Boosting attendances

[12th Man]

Any suggestions.

 

I think we should use the Scotland matches  followed by our Live Kilmarnock game on BBC ALBA  to our advantage and promote it to people who would never think of watching ICT. 

 

If Gordon Ramsay was doing his usual  promoting a restaurant, he would improve  whats being served up,  ICT have done that, he would also have people out on the street speaking to people about the new food on offer and giving out free samples,  there is a free live sample 14/9/13 on BBC Alba.

We now need to find an effective efficient way of  capturing a fresh audience,  on an ICT web site? sports page on the back page of a local paper would fresh fans think to look there? 

 

I would suggest handing out flyers  for the TV game and a fixture card, perhaps  falcon square for a start with our mascots, good photo opportunity for wee ones too on a Saturday morning.

ICT are doing great right now so why not tell every one. 

 

Any other suggestions for a target audience like Bingo or Cinema perhaps.

 

Maybe we need a well respected  player from yesteryear saying how well ICT are doing and encouraging people to come along who haven't watched a game for a while on MFR,  someone who played for ICT for years and helped knock big clubs out of cup games, some one who even Managed ICT,  if only I could think of someone who would tick all those boxes.

 

 

The summer training for children, is it eligible for  child care vouchers as an activity just like any school activity will be?

 

[12th Man]

To add to the above cheers to all the ones who attend when they can.

 

We also have free tickets for youngsters, how about a relations day when the youngsters who previously attend get to bring along  and Uncle, Aunt  or Grandparents,  as long as they provide email, thank them for coming and email ST info.

[RiG]

They still run buses from the station to the stadium don't they? I wonder if a more frequent, or at least additional, few buses would be helpful to get people out there. I seem to recall that the buses leave around 14:15 which might be a bit too early for some people.

[mainstander]

 

 

Maybe we need a well respected  player from yesteryear saying how well ICT are doing and encouraging people to come along who haven't watched a game for a while on MFR,   

But you cant watch a game on MFR. Its only a radio station. 

[ForzaCaley]

Lowering ticket prices. I know we have the cheapest tickets in the league, but still, they're not exactly 'cheap'!

£15-20 adults

£10 concessions

Under 12 free

That is not unreasonable and would benefit everyone!

[lukemackay]

sign a member of 1 direction.guarenteed attendence boost. and will increase the ammount of teenage females at games

 

(anyone aged 20 or over cannot like this post without being judged)

Edited September 2, 2013 by lukemackay

[Kirishima]

People are skint, more so people are in the red. Very few people see it as money well spent, even if they could make cutbacks elsewhere.

If there was something around the stadium to make it a destination. A pub, a crèche, a shopping centre, a bookies, five a side pitches, shops, a cafe, a bookstore, a restaurant. As it is, it's get in, get out.

There is no glamour, people are obsessed by celebrities, fashion, glam and bling, and that it is not. it's a socio-cultural swing.

ICT can only affect one of those things, and even that's a no-go.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

As Dougal has correctly pointed out we have a fan base - many of the away attenders can only afford to attend every so often. We simply have to continue to attract the yoof - and the allowing of them to stand and sing and enjoy is applaud able. Keep playing and performing the way that we do will bring in some more curious neutrals. Lets face it the attendances will seldom differ.

[Charles Bannerman]

Lowering ticket prices. I know we have the cheapest tickets in the league, but still, they're not exactly 'cheap'!

£15-20 adults

£10 concessions

Under 12 free

That is not unreasonable and would benefit everyone!

What evidence do you have that this would result in a corresponding increase in attendances so there would be no reduction  of gate receipts in a financial environment where ICT recently had to cut its wage bill in an attempt to keep its finances under control?  You cannot reduce ticket prices without being sure that there will not be an unaffordable reduction in gate income.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Perhaps Dougal was right - we should charge all the media freeloaders.

[ForzaCaley]

FC United promote affordable football. At £8 adults and £2 under 18s they get average crowds of 2500-3000 in the 7th tier of 2nglish football.

German football is buzzing atm because of affordable tickets and standing areas. Bundesliga grounds are full to capacity every week and have the highest average attendaces in Europe.

Ok, I don't have evidence to prove that lowering tickets at ICT would improve attendances. However its true in other countries that if the price is right....people will come!

[+Fraz]

German football is very affordable as they have massive sponsorship to offset the ticket price. We can't even get a league sponsor.

[ForzaCaley]

A German friend of mine also said how a 'match ticket' in Germany also allows you to use and National transport system for free. So Nuremberg fans can get to Hanover on a train/tram/bus with no added cost.

If we have to keep the ticket prices the same, why don't we look into offering more with your ticket ie free bus ride to anywhere in town.

[HeScoresWhenHeWants]

I think we need good entertainment before the match and at half time. I'm not sure how that would encourage people more but maybe if there was some sort of deal on? Maybe if more and more people started joining in singing that might be encouraging, if going to the football is fun!

[old caley girl]

You know I've come to the conclusion that the club are doing almost everything they can to increase attendances already. I've come to accept we are a young club trying to grow its support. We already have the u12 free season tickets and free schools tickets. I would like this extended to u16s but I understand that this would cost the club money and they would need to replace this money if it were to happen. It's a long term project so must be given time.

This suddenly has become an issue since we've been successful. It's as if we can't find anything else to discuss as everything on the pitch is good at the moment. Personally I think our core support is about 3000 very loyal folk who seem to attend regularly. Let's embrace that and move on.

[12th Man]

Please spread the word that our great team will be live on TV in less than 2 weeks  and please tell the people who you wouldn't normally chat to about football.

[Charles Bannerman]

Please spread the word that our great team will be live on TV in less than 2 weeks  and please tell the people who you wouldn't normally chat to about football.

It might actually be better NOT to spread the word abut that since being live on TV is actally a disincentive to people to come and pay through the gate. 

[12th Man]

 

Please spread the word that our great team will be live on TV in less than 2 weeks  and please tell the people who you wouldn't normally chat to about football.

It might actually be better NOT to spread the word abut that since being live on TV is actally a disincentive to people to come and pay through the gate. 

 

Its an away match Charles.  Its a free taster of what ICT have to offer, not the same as being at a live match for the first time but its a step in the right direction. 

 

I'll have a word with your mate Tony Hall  and see if he can give us a bit of extra coverage on BBC 1 Scotland prior to the game.

[old caley girl]

Please spread the word that our great team will be live on TV in less than 2 weeks and please tell the people who you wouldn't normally chat to about football.

It might actually be better NOT to spread the word abut that since being live on TV is actally a disincentive to people to come and pay through the gate.

Its an away match Charles. Its a free taster of what ICT have to offer, not the same as being at a live match for the first time but its a step in the right direction

I'll have a word with your mate Tony Hall and see if he can give us a bit of extra coverage on BBC 1 Scotland prior to the game.

Never mind the telly come and enjoy the real thing. The real caleyaway experience. I can recommend it!!

Edited September 2, 2013 by old caley girl

[SMEE]

I wonder how much not being part of a community has affected the support. 

[Scarlet Pimple]

Persons who say that the club cannot afford to lower prices when they are doing well on the park,  in order to boost attendances, need to offer proof because otherwise they are condemning the club to obscurity and smothering it in negative thought.

 

Give us proof of that statement. Have you seen the financial Books? Have you had a private confidential interview with the Chairman and his Board? I will warrant not.

 

Now is the time to  be positive, not negative.    A river, taken at the flood, leads on to greatness. Embrace the challenge and don't look back. Life is short.

 

A smile is worth a thousand gurny faces. Set your sights high and even if you don't achieve your goal completely you are going onwards and upwards and, hopefully, inspiring others by your forward-looking thrust. 

 

If the pioneers who risked life and limb to colonise America wrung their hands at every footstep and cried the blues at every rest for a pot of coffee in the middle of nowhere,  then where would the most powerful country on this planet be today. Answer non-existent. Most of these hardy folks had no money and faced trials and tribulations that none of us could ever imagine in out soft, comfortable and feather-bedded, modern existence. Nor did they have a cell phone to call for help or a TV to remind them of their past more civilised life. They had only one way to go and that was onward and upward or perish..

 

AARGh! Invest now, oh Great ICT, or ..be condemned by the negative posters to the third division and obscurity...

[Alex MacLeod]

Persons who say that the club cannot afford to lower prices when they are doing well on the park,  in order to boost attendances, need to offer proof because otherwise they are condemning the club to obscurity and smothering it in negative thought.

 

 

Same can be said for other way around SP. There is no evidence to suggest that lowering prices would boost income. Prices are low for our home cup games and attendance is atrocious. Other clubs have tried incentives without result. People in the current climate are just not seeing football as their recreational interest any more.

[Charles Bannerman]

 

 

Please spread the word that our great team will be live on TV in less than 2 weeks  and please tell the people who you wouldn't normally chat to about football.

It might actually be better NOT to spread the word abut that since being live on TV is actally a disincentive to people to come and pay through the gate. 

 

Its an away match Charles.  Its a free taster of what ICT have to offer, not the same as being at a live match for the first time but its a step in the right direction. 

 

I'll have a word with your mate Tony Hall  and see if he can give us a bit of extra coverage on BBC 1 Scotland prior to the game.

 

Sorry... I forgot that with the international break then two consecutive away matches the next home match in Inverness isn't until September 28th. In that case it's not such a bad idea!

[CaleyD]

Persons who say that the club cannot afford to lower prices when they are doing well on the park,  in order to boost attendances, need to offer proof because otherwise they are condemning the club to obscurity and smothering it in negative thought.

 

Give us proof of that statement. Have you seen the financial Books? Have you had a private confidential interview with the Chairman and his Board? I will warrant not.

 

Now is the time to  be positive, not negative.    A river, taken at the flood, leads on to greatness. Embrace the challenge and don't look back. Life is short.

 

A smile is worth a thousand gurny faces. Set your sights high and even if you don't achieve your goal completely you are going onwards and upwards and, hopefully, inspiring others by your forward-looking thrust. 

 

If the pioneers who risked life and limb to colonise America wrung their hands at every footstep and cried the blues at every rest for a pot of coffee in the middle of nowhere,  then where would the most powerful country on this planet be today. Answer non-existent. Most of these hardy folks had no money and faced trials and tribulations that none of us could ever imagine in out soft, comfortable and feather-bedded, modern existence. Nor did they have a cell phone to call for help or a TV to remind them of their past more civilised life. They had only one way to go and that was onward and upward or perish..

 

AARGh! Invest now, oh Great ICT, or ..be condemned by the negative posters to the third division and obscurity...

 

Yes, I've seen it first hand that ticket discounting does not offer sufficient increase in crowds to break even, let alone increase income.

 

It's something where, as part of the CJT Board, I was involved in lots of discussions with the club where every discounting option you could imagine had been discussed and figures were looked at.  It always came back to the same conclusion....discounting might increase the numbers by a few, but it comes at too great a financial cost.

 

People harp on about "investing"....but you need to have surplus funds to invest in the first place.  We don't have thousands, let alone 10's or 100's of thousands sitting in the bank to allow us to take a hit on ticketing income.  Since NONE of the evidence shows that discounting works (financially) then it would be folly to even consider it.

 

What the club are doing is the most sensible approach and one I do hope they stick with.  Making it more affordable for the younger generation and families.

 

As for the "risking life and limb" idea....give me a break.  Take a look around Scottish Football (and beyond) and see what's happening to all the clubs who have approached things with that attitude.

[caleyboy]

You know I've come to the conclusion that the club are doing almost everything they can to increase attendances already. I've come to accept we are a young club trying to grow its support. We already have the u12 free season tickets and free schools tickets. I would like this extended to u16s but I understand that this would cost the club money and they would need to replace this money if it were to happen. It's a long term project so must be given time.

This suddenly has become an issue since we've been successful. It's as if we can't find anything else to discuss as everything on the pitch is good at the moment. Personally I think our core support is about 3000 very loyal folk who seem to attend regularly. Let's embrace that and move on.

Good idea to extend to U16's and I don't know if it would cot us any money OCG. If this idea were to be taken further, I think the club should carry out a turnstile survey over 2 or 3 games to see just how many U16s go to games. If it's only a few I would agree that we should provide free tickets to U16s as I am sure you would see this group increase considerably.