half time or before the game.
=#00BF00Yes – this could easily be done.
2. YouTube virals to promote games - spamming people will put them off but if it's half funny people won't mind and will forward it on to current and lapsed fans alike. Get the players involved, two minutes with a handy cam in the week and you're sorted.
=#00BF00Time & resource issue.
Would anyone be willing to volunteer their time to put something together?
3. How about a printable poster before each home game to be displayed in schools and workplaces? Same job done as a billboard on the M62, and done virtually for free.
=#00BF00Need some IT input.
Again, could anyone offer their expertise?
4. Price promotions on tickets - buy one, get one child's ticket half price, buy 2 get one free, etc.
5. Also on season tickets - free entry for a second person to Celtic, Harlequins and Cats.
6. Personally I'd do a permanent buy 5 get one free all season. This might sound like a lot to buy but it's amazing how far some people will go to access an offer. The sums boil down to 6 people buying a ticket at £15 rather than £18 and could be the sort of thing that gets groups of mates who already go to games pestering other mates to make up the numbers.
=#00BF004/5/6 – there has been some activity this year based around these areas. There are two considerations around these sorts of promotions though.
Firstly – the club need to be careful not to devalue the season ticket and secondly care has to be taken not to cut the overall income, e.g. would half price tickets more than double the crowd? Probably not, therefore the club could end up losing money.
Promotions are based around bigger games; this gets people to a better game with better atmosphere / pre match entertainment and hopefully gets them hooked.
[uKit & Merchandise[/u
1. Given that the Bulls logo is pretty well known these days, maybe merchandising (t shirts, baseball caps) that just used its outline would look good in a minimalist sort of way.
2. Away kits that mean something - RAB hoops, amber with thin RB hoops, 93-94 style green, yellow and purple hoops, 91-92-style red with a RAB vee.
3. Any chance of the bulls selling a retro scarf?
=#00BF00The club would like more items and stock in the shop. But again it’s the amount of money tied up in stock that is an issue. For example; if a certain line sells 250 items but the minimum order is 1000 – that’s 750 items sat gathering dust.
[uKids[/u
1. A pdf for kids to print off that when stuck together and stuck to card makes a full size <player x/y/z> cut-out. Add a 'be healthy, don't eat chips all the time' slogan and get the kids to take them into school to be put on display. Even if only a couple get made, it's better than nothing surely and wouldn't take much time. Take the pic in high resolution, email it to someone with some nous on here and I'm sure it could be knocked up in half an hour. Maybe put a spot on it for a replaceable 'next home game' square.
=#00BF00Again, not enough in house expertise or resource.
Can anyone help in this area?
2. What has happened to junior bulls club every month? They have organised 3 big events this year but my kids used to love going once a month.
=#00BF00Format wasn’t working and expectations became too high, again the question was asked – where as a club are we better spending our money?
[uAcademy[/u
1. YouTube highlights of Academy games for the website- don't know if they are/can be videoed or whether Sky has the rights, but if not it could help get the message out that we have some reason to hope for the future.
2. All academy and reserve home games are recorded by the club.
=#00BF00All academy games are recorded. The club are happy to give a copy of this DVD to whoever wants to edit it and put it on a website – probably through BullBuilder I would suggest.
[uMiscellaneous[/u
1. Can I just suggest with regards to future fan forums, when it goes to questions from the floor, hand over a mic to the question asker so everyone can hear what's being said.
=#008000Yes
2. On putting stuff on Ebay - I've been saying for a long time that the club should set up an ebay shop. It's pretty easy to do, requires little work and can be used to sell one-off items such as used bits of kit. If a player rips a shirt in training, get it washed, get him to sign it and bung it on the shop. It might only fetch a tenner but it'd all go into the community development pot.
=#00BF00I missed this one, but again if someone was willing to co-ordinate this I’m sure the club would be more than happy to give old kit / items for the cause.
[uOther Points[/u
=#00BF00The club would love people to volunteer up their time to help out and for whatever task. And people who can offer professional expertise, then even better.
More resource is now available in the community area – so much more work should be going on here. As with any sport though, a winning side always helps!
