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[SEA Grecian]

Yes, our competitors rely on sugar daddies to save them : they too have limits on their income from attendance and marketing. They would go broke if not for those sugar daddies : marketing and PR wouldn't save them and they don't have such a great academy as we do. We too would have gone broke without the sales of players like Ollie et al
I realise that relying on selling players will come unstuck sooner or later - my guess is probably later.
But the fact remains that we have had PR and marketing at City for many years and I assume they have done their utmost to find business. They do find business, but there are limits to what City can achieve with that : it's not "the sea is my ocean".
We haven't averaged 6000 for a very long time : what makes you think somebody can come along suddenly and achieve that? Only big success on the field or big reductions in ticket pricing can approach anywhere near that number, not constantly adding to the PR and marketing side.
We've got as many directors as Shell Global. I think we're getting too top heavy in favour of our non-playing side of the club, to be honest.

The club would clearly have had to cut it's expenditure without the player sales and we may well have found ourselves back at non-league at some point. However, even in the darkest days when we famously 'took our eyes off the ball' I don't think we were close to going broke, although the Grimes money obviously helped get us out of rather a big hole.

As for the rest of the post I don't totally disagree with you but don't really know enough about it to comment in detail. All I would say, is that everything I've seen of Nick Hawker and Richard Pym has been impressive so I'm happy enough to put my trust in them.

 

[IndoMike]

The club would clearly have had to cut it's expenditure without the player sales and we may well have found ourselves back at non-league at some point. However, even in the darkest days when we famously 'took our eyes off the ball' I don't think we were close to going broke, although the Grimes money obviously helped get us out of rather a big hole.

As for the rest of the post I don't totally disagree with you but don't really know enough about it to comment in detail. All I would say, is that everything I've seen of Nick Hawker and Richard Pym has been impressive so I'm happy enough to put my trust in them.

We did have that period under Tisdale when we had to get a loan from the FA.
I 'm sure all involved do the best they can for the club, I'm simply saying that nearly Div 2 clubs have a limited scope for attracting new business and relies on sugar daddies to prop them up. And I'm saying the key for us is on the field success and a successful academy. Income from marketing and PR adds a little but will not save us. I'd rather money was invested in the core activity than paying even more marketing staff. Perhaps I'm biased : I do think a lot of marketing and PR is a load of old bull and replete with absurd jargon.

 

[grecian-near-hell]

Just because we haven't regularly achieved 6000 supporters to games doesn't mean we can't achieve this level of support. The whole area around Exeter is expanding, Julian Tagg has been quoted that Greater Exeter has a population of over half a million and we are looking to attract just over 1% of that, is that challenging? It can be done, but not just on the back of one area within the club, Yes results matter, attractive football matters, word of mouth matters, promoting the club matters our ethos matters. We need to be looking at all aspects and moving them all forward positively to make more people aware of the entertainment available on their doorstep and I think that employing new Marketing and PR people isn't a bad thing, the question I would ask is what is their experience within the sporting arena. Selling football/a culture is different to flogging a packet of crisps, or cars so what success has they had (we can all talk the talk (well good marketing people can) but what results have they had, and again at what costs (unlike the Government we can't just throw money at theories/knee jerk reactions) so are they able to work within budgets for success.

It's got to be said that we have had some shambolic marketing in the past (I'm still waiting for my Stuart Storer shirt and matchday tickets from back in the day as part of a shirt sponsorship package).

 

[eurogrecian]

It's got to be said that we have had some shambolic marketing in the past (I'm still waiting for my Stuart Storer shirt and matchday tickets from back in the day as part of a shirt sponsorship package).

You must have been unlucky. I've been a shirt sponsor for donkey's years (currently Joel R) and it works like clockwork.

 

[grecian-near-hell]

You must have been unlucky. I've been a shirt sponsor for donkey's years (currently Joel R) and it works like clockwork.

Not unlucky just a clueless marketing manager

 

[Boyo]

I think Project 6000 is a very good initiative. It's imperative that the objective is to generate the equivalent revenue of 6,000 attendances, rather than just offer loads of freebies/discounts.

Clearly performances on the pitch will be the biggest single factor in determining crowd sizes, but there are loads of other smaller things that can influence whether someone attends or not. If I was the new marketing guy I'd be asking these types of questions... How can we improve the match day experience? Do people understand how to get tickets? Do they feel safe? Is it value for money? Is it affordable for individuals/families? Can they get to and access the stadium easily? How can we get people to arrive earlier and stay longer (at the bars/kiosks)? What will encourage spending in the shop?

There's no quick win here and it will take a number of years to build-up core crowds. My personal view is that awareness of the club within the area is huge and many people have a passing interest, but don't attend games frequently/at all. Understanding what the barriers are to attending, and what can be done to overcome those hurdles is key.

 

[IndoMike]

Sorry, but some posters here are living in dreamland. Sponsorship will always be limited as long as we're a Div 2 club bumbling along. We've always had around 3000 hard core supporters and a couple of thousand more if we're doing very well.
This means sponsorship and ad income at the ground will be limited.
The effect of marketing and PR are limited as long as the club is in Div 2. Sponsors want to invest in success, not in treading water
If it was so easy to attract significant sponsorship how come the other clubs in Div 2 can't? Huh?
Look at Exeter Chiefs? High profile, successful rugby team with a high off field income. Do you think they'd have the same income if they were still down at the County Ground in the 2nd or 3rd tier.
THE KEY IS THE TEAM. IF WE GET INTO DIV 1 AND DO WELL THERE THEN BIGGER SPONSORS WILL BE ATTRACTED AND WE MIGHT APPROACH 6000 CROWDS.
THE CLUB IS TOO TOP HEAVY WITH THIS AND THAT. INVEST PROPERLY IN THE TEAM.!!!

 

[DB9]

The goal of 6k is equivalent to putting 40-50% on our match day gates, That as I've said is a huge task, Especially the reluctance some might have attending because of this virus, We will hardly ever achieve this number while we're in L2, Its not a negative, Its a fact. Look back at last seasons match day threads, How many times were the words "Awful" and "Dire" used, Now the hardcore will go come what may but to ask for an increase while we're in L2, It will be tough. Anyone who says it's more than just on the field that counts, Well it's not, We have to succeed on the pitch then the rest will follow because people will see a "Product" worth giving their money too. We remain the "Nearly team" of L2 it will never happen, No matter who's in charge of this project.

 

[grecian-near-hell]

FFS MIke it's about all aspects of the club moving forward together, a successful entertaining football team should bring in more crowds, and moving up the pyramid will get more attention, but we also need a successful PR team to move alongside and grow the interest outside of the nucleus of supporters, so that when we do get to Div 1 or even the championship they have grown with the team and the marketing team will be nurturing these bigger sponsors as well as looking to fulfil the boards need for crowds of 6000

My concern on the marketing front is the type of marketeers we are employing, are they specialists in sports with a successful track record or are they specialists in industry that know how to flog dog food (i.e. a dead horse) 'cos it's a different skill set that is needed.

 

[IndoMike]

FFS MIke it's about all aspects of the club moving forward together, a successful entertaining football team should bring in more crowds, and moving up the pyramid will get more attention, but we also need a successful PR team to move alongside and grow the interest outside of the nucleus of supporters, so that when we do get to Div 1 or even the championship they have grown with the team and the marketing team will be nurturing these bigger sponsors as well as looking to fulfil the boards need for crowds of 6000

My concern on the marketing front is the type of marketeers we are employing, are they specialists in sports with a successful track record or are they specialists in industry that know how to flog dog food (i.e. a dead horse) 'cos it's a different skill set that is needed.

But success on the field is the catalyst. Sponsors want to identify with success
I'm not knocking the current marketing team at all :the product they have to sell is not currently very exciting and Exeter is not really a football city . My grouch is that we have added two more directors who specialise in marketing but there isn't a market for what they are offering.
I don't know if these directors are paid a salary or not, that is true. .
I see so many directors and others in the background and yet we've been in Div2 :for 10 years. Like I said : we've got as many directors as Shell Global!
Matt T in April promised exciting times ahead. If we really do get the game-changers (now reduced to 2-4) then I'll STFU. If it's Bowman and Jay in attack I'd like to know why the BoD hasn't backed up Matt's words. Buying a big screen just won't do.