Not being negative here but its quiet on the Halifax front with not much happening, No players coming in or being shipped out so i thought i would ask the following question.

Tony Abbott was brought on board due to his marketing company and aimed to raise the crowds ?.

Other than the crossbar challenge has anyone else seen any new inniatives with regards to trying to increase the gates, Or do we think this was a ploy for him to get on board in hope of us making SL ?.

I personally have not seen anything new going on, I get the ussual Facebook inviting me to every game but thats been happening for ages anyway, Has anyone else seen or heard of anything ?.

Nobody ever seems to know whats going on. Do any teams still publish their inititial line-up in the press before a game?

still advertising the bulls game on shaw syke this morning.two days
before a home game we really need to attract a crowd to.we dont
help ourselves on/off pich do we.

and as I've mentioned many times on this forum

Family of 4 wish to watch a Co-Op game of no real significance (ie No Promotion)

£46 entry
£7 Bus Day Ticket to get to game
£20 for 4 pies & drinks

Total Cost

£73

You have to be on some bl**dy good wages to decide to make this a family day out.

I know its not much to do with the club itself, rather the Council & the RFL (number of games played) but there should be some decent incentives to watch our team. We're supposed to have a betting arrangement with Stan James. Bet £10 or more on a Fax game and receive a heavily discounted ticket would be a start.

Have flyers distributed in pubs around the town offering cheap entry etc.

At least watching the Shaymen was half affordable! (Don't know what their entry costs for Conf North will be yet)

Yeah i cant say ive seen much improvement on the marketing front, posters outside the ground is as basic as it comes but we cant even get that right, a week after the bulls game and we were still advertising it instead of advertising the sheffield game.

Even when the posters are up to date they are only tiny. Have you seen the Bulls' "Defense against the Dark Side" posters (Harry POTTER theme, get it?) around Bradford? Full colour and huge!

Quote ="Faxhali"Tony Abbott was brought on board due to his marketing company and aimed to raise the crowds ?.'" www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/sport/a ... _1_3004047 Talk is cheap.

Quote ="Faxhali"Tony Abbott was brought on board due to his marketing company and aimed to raise the crowds ?.'" www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/sport/a ... _1_3004047 Talk is cheap.

Who's Tony Abbot? Is he the one who said he's aiming to get 10,000 in or something daft and being Mr.Big?

I thought Matty Turner was still Marketing Manager? In the past decade he's the only one who seemed to know what to do at the Club, hope he's still about.

Edit: Cheers Bubba

Listen Guys - I think all this is very unfair on Tony. Having dealt with Tony regarding the Trust he has made himself and his business available to us at all times. He is very passionate about Hlifax RLFC and I know he has invested his own money into the club too. Marketing isn't just about posters etc, its about getting the e-shot list right, producing a corporate brochure and getting entertainment for games. The fireworks at games, bands etc at the Bradford to improve the entertainment side pre-game all cost money (5k for Bradford spent alone) and guess what somebody paid for it?? - Tony has come into the club and dedicates his own time to help the club during the week, I also know he has told his staff that they dedicate some time to help Halifax RLFC out. So before you call the man think about what he, Ian Croad, Mike Riley, Michael Steele and everyone else behind the scenes give to the club.

Whilst Im on my soapbox - Ive asked for volunteers on here many times to help the club and guess what about 5 people (MAX) have offerred support, yet many on here are all too quick to criticise (myself included in days gone by). If you want to make a difference why don't you do something constructive and help The Trust, Do The Sponsored Walk, Attend The Summer Bash etc. All of which will help the club by raising essential finances to pay for the things we want to happen.

I agree with you Chris and it is very sad that Tony is putting time and money into the club just to get slagged off. I don't believe that any of you on here who have been chriticising have signed up for the sponsored walk yet (forgive me if your wrong) so why not come to the south stand bar and see me to sign up on Sunday or is it going to be another week of no one bothering? Come on people why does it fall on deaf ears?

The Skircoat stand should be the Council community stand , with all costs paid , then filled with free family tickets for every game , nobody gets a ticket twice , all who get free tickets get a special deal [ half price family ticket for a game later in the season in either the standing end or the main stand

But this must be communicated to your existing fan base and properly explained , at our level we really nned to start thinking differently to how wehave in the past if we want to have a bright future

I agree its not all about putting posters up and alot of other areas take up time but i have lads who work with me in elland and drive past the shay every day but yet have ask me the same questions like who are they playing this week?, i might pop down if its a decent game etc. Yes im sure the guys are working very hard behind the scenes but surely posters outside the ground would take minutes to put up, what about decent size billboards on motorway bridges etc, surely that must be cheaper and markets the game better than fireworks on the day of the game?

Boils down to one thing.......cost!! Posters cost money, etc and the club needs volunteers to distribute!! There are plenty on here who are I'm sorry to say all mouth and no action. All too quick to criticise but when it comes to actually doing something positive disappear!! PM me if you're passionate and I'll find something for you to do that will benefit the club!!!

Tommy please think before you post such rubbish again. As I said previously Tony is a superb bloke and a great ambassador and not a Billy bigbollox as you so wrongly describe him!! Plus Matt has only been with the club 12 months approx? Not sure where you get a decade from as he'd have been a teenager!!

i have to agree everybody involoved with the club is doing the best they can, and yes tony is a great bloke and puts a lot of time and effort into the club just like everybody else.

The only problem we have at the moment is our results. It doesn't matter what marketing ploy or how much it costs. if our team isn't winning nobody will come. We could offer 2000 free tickets but most folk will find something better to do than come and watch us loose.

Being in marketing business you have to have something to market and be appealing. If you are trying to sell something nobody is interested in then your floggin a dead horse.

I am confident once our results start getting better then our marketing stratergy will come to the for front

the biggest marketing sloggan we will ever have is "COME AND WATCH A WINNING SUCCESSFUL TEAM" You don't realy need to market that as it sells itself

I think people took the pre-season announcements about a new marketing push at face value. Is there anything noticably different this year from last? Subtle differences perhaps but nothing like the claims made at the start of the season. Maybe a more reserved statement in future would be best so that people's expectations aren't unduly raised.

However, as with all those involved at the club I am in awe of the time and effort and money these guys put in. Without them the club wouldn't exist.

He shouldn't come out with that as a soundbite though. It's up there with Callands 'country mile' chat. Do things quietly and progress in house otherwise you'll get people quoting that back to you from here and afar (I know his quote said a 5 year plan but still). I'm sure he's a lovely bloke and a trier, it was merely a phrase. I'm not going to judge his actual personallity without meeting him.

As for the Matt thing, read what I actually put and get back to me.

He's more than a trier!! He's a successful businessman! Remember statements are made for "marketing" purposes and all news is good news so they say!! I dare anybody on here to do better!! The e-shots the club does are all via Tonys business and the marketing database has been considerably tidied up. Rome wasn't built in a day but f everyone has some good marketing ideas, want to design and print some posters for free, will hire a advertising board for the club and can commit to do this for every home game and for all the events then get in touch as I know the club or myself will be delighted to hear from you!! If it's so easy and cheap then surely someone on here can sort it????
As for the Matt bit I've re read it and get you now.

Tony has a hard job on with the awful mess Matt Calland has allowed to develop, i sympathise with him, and hope he can stick it out. How could anyone sell the product thats been on offer with any integrity or credibility, chin up Tony.
I am hearing good noises from sources about Mr Nobles observations and changes.. Blackpool to save our season, but long term changes are coming I hope, the board have a very interesting few months coming up.

Chris. Breathe. Have a latte and relax. I know it's the end of the week but you seem very wound up. I know it's annoying when people point out stuff that they know little about or don't see beyond visual posters and stuff but having a rage isn't going to help. In my opinion and from experience, figures should never be branded around in regards to sport as fans take them to literally and will quote them back. Then you'll get T***s like me calling folk names

(I did only mean it as a phrase, but probably shouldn't have, sorry).
Anyway, check your PMs (in 10 when i've written it) you may be able to help me with something.
Cheers

So fireworks that do nothing to attract spectators is worth spending/wasting £5k on, but simple posters advertising the next game isnt? Cant wait to see the 10,000 attending the Shay in five years for a firework display, with the rugby as a side attraction.

I always thought fireworks were more a visual event. Wonder who organises firework displays on bright sunny days?

Marketing is about satisfying customer needs profitably. Not just posters and facebook groups. The product and price are big factors of course. The only problem is its gonna be hard to entice any new fans, no matter what price, given the league format and so the club must rely on hardcore support to survive. The marketing environment and hence strategy would be massively different if we were in super league

And i agree fireworks are a waste of money. I reckon it would be a good idea for the money to be spent on getting paper boys delivering free under twelves tickets to households all over the district on a regular basis within the courier

Since he has joined the club I have received txt's and email advertising the games. Much more than I did before Tony Abbott joined.