Lets not gloss over things and tell it like it is, Leeds have had a 20,000 gate, Wigan have had 2 and Hull FC got 19,000 v KR.


If we get 10,000 at any game this season we will be more than happy and just saying because everyone elses crowds are down we should just accept it is not the way to go. Leeds, Wigan and to a lesser extent Hull can deal with a thousand less on their average attendance and not bat an eyelid when it comes to next years budget and player signings.....can we honestly say the same????

It was a rubbish crowd set against every game this season bar possibly Wigan being a poor crowd and to blame away support is totally passing the buck and as we keep seeing on here does Huddersfield want a top SL team.....the answer is probably yes, are they willing to come out and support it??? The answer at present is a very firm NO!!!!

I agree with that

But let's also not gloss over the damage done by last seasons debacle.
At the end of the season I'd decided I wasn't going to renew my season ticket, couldn't stand that again

I changed my mind, but it seems a lot of people didn't. Can't blame them.

So lets look at the issue

1. Do people want a super league team - yes, last seasons support and our previous trend of growing our support base show this

2. What's been the problem this season - manyfold. Wider economy, disastrous last season, people expecting us to fall away again etc etc

3. What can be done? Lots, but we, and the club, can't just expect people to turn up cos we are playing. Awareness in the town of when we are playing and how well we are doing is probably ZERO. No "if you play they will come" situation here, now in the tough times we need to actually advertise!

The stadium shares the complex with two high footfall places - the cinema and the gym, why not advertise in there? Including Costa and Pizza Hut?
Get a stall into Kingsgate on a Saturday, some young academy player handing our fliers with details of the next game on (especially if next game is the day after!) maybe even with a buy 2 get one free deal on?

I can't begin to say how grateful I am to Ken Davey for the team we are now watching, but he needs to have a word with his marketing man as to why no one in the town barring core support has a clue when games are on

Your not wrong and we do need to be adaptive so we can try to cash in on our success.

I'm not sure the reaction of some season ticket holders to offers for the first few games helped as it might have put the club off those sort of promotions but personally I would much prefer 8,000+ at a few well marketed games on cheap tickets than the attendances at recent games. I know there is a knock on effect that some might not renew if they think match by match will not cost much more than a season but to limp from game to game like we are currently doing does not instill confidence in the way the club is going off the field.

We should be alright for half decent gates with Wire and Leeds (as long as Sky do not want to show that one....I fear they will) being the next 2 Sunday games (Saints on a Monday might be a shockingly low gate) but after that I feel the club needs to pull out all the stops and if the team are on their way to glory make sure they have the audience those feats deserve watching them.

Yeah, adaptive, and proactive in selling the club & raising awareness - soccer season is soon ending so the deluded minority aside there is a big group used to going to watch sport every weekend to target

Easiest option
Saturday job for someone, 5 hours in Kingsgate handing out fliers with
Next home game, prices (maybe a deal of some sort with said flier) and a snapshot of the league table showing us 2nd behind Wigan

Maybe also some similar posters to put up in town centre shops (Local & Indendents perhaps, I could name a dozen good candidates) with maybe some freebies to give to the shop staff as a sweetener

Instantly increases the club profile over what it currently is

We certainly need to do something.....get someone in town ....someone recognisable like Eorl or Robbie HP with Big G to ask people :

.If they know about the Giants?
.Do they go to the games?
.Why they dont attend ?
.Would they be interested ?
.Give them a flyer informing them about our season/players/aims etc
.Show them a short promotional film/DVD of our best tries/biggest hits etc
.Offer them a buy one get one free or buy one game get next one free type deal

Find out why people aren't coming and try and sell the club and the product to them rather than just thinking that because we're 2nd in the league people will come....they aren't and without any hard pro-active marketing, they wont !

Ask fans to ask local business's if they could maybe put a poster up advertising home games and like you say, maybe a voucher for a reduced ticket or something.
Personally i think we should be targetting groups of people rather than individuals as we know from the past the individual will probably just sell his ticket on to someone who is a fan rather than using it.

maybe do a pub/club/workplace group ticket that can admit 4 at a time or something so groups of mates can go together.

Yeah, I suggested a 2/3 deal or something which might work

And at the present out spectators seem to be made up of season ticket holders - if freebies end up in the hands of fans, chances are at the moment they weren't going to go anyway and so that's still a spectator we wouldn't have had

Moreover it might just persuade them that they are missing our this season and they need to come back, as it were

In terms of selling - we sold an inferior product last season and our consumers stopped buying, we need to do something to make sure those consumers know this seasons product is better and worth buying again

That might mean giving freebies to last seasons stayaways

To put it bluntly, we are the Findus of Super League, last season we served up dog food - how do we get our punters back now we are selling fillet steak?

I don't think telling people when we play is enough. I have no idea when town play or who they are playing because I have no interest in football.

It's easy to tell when town are at home
The town centre is full of police and meatheads

But we need to at least communicate that the team exists and is doing pretty well, that's not happening - like I said, treat it like we are selling a commodity - last year our product was crap and the buyers have stayed away, now we need to tell them it's new and improved and they want to buy again

7044 - follow the giants twitter page
2960 - follow the facebook page

these two are plastered with giants info about matches

get good enough coverage in the examiner too.

dont really agree about no one knowing when the giants play, this is because they arent interested in the first place and certainly wouldn't put their hands in their pockets to pay for a game.

You seem determined to suggest we should give up?

But how many of those 'followers' are already fans who either come to the games or know they are on but dont come ??
How many will be potential fans who aren't sure etc?

1. I'm not on twitter
2. I don't read the examiner
3. Facebook feeds are only useful if you see them regularly (maybe the Facebook user at the club should create an event/invite for each game)

Either way 7k twitterati is basicay sod all in the world of publicity generation

The club isn't connected with the town. This needs to change