StevePark 2,781 Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) Don't you think it strange, when a genuine discussion with the aim of helping to find ways of promoting, someone has to believe there is an agenda, tad juvenile. I watch the NE news every night, little on speedway in general, gets a mention occasionally, the club mentioned the least out of the 4 Northern clubs, is our beloved Berwick. I don't know if it gets coverage in scotland however. Closed season, maybe, but over 40 appearances during the 2014 season for Berwick, out of over 90 in total for the Northern teams, is hardly little. It gets mentioned on TV, be thankful for that. Edited March 10, 2015 by Steve Park 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dempo 124 Posted March 10, 2015 Anyone know how much a banner covering a panel of the poly-foam fence would cost? Not a business enquiry - Just interested Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shadders 4,134 Posted March 10, 2015 Anyone know how much a banner covering a panel of the poly-foam fence would cost? Not a business enquiry - Just interested I heard around £700 for the season Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,363 Posted March 10, 2015 Anyone know how much a banner covering a panel of the poly-foam fence would cost? Not a business enquiry - Just interested Contact the Club. Don't think the price at the level Berwick charge is an issue, when it was dropped to £10 it made no difference. Those who can afford it can afford it, those who cannot, cannot, it really is as simple as that. The challenge is to get visitors to attend who normally would not, so to let them know about it, is a good starting point. To achieve that you need to identify where the visitor would read that information and provide the information. Good ideas, however Berwick and the surrounding areas are in the 10 bottom paid areas in the country. New figures last week also placed as 3rd highest amount of workers on minimum wage not attaining a 'Living Wage'. so an up hill slog... The bottom line is that the sport is in decline,and is not attracting new fans.The various reasons have been well discussed and nobody has found the answer.Ideas that seem to be suggested by fans from various clubs and sound reasonable don't seem to find favour with the people that run the sport.So be it . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigeddiechek 1,094 Posted March 10, 2015 Engage brain before tapping the keyboard. I did have a wee laugh when I read this, a recent post of yours springs to mind. Nice of you to share your wisdom. Now, to respond to some of Taffy's comments. I think holiday camps are not really a strategic target. If you are lucky you are going to get a one-off hit from the occasional person. Unless they are visiting Berwick for speedway, it is unlikely that you will pull them in to speedway on their holiday. A longer-term strategy would be to encourage adults to bring their kids and get the fans of the future engaged. As far as I can see, Berwick is the only club to offer under 16s free admission with an adult, and have been doing for a number of seasons. TV and radio coverage always seems to be pretty decent to me, I really don't think Taffy's claim that we are under-represented on TV is correct. One of the most effective marketing tools is the good old-fashioned banner. Something I was taught by the Marketing Director of a very successful beer brand. Berwick do that well. Quite a remarkable claim from a self-proclaimed business guru is that there is no point in promoting to your current customer base. Quite an extraordinary comment to make Taffy! First and foremost you must retain your loyal customers and never - ever - take your eye off the ball with them. The suggestion of posters is a good one, but not A4, they need to be posters, not leaflets. A3 minimum, and they need to be current. I guess it is expensive to do multiple runs of posters to keep them current, but more posters is a good idea. I'm not quite sure what your point is when you refer to Berwick Rangers doing this, as they get much smaller attendances. Are you trying to disprove your point? Screm's point that the rest of the word might not be interested in our wee sport is a very interesting one. I kind of agree with you on that, Screm. You really can't force people to like something. This then brings me back to promoting to families so that kids can get bitten by the bug. With regard to admission prices: when admission was dropped to £10 it made no difference to crowd levels, so must have whacked about 30% off takings! However, the tickets books are an interesting variation on season tickets. It offers a discount for bulk purchase, but avoids the problem of a conventional season ticket where holidays, illness, weddings, etc., make them a bit risky. It also offers an opportunity to buy tickets as gifts. To me this is all part of the promotion/marketing mix, and another example of something being done well. My points are not to be read as the sun shines out of their backside, it is merely to show that there is a considerable effort made to promote the sport, and many of the suggestions are either being done, or have been tried. This effort is often done by people who have work and family life in addition to their speedway work. So be fair with any criticism, offer it in a positive way, the club is always open to suggestions and looking to improve things. If you have something to offer, why not get involved? If you have time to come on here and air your opinion, why not use some of it to offer a hand? After all, we support the club and all (I think) want to see it survive and flourish. Oh, and one final point, is signing Ben Barker not a big deal in terms of the wee team in one of the most poorly paid parts of the country? 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandit59 1,151 Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) Good Morning! Monday again, who's ready for the weekend already? Don't forget we're having a social night this Saturday 14th, 7:30pm in the Black and Gold. There will be some speedway DVDs on show, some quizzes and maybe some special guests! We hope you can come along for a drink and a chat to get us started in the season!... We will also have membership forms available on the night so if you have never been a member before why not join? It's only £5 for adults and £2.50 for the kids! And if you fancy coming along you can also put your name down for the bus to Ricky's big day! Seats are only £10 for members and £20 for non members. See you then!! Taken from Berwick Supporters Club Facebook page, where it looks like they are attracting many new members. Taffys later question never heard any mention of Berwick on Scotttish news come to think of it cant remember Edinburgh or Glasgow getting a mention Edited March 10, 2015 by Bandit59 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crescent girl 1,905 Posted March 10, 2015 Another e-Newsletter has arrived, with plenty to read. Perhaps an item worth immediately highlighting is this one: SPRUCE UP THE STADIUM:This Sunday (March 15th) is going to be 'Spruce-Up The Speedway Day' at Shielfield, with staff (and possibly a rider or two) going hard at it to smarten up our speedway facilities in time to have everything ship-shape for our Press & Practice sessions on Saturday 21st.Any willing volunteers will be more than welcome to come along on Sunday and assist in getting things tidied up. We'll be getting going about 10am. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DSC67 1,465 Posted March 10, 2015 7.30 seems early to me if practice starts at 6.30 regarding Taffys later question never heard any mention of Berwick on Scotttish news come to think of it cant remember Edinburgh or Glasgow getting a mention Berwick always get a mention on the BBC Radio Scotland local news , details of up coming fixtures , results the next morning of the previous nights meeting when there has been one , news on signings and other stuff to 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandit59 1,151 Posted March 10, 2015 Berwick always get a mention on the BBC Radio Scotland local news , details of up coming fixtures , results the next morning of the previous nights meeting when there has been one , news on signings and other stuff to I was thinking more on the Tv news but didnt realise it was mentioned on Radio Scotland know Edinburgh get mentioned on Radio Forth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigeddiechek 1,094 Posted March 10, 2015 Also on Radio Borders, live pre-meeting interview with John Anderson. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
penchev 342 Posted March 11, 2015 Interesting from the Peterborough promotion http://www.speedwaygb.co/news.php?extend.28456 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crescent girl 1,905 Posted March 11, 2015 Anyone know how much a banner covering a panel of the poly-foam fence would cost? Not a business enquiry - Just interested Less than quoted above. Check with Lani Rae on 07779-227535 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YAMYAMBANDIT 560 Posted March 11, 2015 Taffys later question never heard any mention of Berwick on Scotttish news come to think of it cant remember Edinburgh or Glasgow getting a mention I said I didn't know about Scotish media, as I do not recieve it as I live in Northumberland. In general the only people that will listen to anything on the news whether it be TV or Radio, are the converted. I accept the promotion in schools is a good idea. I do not accept the need to attract occasional users as irrelevant, if it's only a 100, it's a 100 that would not have attended. Across speedway most of the promotion is aimed at the converted, we go anyway. So back to the debate, what new ideas are out there, how does the club achieve them. For someone to come up with volunteering ones time, does nothing for putting bums on seats. If you get someone to come once or return again and again is an achievment, and nothing more should be asked of them other than to pay their entrance fee and perhaps buy a programme. If someone wants to give up their time, well done but should never be a manditary requirement. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,363 Posted March 11, 2015 IMO holidaymakers are a viable target,the camps are full ALL summer during speedway season so to attract a few each week could make a contribution to the Club over a season .How to attract new local support a getting them to return is the main problem for a lot of clubs. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smod 145 Posted March 11, 2015 Your newsletter reported how Berwick have been the biggest contributors to the SRBF collections for five out of the past six years. How can such a small club achieve such wonderful generosity? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
