DemonsHQ

Hi Demonlanders, Thanks for your continual feedback via Demonland. We at the club read posts like this one, and felt it was appropriate to let you know how important supporters like you are to helping us create the next generation of Demon supporters. We have a number of strategies in place to create new supporters, most of which link to our 30-year agreement with the City of Casey. As many of you have commented, children are more likely to follow a winning team, but in the meantime it is our goal to get more kids wearing our colours- particularly those who do not already support a team. Last year we were able to give away 1,000 red and blue guernseys to kids in Auskick centres, creating hundreds of new Melbourne supporters. The feedback from this program was sensational, with lots of parents saying their child could never commit to a team but now barracks for Melbourne, or originally liked Melbourne and now loves them. This year we aim to distribute 2,000 guernseys, which is a costly but worthwhile exercise. Upon reading this thread, we had the idea to ask supporters to help us achieve this by donating towards this program. We have received an overwhelming response already and the donations are still flowing in via our website. To find out more about this program or would like to get involved, please click here- http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/134719/default.aspx If you are involved in an Auskick Centre and would be interested in helping us to distribute these guernseys, we’d also love to hear from you- if you send an email to [email protected] we will send you some more information. Go Dees! Cheers, Demons HQ

Hi Demonlanders. We just wanted to clarify the home and away membership for 2012. Until the 2012 draw comes out, we are not aware and therefore cannot confirm how many games will be played in Melbourne. Sixteen games in Melbourne is the standard for Victorian Clubs and membership prices reflect this. If we are scheduled to play more games in Melbourne when the draw comes out, the home and away memberships will reflect this. You may recall that initially for 2011, home and away memberships were 16 games and then changed to 17 games once the draw was released, at no extra cost. As in previous years we will provide more details on the specifics of memberships once the draw is released by the AFL to the Clubs and the public at the end of October. If you would like more information, please contact our Membership Department on (03)96431760.

Update from Melbourne Football Club: Thank you for your feedback in regards to the additional cost for a reserved seat at our upcoming Home Game at Etihad Stadium. The Club is committed to finding the best solution for our members with regard to seating and the overall cost of membership. • Home games at Etihad Stadium come with significant additional costs for the Club, particularly in terms of offering equivalent reserved seats. Purchasing a reserved seat, comparable to the seating at the MCG, for each member at this game would cost the Club approximately $130k. • Membership packages and renewals are priced and finalised prior to the fixture being released. We feel it is more appropriate to create pricing around an 11 game MCG model than to try and predict and charge for Etihad games that may not eventuate. (The cost for a season reserved seat at the MCG is no different for 10 or 11 games) • Etihad have confirmed to the Club that Level 3 of the Stadium will be closed for the match. This, combined with the expectation of a relatively small crowd, and therefore ample general admission available on Level 1, led us to make the decision for members to purchase a reserved seat if they wish to secure a specific seat on the wing. • There will be up to 21 bays of general admission seating available on level 1. It is our expectation that all Melbourne members attending the game will have access to a good seat on level 1. • In addition, to try and minimise additional costs to members wishing to purchase a specific reserved seat, the Club will manage the reserved seat process in house, to avoid additional ticketing fees which would be experienced if tickets were to be purchased through the ticketing agency. We understand that this is not an ideal solution for everyone however we do encourage you to come along to the game and pack out the level 1 seating to create a great atmosphere for the team, members and supporters.

Hi hardtack, Thanks for your query. The point of this survey was to gain an understanding of what motivates you (the fans) to participate in these online forums. By understanding why the fans are involved in these online communities, it will allow the club to develop more relevant and engaging online forums for the fans (on club sites such as Facebook). Hope this helps answer your question. DemonsHQ

Hi Demonlanders, This survey is closing off tonight so we kindly ask as many of you as possible to participate, please. That link again: http://bit.ly/jCunQr Thanks for your support, DemonsHQ

Hi Demonlanders, At the club we are looking at ways to better engage with our online communities across social media platforms, the club website and with forums such as Demonland and Demonology. In order for us to do this, we are seeking feedback on supporters' participation within these online forums. We kindly ask you all to participate in the below survey that is being conducted in conjunction with Deakin University. The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete, and results are completely anonymous. http://bit.ly/jCunQr Thanks for your support. Demons HQ

Hi Demonlanders, Normally we wouldn't use Demonland to push club promotions, but given some of the great clash guernsey designs that some of you have put together over the years we thought this might be of interest to some of you. The Demon Shop is running a competition for supporters to design a Demons t-shirt which we will stock in the shop throughout the season. For more details go to: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/fanzone/demonshoptshirtdesigncompetition/tabid/17248/default.aspx Everyone at the club is looking forward to the start of the season in 19 days- hope you all are too. DemonsHQ

Hi All, Given there has been lots of discussion about the colour of the guernseys we wore in Friday night's NAB Cup game, we thought it was best to clarify the situation. The jumpers we played in on Friday night are not the correct colour. They have been produced in error and will be fixed. The intention of the new jumper was to get the red to a deeper, blood like, red. We have experienced a number of teething problems with our new apparel partner New Balance which have been very frustrating but we are continuing to work through the issues because we believe the range, when it is produced correctly, is outstanding and that New Balance will be a great partner in the long term. The original jumpers that the Club received prior to Christmas, for retail, had some colour imperfections in the emblem and the stars but were the correct red. New Balance recalled these jumpers on our request, to fix the stars and the emblem. New Balance then tried to reproduce the jumpers correctly in time for the intra club and Nab Cup games. Whilst they did fix the emblem and star imperfections, the new delivery were now an incorrect red and looked very pink. New Balance are now remaking the jumpers for the third time, in time for Round 1, in the correct red. The playing jumpers have sublimated numbers, GPS pockets and are a slightly different cut and fabric to retail jumpers so we can't wear the original retail jumpers (which are the correct red) on the field. Due to the delivery times (the jumpers are made in China and have been further delayed by Chinese New Year) we will be wearing the jumpers with the incorrect red for the remainder of the Nab Cup matches. The red is incorrect on both the home and clash jumpers but arguably more noticeable on the clash. The Club is acutely aware of the significance and importance of the Jumper to our game. We are bitterly disappointed to have to wear these jumpers for NAB Cup and that we are doing all we can to rectify the situation for Round 1.

All, It's Tom from the Demon Shop here. I just wanted to clarify the recent issues we’ve been having with merchandise for you- We’re very pleased to have New Balance as our new apparel partner. The range they have created looks fantastic however they have encountered some problems in the manufacturing of some of the garments which is obviously very disappointing. There are two key issues- 1. The process they used to attach the Club emblem to the media polo, the training tee and the training tank has not been effective and there have been some cases where these emblems have started to peel off. There has been a full recall of these items. 2. When we received the delivery of the first lot of guernseys last week, we identified a colour imperfection in the stars and the Emblem. The guernsey samples the Club signed off on were the correct colours, however when they went to manufacture New Balance did not reproduce them correctly. New Balance have taken full responsibility for all of the issues we have encountered. They will replace all stock and bear the cost of the reproduction. New Balance are extremely disappointed with the service they have provided and are doing all they can to help us. The items are produced off shore. New Balance have only just become aware of the issues and are exploring a range of options to get replacement stock as soon as they can but we expect it will be at least February before we receive replacement stock. Player guernseys are produced using a different process and are not affected by the above issues and will therefore be delivered in time for pre-season matches. The Club became aware of the issues last week and we have been working on solutions to ensure the 270 customers who pre-ordered the range would have something to give as a gift at Christmas. The Club is sending vouchers to those who have ordered training gear and a discount voucher for their next purchase by way of compensation. The Club is also offering to exchange any items for other Demon Shop stock if the customer would prefer this. With regard to guernseys, those who pre-ordered guernseys are being sent the colour imperfect version so they have something before Christmas with a letter of explanation. They will then be sent a new guernsey when they arrive so they will receive two guernseys. They are also being offered the chance to exchange or refund their purchase if they choose. We have also encountered some issues with some sizes not being available. I have been phoning those affected and offering them alternatives. Our main priority has been to contact those who have ordered things with the intention of giving them as Christmas gifts to ensure they receive something. We have been using Express Post to ensure pre Christmas delivery. It has been challenging time and we are very disappointed that we haven’t been able to provide the kind of service we would like to all our members and supporters. Please don’t hesitate to contact me in the Demon Shop on 9652 1102 at anytime although due to the delivery issues, we are receiving a high volume of calls at the moment so we may take a day to get back to you. We will be open until 1pm on the 24th of December. Thanks again for your support.