The way forward for football was shown by Remo Nogarotto back in the heady days of the NSL.
The NSL in Sydney had three strong sides, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United and Marconi, later on extending to four other sides with Parramatta Power. There were also a number of strong state league teams who had been in the NSL at one time or other.
Into this array of teams to a competition we know was dying on its feet came the Northern Spirit who followed the path developed by Perth Glory in being an openly non-ethnic team.
The crowds were on par with Sydney FC in their first three years.
What Remo identified as the answer to building crowds was working with the associations and through association with the committees of the local park teams. He often spoke about the need to connect to the committees of local clubs or at least get them to do things for you.
In return for park teams handing out advertising flyers and generally promoting the game, Remo provided free entry to all registered players under 16. He understood the need to offer the park teams something in return and arranged for many presentations etc.
FFA identified the massive gap between player to active supporter and fan. In football the conversion rate was around 17 per cent with other codes in the mid 80s. There are lots of reasons for this, including a lack of free-to-air coverage over the years, many involved in coaching being the only person who could turn up resulting in no real driver from within.
However the three to eight committee members of the park clubs control the flow of information and can be a major influence on coaches, players and parents of players. It’s these very folk Remo negotiated with through their associations.
I asked Remo why other NSL teams had not tried what he was doing and he said he was astounded no one else had done so. From my experience the A-League has not marketed direct to park players other than by way of gathering email addresses and global Socceroo marketing. The Mariners have and it worked to great effect when they did it.
Remo believed the answer to crowds and ratings was always with the park teams and the associations that manage them. Further he believed the best way to connect to the players was through their committees.
I tend to think he was right. At a time of low crowd averages, no media, and playing in a rugby league and union heartland, he managed to bring in huge crowds.
I was a committee member of my local club in Sydney and only the Mariners asked for help. They also offered little in return.
This is how I would connect the A-League to its player base, via the committees of the park team through their associations.
Roy
Guest
. . . and I'd strongly recommend the version that follows en Español
FIUL
Guest
Really? Do you have a link to the metrics to validate this? I suggest you contact Forbes.com with your concerns about the errors in that article. Although, you may want to consider a better response than your post (above) to avoid them hitting the "delete" button after the opening sentence. Best of luck ... let's know how Forbes.com responds to your concerns.
Roy
Guest
Sorry, couldn't resist it ! - guess who these 2 characters are... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAgfPHP1w0I
FIUL
Guest
Majority of Aussie kids, just like the majority of Aussie adults, have ZERO (or close to ZERO) interest in sport. Waste of time for ALeague clubs to go to schools. Far better to go to grassroots football clubs & market yourself to people who actually care.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Exaggerated hogwash. MLS is miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles behind the NFL in every metric.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
As far as juniors go, the very best marketing you can do is plonk a senior player in front of them, at school, at their club, etc.
Midfielder
Guest
Nice read Fuss
FIUL
Guest
You're spot on Middy. Here is a very useful article about the surge in MLS viewing in the past 2 years. As we know, there are many parallels between soccer in the USA & football in Australia. In particular, these comments by Gary Stevenson, President & Managing Director of MLS struck a chord with me: "The one number that stands out is 65% of MLS’ audience is adult 18-34. Compare that to other sports (NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA) it’s either the highest or second highest and clearly the growth segment that most marketers are looking for." Now.. here's the kicker for MLS football & it's the same for ALeague football ... Stevenson added: Soccer, in North America, is kind of the sport of choice for millennials. A lot of kids that played when they were younger are now in that 18-34 age bracket.” BOOM! The kids who grew up with MLS from the late 1990s are & played soccer when they were younger are now in that 18-34 age bracket that make the decisions about which sport the family attends & which sport the family watches on TV. The MLS competition is 20 years old. So, for Aleague, I forecast the growth spurt will be around 2024. Patience required. Full story : "How Major League Soccer Is Closing The Gap With The Big Four" http://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2015/12/22/how-major-league-soccer-is-closing-the-gap-with-the-big-four/?utm_campaign=Forbes&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=Business&linkId=19814400
Midfielder
Guest
MF That is no excuse for not marketing through the park clubs... simple stuff...flyers / presentation days / grand final days ...
FIUL
Guest
"An average A-League club might have ten really well-known players, take away the marquees, take away a few more primadonna foreign players, and who is left to go visit the thousands of schools and clubs?" Same with every sporting club in Australia - Rugby, AFL, NRL, BBL. The only difference is some of the sports have no foreign players to market. If 10 Aleague players from 1 club are recognised that's fantastic - that's nearly 50% of the squad. The family sitting next to me at Sunday's match (mum with son aged about 7 and daughter around 12). The daughter knew was tactically aware - told me Muscat would likely bring Archie on around 70 minute mark, thought the MV midfield was not providing positive movement or creative passing - and she knew every player - from the 18 year old Thomas Deng playing his 3rd match, to Matthieu Del Pierre who captained Stuttgart to the Bundesliga title. Kids who play football at grassroots level know their sport & players - they know local Aleague players, they know local WLeague players, they know National Team players & they know overseas players. Maybe it's the Fifa video games that creates this awareness for football & a lack of awareness for other sports.
Midfielder
Guest
The issue is we have a player base and parents which do not in real terms connect to the A-League ... FFA have limited budgets... Marketing folk will tell you word of mouth from a friend, trusted person, respected person carries a lot of weight and the committee members are these types for most of the players / parents / friends etc...
Mister Football
Roar Guru
The Mariners have a clearcut smallish zone they can work, everyone else, especially in the early days of the A-League's one city one team policy, have not had that same luxury. An average A-League club might have ten really well-known players, take away the marquees, take away a few more primadonna foreign players, and who is left to go visit the thousands of schools and clubs?