2 ideas to make the club money

[DeeSpencer 26,272]

To ever get ahead in the AFL clubs need to diversify revenue streams to make more money. Especially small clubs wanting to grow. Pokies have been the backbone of this off field earnings but there isn't the same opportunity to expand there and (hopefully) over time that business model becomes less rewarding. So I've thought up a couple of ways for the club to branch out and make some money.

1. Demon Dinners - and other meals

With more and more time pressure people are buying take away - especially now every restaurant delivers through delivery companies, prepared meals and even ingredient boxes to make gourmet meals. At the same time there's a lot of health conscious people as well and footy participation numbers have grown on the back of the increase in girls and women's football. Most games are Saturday and Sunday. Most people love take away or conveniently prepared meals on Friday or Saturday night. Put all those things together and there's surely a market for either Demons branded or AFL branded food. Imagine knowing your 15 year old son or daughter has a footy game on Sunday but it's Saturday night and you're going out for with adult friends. You could leave them money for pizza or you get them a dietitian approved and chef made meal (either prepared or delivered) with Nathan Jones or Daisy Pearce on the packaging.

Apparently it was Goody who suggested Luke Hodge got on the lite n easy and Hodgey turned that in to an ad campaign, but people don't really want to buy diet food and advertise that to the world. Instead they get Demon Dinners that are formulated throughout the week to be nutritious enough to make you fit and healthy with some exercise (like a couple of footy trainings) and then you can market pre game and even post game meals. 

Presumably there's a way for the club to access the kitchens at the Leighoak and Bentleigh clubs if they want to start with local deliveries to the heartland suburbs maybe on Thurs-Sat. Or maybe approach a prepared meals company like Healthy Choice and say we want to make branded meals. 

The actual specifics of which way you want to do it are pretty endless but I'm certain there's a big gap in the market in selling meals to footballers, especially kids. Parents are spending big money on boots, gear, travel, extra coaching and academies. They already have to feed their kids and are spending big money doing that how it is. There should be an opening to get in on that.

2. A one of a kind experience viral marketing raffle.

Everyone buys club raffle tickets from time to time right? I know the club volunteers get on the phones or on match days and do their best to sell them. I also know the club are generous to big donors or sponsors with behind the scenes and match day experiences. But why not combine all of that in one go?

I first learnt about how a company in America combines viral marketing and experiences for charitable causes here:

https://www.theringer.com/tech/2017/10/25/16528024/omaze-online-charity-rick-and-morty
And an example of an experience here:
https://www.omaze.com/experiences/south-park-matt-trey-notms

Pretty much, the club create the biggest and best match day experience and make the biggest and best viral marketing video they can make. They already have the ability to do that.

Get Hamish Blake, Robbo and Clayton Oliver to sit down and make a funny video, can't be that hard right? And prepare the ultimate fan experience - training with the boys, coffee with Goody, lunch with the team, match committee, game day room pass, kids run out with the team, even sing the song if they win, flights and hotels paid for, just get it all in there. Make it too good for fans to refuse. 

Then sell tickets 100 for $10, 250 for $25 and escalating like that, with members getting a bonus 10-50% of tickets, however you want to do it, add merchandise with a number of tickets bought.

Is anyone not buying $10 worth for the chance of a lifetime?

[Deeoldfart 8,104]

Love the thinking outside the square DS.   

I live interstate, so #1 wouldn't work for me, but I love #2.  I'd buy up tickets as birthday or Christmas gifts for Demon supporting friends.

[spirit of norm smith 16,615]

Yes and yes

[Hompy 34]

Esports, like Adelaide Crows and Essendon.

Children watch these things at their own free will. Plant the idea when they are young - Go the demons.

[Hampton 22 519]

1 winning games

2 winning more games to make the finals

[bjDee 1,249]

Good on ya DS. Love the marketing potential and hope they make it into circulation in some form.

Meanwhile, in the on-field realm, H22 has it for me: just make sure you win more games.

If you win it they will come. 

[praha 11,253]

bandaid solutions. 

the only way to make money with a snall fanbase is to win games consistently over a sustained period.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 17,012]

You're wasting your time DeeSpencer.

What I mean by the above comment is that you shouldn't be pitching those ideas here. You're missing out on making money for yourself and the club. The idea that a "Light and Easy" could extend its business by establishing a new line with AFL, NRL and so on branded home delivered meals such as "Demon Dinners" (and "Tiger Tucker",  "Magpie Mush - suitable for the toothless supporter", etc) seems like a proper marketing idea. It may not make as much as a poker machine venue, but that's beside the point.

[The Chazz 4,077]

We had a thread not long ago about additional income streams.  It's obviously something the club need to look at, but I would question the effectiveness of those listed above.

Firstly, there would be no bistro/kitchen in town that would want to give up and/or share their kitchens on a Thursday-Sunday.  This is their peak time.  I do think there are catering facilities at AAMI Park, so that may give an opportunity.  But even then, it's being restricted to people in Melbourne.  I would want to know the demographics of our members, in particular their place of residence.  It would also count out a number of families that don't have two bob to rub together, but still manage to buy a membership (I sincerely admire these families).

The second idea just further puts a gulf between the haves and the have nots.  Those with more money will buy more tickets and give the "poorer" kids less chance of living their dream.  It's also requiring those lesser families to put their hand in their pocket further, with a high chance of nothing in return.  I like the idea of raffles where you can only buy 1 ticket.  Up the ticket price, but at least if your average Joe buys one, they know they have just as much chance as the high-rollers.

The other thing to remember is that some sponsors use these match day privileges that they receive as part of their sponsorship package as a carrot for their customers.  We can't be taking that away from them.

You could add a "sweepstakes" style of raffle to the memberships, but rather than winning a $30,000 car, give away 10 prizes of $3,000.  Also, one thing that annoys me is when they have promotions for members who sign between certain dates, in a bid to get more members before the new season.  I'm a Dedicated Demon, why should I miss out on additional promotions because I just roll over from one year to the next?

I also hat those online auction things that the clubs run.  I have looked at them once or twice, and never bothered to consider a bid.  Am I poor?  No, but I'm not rich.  I would love to sit in the coaches box one day. or pay for my boy to run out with the players, but I know I'm going to get blown out of the water, so why bother.

I said it in the there thread that was going about the additional income streams.  We need to find services that everyone uses, and try and get involved in something there, even if via a strategic partnership with someone already in that space.  Health Services, Education, Groceries, Utilities (ie gas, power, water), these are all things that we all have to put money in to on a regular basis.

To generate the best income, we have two main starting points.  Offer something that no-one else does, and market it so that even opposition supporters will need it, so that we aren't relying just on the Demon faithful for income.  Or, we need to offer a product/service that everyone needs/uses, but offer a "Demon" alternative.  This will most likely restrict our customers to the Demon faithful.  But we also need to make sure that anything we come up with is accessible for all our supporters around Australia, not just the CBD and outer suburbs of Melbourne.

It's not easy - if it was we'd be already doing it, and so would most other clubs.

[Deemania since 56 6,763]

15 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Yes and yes

ditto, ditto...

Winning matches would be great, too - filling the 'G with Dee supporters when playing there. Reclaiming territory long lost to other teams with an AFL profits agenda. Match receipts, on an ever-increasing cycle of significant success. Developing a win mentality that is antagonistically arrogant to all opposition. Become a feared opponent, once again. Pass the rock'n'roll jukebox, Baby.

[Smokey 4,389]

Esports team for sure

[praha 11,253]

1 hour ago, Smokey said:

Esports team for sure

Posted this in the sponsorship thread:

"

I'm not entirely convinced with esports. it's a super competitive market and unless you compete successfully in NA and Asia, the financial benefits are minimal. You also won't attract good players unless you'r prepared to outlay most of the winnings to the actual team. Some smaller esports teams only give a small percentage to the players because they'r seen as a stepping stone to more reputable teams.

it's the kind of thing where you need to invest millions in order to start off high from the very beginning. I don't think any of the Afl teams getting involved are going that deep.

imo some AFL clubs are seeing the financial benefits based on the success of NA and Asian teams, without truly understanding or appreciating the cost to actually set this up. Blizzard was asking for tens of millions just to buy a license for the Overwatch league. This is a league that atm has appealing projections, but there are still huge question marks over the viability.

ultinately it all comes to sponsorship money and purchasing intent. Gamers are traditionally firmly in that high purchase intent category, but they won't get involved if the team/players aren't competitive on a global scale."

[Smokey 4,389]

7 minutes ago, praha said:

Posted this in the sponsorship thread:

"

I'm not entirely convinced with esports. it's a super competitive market and unless you compete successfully in NA and Asia, the financial benefits are minimal. You also won't attract good players unless you'r prepared to outlay most of the winnings to the actual team. Some smaller esports teams only give a small percentage to the players because they'r seen as a stepping stone to more reputable teams.

it's the kind of thing where you need to invest millions in order to start off high from the very beginning. I don't think any of the Afl teams getting involved are going that deep.

imo some AFL clubs are seeing the financial benefits based on the success of NA and Asian teams, without truly understanding or appreciating the cost to actually set this up. Blizzard was asking for tens of millions just to buy a license for the Overwatch league. This is a league that atm has appealing projections, but there are still huge question marks over the viability.

ultinately it all comes to sponsorship money and purchasing intent. Gamers are traditionally firmly in that high purchase intent category, but they won't get involved if the team/players aren't competitive on a global scale."

I hear you, but don't necessarily agree with all of this. 

No-one said they need to be knocking down the door at Dreamhack, but a local Melbourne team that competes nationally wouldn't cost much at all but would provide enough exposure to younger generations for a positive ROI in my opinion. A byproduct of this exposure is of course membership. 

I see this as a viable longer term strategy to expanding our membership base, not a way for us to make millions in the next few years. 

Our biggest problem is securing long term major sponsers (no answers for that from me other than getting a better draw from the AFL). Consider this idea a side project at the most. 

[rjay 25,302]

2 hours ago, Smokey said:

Esports team for sure

 

38 minutes ago, praha said:

Posted this in the sponsorship thread:

"

I'm not entirely convinced with esports. it's a super competitive market and unless you compete successfully in NA and Asia, the financial benefits are minimal. You also won't attract good players unless you'r prepared to outlay most of the winnings to the actual team. Some smaller esports teams only give a small percentage to the players because they'r seen as a stepping stone to more reputable teams.

it's the kind of thing where you need to invest millions in order to start off high from the very beginning. I don't think any of the Afl teams getting involved are going that deep.

imo some AFL clubs are seeing the financial benefits based on the success of NA and Asian teams, without truly understanding or appreciating the cost to actually set this up. Blizzard was asking for tens of millions just to buy a license for the Overwatch league. This is a league that atm has appealing projections, but there are still huge question marks over the viability.

ultinately it all comes to sponsorship money and purchasing intent. Gamers are traditionally firmly in that high purchase intent category, but they won't get involved if the team/players aren't competitive on a global scale."

 

21 minutes ago, Smokey said:

I hear you, but don't necessarily agree with all of this. 

No-one said they need to be knocking down the door at Dreamhack, but a local Melbourne team that competes nationally wouldn't cost much at all but would provide enough exposure to younger generations for a positive ROI in my opinion. A byproduct of this exposure is of course membership. 

I see this as a viable longer term strategy to expanding our membership base, not a way for us to make millions in the next few years. 

Our biggest problem is securing long term major sponsers (no answers for that from me other than getting a better draw from the AFL). Consider this idea a side project at the most. 

I find this all interesting, maybe because I have no idea on how it works...it's not my thing/demographic.

Someone posted on this Esports thing a while back and seemed to have a good handle on it.

Maybe a good idea for a thread over the summer, could be educational for some of us so long as it sticks to the topic.

Go for it...

[praha 11,253]

1 hour ago, Smokey said:

I hear you, but don't necessarily agree with all of this. 

No-one said they need to be knocking down the door at Dreamhack, but a local Melbourne team that competes nationally wouldn't cost much at all but would provide enough exposure to younger generations for a positive ROI in my opinion. A byproduct of this exposure is of course membership. 

I see this as a viable longer term strategy to expanding our membership base, not a way for us to make millions in the next few years. 

Our biggest problem is securing long term major sponsers (no answers for that from me other than getting a better draw from the AFL). Consider this idea a side project at the most. 

as a side project definitely. as a money maker...it's a long term branding project more than a money maker imo, something a club that can hardly secure long term sponsors can afford. point being that clubs like the crows have the capacity to invest and fail, but Mfc is still finding its feet. I'm not convinced about the long term viability of esports as it currently is, blizzard is shaking it up with the overwatch league, you'r also dealing with a temperamental and fickle market that is still being established and analysed. 

atm this club needs to focus 100% on long term success and the brand building that'll come from that. esports isn't in a place right now that a club like melbourne can invest in. we need to be funneling everything into our football department because we simply dont have the flexibility to invest otherwise atm.

Edited December 21, 2017 by praha

[DeeSpencer 26,272]

On 21/12/2017 at 8:06 AM, praha said:

bandaid solutions. 

the only way to make money with a snall fanbase is to win games consistently over a sustained period.

I disagree. The reason is because we have a football cap now and the MFC are consistently making 6 figure profits. Maybe those profits are only enough to service the footy department and pay down debt but right now it seems the ship is sailing along. 

This is where Hawthorn was when they embarked on Waverley training and the Tasmania swindle for cash flow. It's where Geelong was when they first started talking Cardinia redevelopment. 

Right now is the time to be ambitious and try to secure more revenue for a time when you need to spend it. Otherwise we're just chasing our tail aren't we? 

[DeeSpencer 26,272]

On 21/12/2017 at 10:24 AM, The Chazz said:

We had a thread not long ago about additional income streams.  It's obviously something the club need to look at, but I would question the effectiveness of those listed above.

Firstly, there would be no bistro/kitchen in town that would want to give up and/or share their kitchens on a Thursday-Sunday.  This is their peak time.  I do think there are catering facilities at AAMI Park, so that may give an opportunity.  But even then, it's being restricted to people in Melbourne.  I would want to know the demographics of our members, in particular their place of residence.  It would also count out a number of families that don't have two bob to rub together, but still manage to buy a membership (I sincerely admire these families).

The second idea just further puts a gulf between the haves and the have nots.  Those with more money will buy more tickets and give the "poorer" kids less chance of living their dream.  It's also requiring those lesser families to put their hand in their pocket further, with a high chance of nothing in return.  I like the idea of raffles where you can only buy 1 ticket.  Up the ticket price, but at least if your average Joe buys one, they know they have just as much chance as the high-rollers.

The other thing to remember is that some sponsors use these match day privileges that they receive as part of their sponsorship package as a carrot for their customers.  We can't be taking that away from them.

You could add a "sweepstakes" style of raffle to the memberships, but rather than winning a $30,000 car, give away 10 prizes of $3,000.  Also, one thing that annoys me is when they have promotions for members who sign between certain dates, in a bid to get more members before the new season.  I'm a Dedicated Demon, why should I miss out on additional promotions because I just roll over from one year to the next?

I also hat those online auction things that the clubs run.  I have looked at them once or twice, and never bothered to consider a bid.  Am I poor?  No, but I'm not rich.  I would love to sit in the coaches box one day. or pay for my boy to run out with the players, but I know I'm going to get blown out of the water, so why bother.

I said it in the there thread that was going about the additional income streams.  We need to find services that everyone uses, and try and get involved in something there, even if via a strategic partnership with someone already in that space.  Health Services, Education, Groceries, Utilities (ie gas, power, water), these are all things that we all have to put money in to on a regular basis.

To generate the best income, we have two main starting points.  Offer something that no-one else does, and market it so that even opposition supporters will need it, so that we aren't relying just on the Demon faithful for income.  Or, we need to offer a product/service that everyone needs/uses, but offer a "Demon" alternative.  This will most likely restrict our customers to the Demon faithful.  But we also need to make sure that anything we come up with is accessible for all our supporters around Australia, not just the CBD and outer suburbs of Melbourne.

It's not easy - if it was we'd be already doing it, and so would most other clubs.

Don't get caught up on specifics with the first idea. I've just spitballed a few ideas. The part I truly believe in is that footballers and particularly kids would eat AFL branded meals before games and the reason I believe it is because I sure know I'd do it myself, or at least try it and I don't even play any more. Also after witnessing the creation of two women's football teams at a local level this year I've seen the girls dive in with the "all the gear and no idea" attitude (which is fantastic) and I think they'd be all over it.

I'm not one for late sign up member promotions or raffles either. The beauty of this idea is it's a lottery and the base price could be $10 and get a member 150 chances, I'm sympathetic to the less fortunate but the majority of us can afford $10 if we want. Yes the wealthier might buy 2000 tickets for $200 but the odds will be overwhelmingly in favour of a joe average person winning given 90%+ of demon supporters I'd describe as pretty average folk and they'd probably buy 80%+ of tickets. Sponsors are afforded special privileges but in terms of a 1 off special for 1 game with all the perks I'm sure there's a way to free up that time.

[Diamond_Jim 12,687]

Read recently an article on virtual restaurants using Uber as the food selection/delivery method.

The idea is that a well known operator sets up a stand alone kitchen in a low cost industrial area. Food is ordered online and then delivered by Uber. Uber takes a cut not only of the delivery fee but also the food itself. Apparently these kitchens can be set up for around 200k as against fitting out a top notch restaurant at around $1M. Also reduces the staff costs which are often a killer even in the best restaurants.

This concept is a big step from take away which is a mere add on to an existing full service restaurant.

[dpositive 1,818]

Like the demon dinners. We have an edge with knowledge of members location , plus could target student market esp international.

Just saw article on ABC re the Shanghai game.

Port made 4mill from that???

With our China Eastern connection we should be all over that event.

[Diamond_Jim 12,687]

2 hours ago, dpositive said:

Like the demon dinners. We have an edge with knowledge of members location , plus could target student market esp international.

Just saw article on ABC re the Shanghai game.

Port made 4mill from that???

With our China Eastern connection we should be all over that event.

The Shanghai game was a loss making game that was subsidised to the tune of around 2million by the AFL.

That equates to a subsidy of around $200 per attendee. It was a flop and will probably be worse this year given the lack of novelty factor.

Port may have grossed $4million but the costs were extremely high. The ones who made a little bit of money were the Suns but as they are an AFL funded club it was just one pocket paying the other.

[doug williams 49]

The Footy Department should discuss the strategies put forward at the head of this post or certainly be receptive to them.

Achievable avenues to  strive at more fund making are welcome.

At present all we seem to get from the ideas tank at HQ  is an offer to buy more flaming scarves.

[dpositive 1,818]

Loss borne by the AFL.

Returns to the club go beyond the direct cash .

Investment in a new market at no cost.

Maybe Port are more advanced than we understand!