Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Open now for discussion of all things Darlo!

Moderators: mikkyx, uncovered

moodymonica
Posts: 647
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:08 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by moodymonica » Sun Aug 24, 2014 3:09 pm

I applaud you for your efforts, like i posted earlier i only visit one of those and have not honestly seen poster in Tanners, i will look for it next time i am in.
Its a pity you dont do something to guage the responses to each poster you put out to see if you get any take up from advertising there, i.e. quote abc when ordering a ticket say from The golden Cock xyz from Tanners etc.
Obviously it would mean a bit more work but maybe worthwhil ein the end. You could offer a discount when they quote the reference but then I guess you run the risk of an already attending fan getting in cheaper and reducing the gate but maybe a risk the club have to take (or not)
Or offer each establishment a free ticket for every 10/20 they sell.

footifan
Posts: 792
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:34 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by footifan » Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:14 pm

Shakes head in disbelief...
The unwarranted pop at a dedicated volunteers doing their best they can... Easiest thing in the world to be is negative.
I applaud :clap: any effort to put the word out to increase attendance & revenue. The power of marketing is to keep on reminding people of the product, being cost effective, using ALL avenues available.
We all know about Coca Cola, Ford etc.. It does not stop them advertising, that is why the major companies spend millions doing so. It is always very difficult to quantify results but it is a known fact that the ripple effect works... Throwing a pebble in the pond , however small will have an effect.

The fact that an individual does not see a particular form of promotion, whether it be posters, newspapers, websites etc does not mean other do not. Having said that... the most successful form of promotion is word of mouth.

So come on Darlo fans tell a friend, better still as originally suggested TAKE a friend / family / work collegue to the game tomorrow or any other game if they can't make it tomorrow... you never know they may like it & come back again...

Darlogramps
Posts: 6025
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:47 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Darlogramps » Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:31 pm

moodymonica wrote:Yada yada yada
We've heard it all before.
The club, fans, cic need to promote the games more through whatever media.
one of the old blokes I take to the games didn't even know we were playing Monday. He's not likely to visit a website to find out so instead of getting lapsed people try keeping those going to turn up.
We as a football club seem to miss out on doing the obvious, well.
And before some jumped up scroat has a go, yes I go to each game, yes I buy a 50/50 ticket each week, yes I buy a minimum of three garments a year so I don't need to hear the usual armchair bullshit off here.
There's still loads of people in darlo haven't a clue who does what, where or when were heading to bm. So to come o here and ask for a friend to go to the games is the minimum the cic should be doing
Then that's his problem, not club's. The information is out there in the Echo, on posters, at the club shop etc. But the best place to find out is online.

It's not really an excuse to say "He doesn't go online," because are plenty of places he can (libraries etc).

I find it remarkable that anyone, young or old, could live without going online. Perhaps that's just me.

But this is a case of him not helping himself and you expecting the world to move around him.
Last edited by Darlogramps on Sun Aug 24, 2014 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If ever you're bored or miserable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlZohZoadGY

charlie

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by charlie » Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:31 pm

We don't sell physical tickets to many games though and as a supporter it's not my place to be knocking money off prices, that's a decision for the board. As for more work with what I already do I don't have more time. My reasoning for putting the posters out there is to remind folk we still exist, that were still playing, that games are happening how much they cost and a wayof getting there.

The posters were going up in the same places all of last season which is why I've continued it this season. I too have heard a lot of folk surprised were still about, I'm not sure what more we can do though we have our third annual community fun day coming up in the town centre, we have good relationships with a lot of businesses in the town centre, were in the echo, were online, were on the radio and posters up as well as the buses.

It's up to us as supporters as well as the boards of both the CIC and the club to get the info out there. It's our club, it's our responsibility as well as those in charge to remind the people of Darlington that we still have a club etc.

I don't know how many folk walk through the gate as a result of me handing out posters, will probably never know but all I know is it's worth a shot and it's better than doing nothing

User avatar
loan_star
Posts: 7101
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:01 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by loan_star » Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:36 pm

moodymonica wrote: Maybe that's why the crowd has halved since at HP.
Crowds haven't halved at all, we are probably a couple of hundred down on two seasons ago.

As for newspaper coverage, we might find that a bit harder now as we are having to share coverage with Spennymoor. Whoever is decided has the bigger game will get the bigger share of the coverage in the Echo. Tomorrow for example, Spennys write up will take most the page and we will have the side column. We only got a match report on the echo website last night since Stod (who wasn't officially working at the match yesterday) did a report that he wasn't asked to do.

User avatar
robsraiders
Posts: 839
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 4:58 pm
Team Supported: Darlington
Location: darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by robsraiders » Sun Aug 24, 2014 5:49 pm

I have done Cockerton well advertised in Travellers Rest, Sandwich shops, Aldersons Butchers, Library, Card shop and 2 barbers, other shops like both bookmakers and D'ton BS and Co Op have a policy of not allowing us to put posters up, and believe it or not charity shops perhaps MM can write or email these companies to ask why they wont support our local team, that would be interesting to find out.
Also since when we have been at HP have the crowds got near 2000? our average is no way near that figure, a return to darlington will get us up to that level, but until then we are what we are, a non league team well down the pyramid.
Now lets pull together and get on with it DTID

charlie

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by charlie » Sun Aug 24, 2014 5:53 pm

robsraiders wrote:I have done Cockerton well advertised in Travellers Rest, Sandwich shops, Aldersons Butchers, Library, Card shop and 2 barbers, other shops like both bookmakers and D'ton BS and Co Op have a policy of not allowing us to put posters up, and believe it or not charity shops perhaps MM can write or email these companies to ask why they wont support our local team, that would be interesting to find out.
Also since when we have been at HP have the crowds got near 2000? our average is no way near that figure, a return to darlington will get us up to that level, but until then we are what we are, a non league team well down the pyramid.
Now lets pull together and get on with it DTID
See now that's more like it, the town centre is my local area, Robsraiders has done his local area. If we all pulled together even as simple as a poster in your front window helps.
Not to mention trying to bring someone to the game. This isn't about volunteer of the year award it's about pulling together and getting the word out there

Bogratsteve
Posts: 4025
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:57 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Bogratsteve » Sun Aug 24, 2014 5:57 pm

We are so fortunate to have Craig working for the Echo and a massive Darlo fan, he does more than would be expected for a club of our size in terms of exposure and publicity, it's only fair Spenny get coverage but we still get the lions share.

lo36789
Posts: 10927
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:58 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by lo36789 » Sun Aug 24, 2014 8:15 pm

Thing is Spennymoor by the sounds of it demanded equal coverage to Darlington from the Echo. Seems to miss the point a bit coverage isn't about the division you are in it should be the interest of the readership. We must average 2.5x Spenny's average gate, so we should be at least that amount more coverage and that is ignoring that we have a larger non-attending fan base to factor in.

I like how mm started the rant about not knowing that games were on. It has now turned to ticket prices and deals.

I must say you have done well with Arriva Charlie - I'd have thought we are taking a slot which they would usually get revenue from selling! The question I have is can people send their kids into school with the poster and get it stuck up on a noticeboard?

charlie

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by charlie » Sun Aug 24, 2014 9:01 pm

lo36789 wrote:Thing is Spennymoor by the sounds of it demanded equal coverage to Darlington from the Echo. Seems to miss the point a bit coverage isn't about the division you are in it should be the interest of the readership. We must average 2.5x Spenny's average gate, so we should be at least that amount more coverage and that is ignoring that we have a larger non-attending fan base to factor in.

I like how mm started the rant about not knowing that games were on. It has now turned to ticket prices and deals.

I must say you have done well with Arriva Charlie - I'd have thought we are taking a slot which they would usually get revenue from selling! The question I have is can people send their kids into school with the poster and get it stuck up on a noticeboard?
To be honest I can't take credit for Arriva, there is a very passionate Darlo fan in our midst who is an arriva bus driver. I believe if I didn't drop the posters in, I would be hunted down and he would demand to know why! Won't be the first time I walk past a bus in the town centre to hear my name shouted from the drivers seat :-)

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Sun Aug 24, 2014 9:17 pm

Bogratsteve wrote:We are so fortunate to have Craig working for the Echo and a massive Darlo fan, he does more than would be expected for a club of our size in terms of exposure and publicity, it's only fair Spenny get coverage but we still get the lions share.
We see the Echo as a Darlington paper but it's just a NE paper, hence the coverage Hartlepool receieve but the Echo doesn't sell that well in Hartlepool.

Ingleby
Posts: 1512
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:08 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Ingleby » Sun Aug 24, 2014 9:59 pm

loan_star wrote:
moodymonica wrote: Maybe that's why the crowd has halved since at HP.
Crowds haven't halved at all, we are probably a couple of hundred down on two seasons ago.

As for newspaper coverage, we might find that a bit harder now as we are having to share coverage with Spennymoor. Whoever is decided has the bigger game will get the bigger share of the coverage in the Echo. Tomorrow for example, Spennys write up will take most the page and we will have the side column. We only got a match report on the echo website last night since Stod (who wasn't officially working at the match yesterday) did a report that he wasn't asked to do.
Average attendance was 1300 in the northern league. Not sure what it was last year. If we stay at Bishop all season I can see it being around 900 this season. So no it hasn't halved.
For you to insult me, I must first value your opinion.

User avatar
divas
Posts: 13213
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:38 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by divas » Sun Aug 24, 2014 10:09 pm

+2 tomorrow

AIDO
Posts: 2489
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 1:49 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by AIDO » Mon Aug 25, 2014 5:42 am

Ingleby wrote:Average attendance was 1300 in the northern league. Not sure what it was last year. If we stay at Bishop all season I can see it being around 900 this season. So no it hasn't halved.
... average attendance last season ..... 1097 ..... ;)

Full record here, towards the bottom of the Evostik archive page.

http://www.evostikleague.co.uk/archive-1996/

Quakerz
Posts: 20958
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 6:32 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Quakerz » Mon Aug 25, 2014 7:39 am

lo36789 wrote:Thing is Spennymoor by the sounds of it demanded equal coverage to Darlington from the Echo. Seems to miss the point a bit coverage isn't about the division you are in it should be the interest of the readership. We must average 2.5x Spenny's average gate, so we should be at least that amount more coverage and that is ignoring that we have a larger non-attending fan base to factor in.
The thing is, Spennymoor have built up over a number of seasons, and actually are a bona fide "big club" for this level. Averaged over 400 last season, an opening gate of 498 this season, that's some going, and is impressive considering we're in a league where gates of 200 are the norm. Their gates wouldn't be out of place in the Evostik Premier.

So taking us out of the equation - we are an anomaly, due to the historical fanbase that partly remains, and the sheer size of the town - and you can see why they wanted a good amount of coverage, surely they deserve it?

They're actually getting better gates than Scarborough Athletic, another club with a historically larger fan base, history of higher level football etc, and they've won loads of trophies in the last 5 years. At some point you have to give some recognition.

Another thing, think of the elation when we won at their place, that also proves that they are a pretty important club in the scheme of things. It wasn't the same feeling that you get from a standard win was it, this was different. And it's because we recognise the strength and quality of their team and perceive them to be as big a threat to our progression, as they see us as a threat to theirs.
Image

“Everybody knows where that club is going now, so I’m out of the way. They can carry on, it’s their club, they can keep it." - Raj Singh, 2017

lo36789
Posts: 10927
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:58 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by lo36789 » Mon Aug 25, 2014 8:02 am

I don't disagree that they deserve coverage. I just find it bizarre that seemingly they demanded it from the Echo using us playing in the same division as the reasoning. I don't really know how geographically the Echo stretches in readership. I thought our copies say Darlington edition, but just picked one up and it doesn't - I am sure they used to?

Twintowers
Posts: 428
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 12:15 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Twintowers » Mon Aug 25, 2014 8:19 am

lo36789 wrote:I don't disagree that they deserve coverage. I just find it bizarre that seemingly they demanded it from the Echo using us playing in the same division as the reasoning. Whitby play in the division above - do they deserve a page?
Blythe are also in the league above but they are hardly local to South Durham.Whitby won't see themselves as a North East club either,they're Yorkshire.Having said that I still think of the Echo as a Darlington paper and would always give us more coverage.

Quakerz
Posts: 20958
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 6:32 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Quakerz » Mon Aug 25, 2014 8:45 am

lo36789 wrote:I don't disagree that they deserve coverage. I just find it bizarre that seemingly they demanded it from the Echo using us playing in the same division as the reasoning. I don't really know how geographically the Echo stretches in readership. I thought our copies say Darlington edition, but just picked one up and it doesn't - I am sure they used to?
I don't find it "bizarre" that they "seemingly" demanded equal coverage. First of all we need to establish if they did demand equal coverage. Secondly, if they did, no it's not bizarre, they are after all in the same league, and we are the only two County Durham teams in that league, so to give one club all of the coverage and ignore the other - especially with the other club being just as likely to be near the top - would be more bizarre than any "demand" made by Spennymoor.

It was different in the Northern League when the Echo could use the excuse that it was impossible to give 22 clubs the same coverage.
Image

“Everybody knows where that club is going now, so I’m out of the way. They can carry on, it’s their club, they can keep it." - Raj Singh, 2017

lo36789
Posts: 10927
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:58 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by lo36789 » Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:22 am

As you say if South Durham is the coverage area then it makes more sense. I wasn't sure how far from Darlo the Echo stretches.

Darlogramps
Posts: 6025
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:47 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Darlogramps » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:03 am

When did Spenny "demand" extra coverage? Evidence please.
If ever you're bored or miserable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlZohZoadGY

charlie

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by charlie » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:05 am

Haven't got evidence but I can remember complaints during the northern league season

Darlogramps
Posts: 6025
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:47 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Darlogramps » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:14 am

When you say complaints, are we talking Spenny officials ringing up the Echo sports department and berating them, or a few faceless grumblers on NLZ? There's quite a difference.
If ever you're bored or miserable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlZohZoadGY

charlie

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by charlie » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:49 am

I don't know how far up or down it went, can only remember it happening, someone else maybe able to clarify

User avatar
loan_star
Posts: 7101
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:01 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by loan_star » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:49 am

I believe it was an editorial decision. Funny how the chief sportswriters team doesn't get a reduction in coverage despite them not selling many papers in that particular area.

Darlogramps
Posts: 6025
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:47 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Darlogramps » Mon Aug 25, 2014 12:28 pm

If it was an editorial decision, then Spennymoor had nothing to do with it.

If this is the case, then the use of "demanded" is a poor choice of phrase.
If ever you're bored or miserable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlZohZoadGY

Andrew Wilkinson
Posts: 313
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:19 pm

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by Andrew Wilkinson » Mon Aug 25, 2014 2:48 pm

Echo is mainly a darlo and south durham paper - but reaches to Northumberland and to around thirsk and Scarborough. Sells in total around 30,000 copies a day - but like almost all regional papers sales have been in steady decline.

spen666
Posts: 2296
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:12 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by spen666 » Mon Aug 25, 2014 5:37 pm

Andrew Wilkinson wrote:Echo is mainly a darlo and south durham paper - but reaches to Northumberland and to around thirsk and Scarborough. Sells in total around 30,000 copies a day - but like almost all regional papers sales have been in steady decline.

I didn't realise its circulation was so low now! A victim of the internet era of news on demand

HeedArmy09
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 5:13 pm

Re: Bring a family member or friend - new or lapsed fans

Post by HeedArmy09 » Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:47 pm

We do this offer, £15 standard price but a discount of £5 for nufc/safc season card holders on production of their card. Surprisingly enough it isn't as popular as you'd expect. Our 2 home games this season so far have attracted crowds just shy of 1,800. 1,782 v Grimsby and 1,765 v Torquay. I don't know the figures for the Torquay game, but 132 took up the offer v Grimsby, leaving around 1,350 home fans paying full whack.

Post Reply