Just noticed that Richmond has nearly 40,000 members guys.

They have a pet membership for $27 dollars and a membership for people who cant get to games for $79 dollars.

Do you think we should look at introducing more membership options for Melbourne?

Some clubs offer a membership with only a few games.

What your thoughts, what can we do to pump this membership up to 50,000 plus?

We have pet memberships however it my understanding they dont count in the membership tally.

We have memberships for those outside Melbourne with 5 home games attached.

Not sure what else we can do. We used to have armchair memberships but they were removed as no games were attached to it and it didnt qualify under AFL Rules.

The first thing that needs to happen is for every and i mean every mcc member who barricks for melbourne to buy the $49 dollar membership.

What your thoughts, what can we do to pump this membership up to 50,000 plus?

We may create a problem where some members may downgrade to the cheaper 4 or 5 game option therefore defeating the purpose.

We may create a problem where some members may downgrade to the cheaper 4 or 5 game option therefore defeating the purpose.

Very good point--increase membership however decrease revenue---Dumb .

Just noticed that Richmond has nearly 40,000 members guys.

They have a pet membership for $27 dollars and a membership for people who cant get to games for $79 dollars.

Do you think we should look at introducing more membership options for Melbourne?

Some clubs offer a membership with only a few games.

What your thoughts, what can we do to pump this membership up to 50,000 plus?

pet membership,thats why there got 40,ooo, the true number is about 31,ooo.

We all need to just sign up 1 person that we know family or friend and we will have 50000 not a problem.

I just signed up my housmate who barracks for Essendon.

It can be done people just be positive about it.

The $27 pet memberships don't count for any club. I don't know how this myth was perpetuated.

The $27 pet memberships don't count for any club. I don't know how this myth was perpetuated.

i believe you, you seem to now everything about the AFL,are you trying to say that pathetic side has 40,000 die hards, your in a dream world,maybe you lunch with B gale, distorted numbers.

The first thing that needs to happen is for every and i mean every mcc member who barricks for melbourne to buy the $49 dollar membership.

exactly, if we did this we would have 50,000 overnight

We all need to just sign up 1 person that we know family or friend and we will have 50000 not a problem.

I just signed up my housmate who barracks for Essendon.

It can be done people just be positive about it.

did you tell him MFC would finish top 4?

i believe you, you seem to now everything about the AFL,are you trying to say that pathetic side has 40,000 die hards, your in a dream world,maybe you lunch with B gale, distorted numbers.

Well I obviously know more than you. Membership numbers are audited by the AFL and to be included in the published figure the membership category must meet certain criteria such as cost.

$27 pet memberships do not count.

I like the "add-on" membership idea for the MCC members. Perhaps the dees need to look into ways of creating further "add-on" members.

This could perhaps be done with the Melbourne Storm, Melbourne Victory or Heart. Strike a deal with these clubs, so existing storm/heart/victory members can get a membership for $50 dollars that may entitle them to 3 home games of their choice per year (would need to be their choice due to scheduling conflicts between the sports). The same deal could then be offered to Melbourne supporters for the soccer/rugby.

Because you need to have an existing membership for victory/heart/storm, we guard ourselves from members downgrading because there would be the initial cost of the other membership involved. It also adds value to MFC members if they wish to see another sport on weeks where the dees are interstate. This could entice some Melbourne fans to get a membership with the benefit of an add on membership for the soccer/rugby.

Adding value to members is key, but opening up to new audiences with low pricing would be a good way to get the club out there.

My target would be Melbourne Heart, as they are the fresh face on the block and do need to grow their brand. Storm and Victory would be a nicer platform to launch from, but getting the deal done would take some serious work. Storm only have 7000 members, this arrangement could boost them up the rankings in membership also.

Just throwing it out there.

I'm pretty sure that is the path down which they were heading when that "Team Melbourne" venture was launched - it went belly-up and so did the concept.

As a marketer I think the MFC's major goal should be (and is according to the Red & Blueprint) to generate new custom. That is, attracting new consumers (at the end of the day, that's what we are) who previously have not belonged to the product category "AFL Football Teams". That is where the Demon Heartland memberships and Casey community links are a fantastic initiative. The MFC have a unique opportunity to spread their new brand message, rather than having to repeatedly convince existing category customers who have been exposed to the tired old stereotypes about Melbourne supporters which are perpetuated by the media and the AFL to an extent. Our major problem is the size of the potential membership base. Cam Schwab always makes reference to the fact that the MFC has the highest conversion rate to membership in the AFL. It is much wiser to attempt to convince completely uninformed, emotionally uninvolved individuals of the quality of our product, than to direct marketing efforts at existing members who have such a strong, often irrational, emotional connection to the Demon brand that they will sign up regardless (a simple phone call or mailout usually does this trick for this segment). Lapsed membership is a bit of a different story and without adequate MR on the major reasons for this (ie. financial, changing social priorities etc.) it's hard to develop a combat strategy. I did, however, note a post on this forum where the club is seeking to run a phone-drive to reconnect with old members. If so, bravo.

If I had to develop a strategy for the Demons I would be using this current period of growth and development in a similar way to St. Kilda's IMC strategy a few years ago where the message was basically "Get on for the ride of your life" and was directed strongly at non-traditional football communities. I could count on one hand the number of St. Kilda members I know that have followed the Saints for more than about 5 years - the rest have come on board because the StKFC marketing department was been clever enough to think outside of their traditional customer set and have now locked hoardes of people into the St. Kilda brand. I am confident that the current board, CEO and President understand this and that the correct avenues are being pursued to grow our membership base. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen and now is the perfect time to begin.

I'll stop blathering now. I'm logging on to the MFC website as we speak. Putting my money where my mouth is and purchasing a Heartland membership. Suggest all of you in a capacity to do so, do the same.

Edited April 9, 201015 yr by Brettmcg

did you tell him MFC would finish top 4?

Gold!

pet membership,thats why there got 40,ooo, the true number is about 31,ooo.

have a look tomorrow in the our members areas and cheer squad then go next week to their home game against us and have a look at the reserved membership areas and their cheer squad i am sure that will give you some indication as to even as bad as they are they do have more than us and they didnt start sending out memberships till december

did you tell him MFC would finish top 4?

Nah i gave him what some posters think i smoke HAA

1. Go back to family memberships that include the whole family not just 2 adults 2 children.

2. Provide partial/limited game memberships - we won't lose many full memberships but we could rope in a whole stack of people who don't contribute at all at this stage.

I have a family membership for 6. Given there are only 5 of us I nominate the kid across the road. He's not a Dees supporter but nearly over the line as I have been giving him the membership showbag for 5 years!

Its not only about revenue here guys. The number of supporters is crucial. we need to be 'seen' to have a lot of support. That's why its critical the MCC members also sign up.

The Hawks have been using dodgy membership stats for yonks, with dogs, cats, plants etc all being nominated under 'family' type arrangements. No-one questions their membership support.

It's all about numbers. That will lead to better fixturing, sponsorship etc. Trust me

I remember hearing a story on the radio back in 2008, it was a build up towards a hawks match and they were discussing how the hawks had so many members. This guy rang up and said that he was a hawks member and his wife and two kids were fanatic melbourne fans. The guy said he wanted his family to be hawks members so he rang up the club and told of his situation...anyway the club sent over Hodge to their home, meet the whole family gave them each a signed photo of his and now they are all Hawks members.

I look at that and always thought about the length to get another three members and if players and clubs did this they could persuade people to join as members very easily.

It's an interesting thought Melbourneboy.

I think a key part of membership is that it builds upon itself. A club with a strong membership seems to grow it easily out of the confidence/arrogance and "strength in numbers" aspect of having a big supporter base.

Like Chook was saying the other day, it's much easier to go for a club with many more supporters. Take Collingwood for example. Heading into that game past the Ponsford stand, there were about 400 Pies fans just standing around with about 15 Melbourne fans in sight. From a young age, people get used to seeing more fans of certain clubs and I think it has a profound impact on membership numbers and growth. Many of their fans don't seem to question (or know) why their club has won one flag in 50 years, they just go along because it's the done thing.

I also don't understand why people are quick to blame MCC members for our membership problem. I did some research last year (shock horror) and the percentage of MCC members who take up membership was much higher than the overall percentage of supporters who take up memberships.

I think Collingwood have some good ideas with their membership categories that the Dees should at least consider, happy to be corrected if these are already offered by the club:

1> A guernsey signed by the coach and the captain as part of one of the premium membership deals.

2> Option for 3 game membership - people who realistically can't get to the footy regularly - the 3 games are nominated, so one of ours might be the Collingwood clash on the Queen's Birthday, and then another high profile clash, but make the final game one that usually has really poor attendance such as North Melbourne, or Port Adelaide if we get to play them at the G.

3> Kids' memberships include a footy clinic with the senior players once a season, AND they go into a draw to have one of the players come to their house for a kick to kick in the back yard - I think that's a fantastic idea.

I won't go into more detail, as you can easily just log on and have a look at what they offer in more detail. Overall though, they seem to try to include as much player access for kids as they can, and offer their supporters a heap of options. We probably don't have the supporter base to carry as many options as the Maggies do, but I think we could try a couple of their ideas.

We all need to just sign up 1 person that we know family or friend and we will have 50000 not a problem.

Exactly thats all we need to do, we all know someone who barracks for Melbourne and doesnt have a membership.

We could buy a membership as a present for a friend or family member.

Go Dees

I think Collingwood have some good ideas with their membership categories that the Dees should at least consider, happy to be corrected if these are already offered by the club:

2> Option for 3 game membership - people who realistically can't get to the footy regularly - the 3 games are nominated, so one of ours might be the Collingwood clash on the Queen's Birthday, and then another high profile clash, but make the final game one that usually has really poor attendance such as North Melbourne, or Port Adelaide if we get to play them at the G.

I saw an ad for the filth today in the little paper, spruiking their ANZAC Day member pack. $150 buys a premium seat for ANZAC Day, plus 2 other home games, access to finals tickets for weeks 1-3, and all the other membership benefits.

Replace ANZAC Day with Queens Birthday, and maybe chuck in a function before or after the game, and we would have a fairly solid pack. I can't see it taking many full members away either. In any case, the club is still getting $150, which is better than a kick in the teeth.

I think Collingwood have some good ideas with their membership categories that the Dees should at least consider, happy to be corrected if these are already offered by the club:

1> A guernsey signed by the coach and the captain as part of one of the premium membership deals.

2> Option for 3 game membership - people who realistically can't get to the footy regularly - the 3 games are nominated, so one of ours might be the Collingwood clash on the Queen's Birthday, and then another high profile clash, but make the final game one that usually has really poor attendance such as North Melbourne, or Port Adelaide if we get to play them at the G.

3> Kids' memberships include a footy clinic with the senior players once a season, AND they go into a draw to have one of the players come to their house for a kick to kick in the back yard - I think that's a fantastic idea.

I won't go into more detail, as you can easily just log on and have a look at what they offer in more detail. Overall though, they seem to try to include as much player access for kids as they can, and offer their supporters a heap of options. We probably don't have the supporter base to carry as many options as the Maggies do, but I think we could try a couple of their ideas.

Why would you want a jumper signed by a liar?