Town look for a 'little help from their friends' (From Swindon Advertiser)

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Town look for a 'little help from their friends'

9:52am Friday 4th July 2008

comment Comments (23) Have your say »

SWINDON Town are stepping up the race to 6k with a little help from their friends' as they continue their drive to attract all areas of the community to the County Ground.

With just a month remaining before the August 1 deadline, Town believe friendship' can help season-ticket sales reach the magic mark.

The Robins passed the four thousand mark on Thursday and are confident a collective effort can help achieve the club's dream of packing the ground out next campaign.

Town have revealed they are willing to reward all 2008/09 season ticket holders who are able to encourage a friend to sign up and join the race to 6k.

The club will offer a £10 money off voucher for use in the soon to be refurbished STFC club shop to every exitsing season ticket holder who is successful in recruiting an additional fan.

There is no limit to the number of fans existing season ticket holders can recommend and a £10 voucher will be received for every fan they attract.

The offer does not apply to season ticket holders who recommend either juniors or fans under the age of seven, and the vouchers will expire on May 31 2009.

If 6,000 season tickets are sold by August 1, an adult season ticket holder will save £60 on the second instalment and enjoy watching the Robins play League One football for less than a tenner.

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Your Say YourSwindon Advertiser

A Tax Payer, Peatmoor says...
10:31am Fri 4 Jul 08

Go for it guys.

Report this post »

mr big, Swindon says...
10:40am Fri 4 Jul 08

Fair play gutted all my mate bought them at the same time as me.

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TonyJanson, Chippenham says...
10:41am Fri 4 Jul 08

I like the ideas and efforts STFC is making to revive the club.

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STFCYorkshire, westbury says...
10:52am Fri 4 Jul 08

Well they are trying but we all know that there is no way they will sell another two thousand. Real shame the club has **** poor support.

Report this post »

Martin, swindon says...
11:21am Fri 4 Jul 08

STFCYorkshire wrote:
Well they are trying but we all know that there is no way they will sell another two thousand. Real shame the club has **** poor support.

Apart from dirty Leeds at home of course...

Shocking.

Maybe football really has all but died in this town full of outsiders.

Report this post »

CAS, Carterton says...
11:32am Fri 4 Jul 08

Oi!! I hail from nearly 400 miles north, I don't even live in Swindon and I've got my ST!!! :o)

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steve, brentford says...
11:35am Fri 4 Jul 08

Martin wrote:

STFCYorkshire wrote: Well they are trying but we all know that there is no way they will sell another two thousand. Real shame the club has **** poor support.
Apart from dirty Leeds at home of course... Shocking. Maybe football really has all but died in this town full of outsiders.

Every offspring of these people are potential fans,thats exactly how i became a Town fan every male in my family supports the gooners but i was brought up in swindon and moved away at 15yrs old and have never stopped supporting the Town,we must try and get the youngsters to the C.G as soon as possible they hold the key to the future.

Report this post »

Nlorenzos, Chiswick says...
11:35am Fri 4 Jul 08

I bought one for the first time in years and i live in chiswick, bet i'm not the only new out of town supporter to do so.

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Martin, swindon says...
11:40am Fri 4 Jul 08

Nlorenzos wrote:
I bought one for the first time in years and i live in chiswick, bet i'm not the only new out of town supporter to do so.

Thats great to read, it really is.

The fact remains though, that nowhere near as many 'dad's & uncles' etc are taking their sons and nephews along these days and thus helping them become life long fans of their local professional club.

As this town expands and is filled by more people from outside the area who choose to commute to their place of work there does seem to be more apathy than ever towards STFC.

I know there are other contributing factors such as previous owners etc, but with all that in the past now and a fantastic season ticket offer on the table, it really is depressing that we might not, probably will not, hit 6000.

Where have all the STFC fans gone?

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LACEY174, glos says...
11:40am Fri 4 Jul 08

Maybe, they should attempt to attract people from the local area. I mean has their been a leaflet drop? Former fans may look at main website and not know all about the price or may not have the web. New fans need to found, a price drop is great for current fans, but to get to 6,000 new fans need to be targeted. I wonder if there has been a targeted push in the local areas, Wiltshire/Gloucester
shire. Universities/college
s should be targeted as well.

Report this post »

brez4ever, Carterton, Oxon says...
12:03pm Fri 4 Jul 08

Have a lealet drop over our way! We have lots of disillusioned Oxford fans over here!

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steve, brentford says...
12:30pm Fri 4 Jul 08

brez4ever wrote:
Have a lealet drop over our way! We have lots of disillusioned Oxford fans over here!

Drop em there anyway even if they dont want to come and watch proper football just as a reminder of us

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Disdain, Swindon says...
12:46pm Fri 4 Jul 08

There's been no advertising at all around the town. Everywhere I look I see banners for the Air Tattoo at Fairford, but haven't seen anything on the race to 6k except outside the County Ground. I think relying on word of mouth has only got us so far.

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Phil_S, Chippenham says...
1:18pm Fri 4 Jul 08

I still think we will do it. Like AF I think a lot are waiting until the end of July before buying. Why, cos it makes financial sense to do so.

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Howler72, Swindon says...
1:33pm Fri 4 Jul 08

STFC are visiting schools & colleges in the area advertising the race to 6K & also giving out leaflets and season ticket booking forms to all kids on the Football in the Community programme along with their re-enrolment forms.

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danboyshearer, parksouth says...
1:35pm Fri 4 Jul 08

a few more signings wouldnt go a miss , maybe pull a little headturner out the bag , the sort of player that gets you talking about it all day at work after hearing it on the radio. tommy mooney wouldnt be a head turner, if i heard that he had resigned my head would spin clean off lol

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madterrier, says...
2:42pm Fri 4 Jul 08

As a marketing consultant who lives in London, I'd be interested to know just how they are marketing this. It's no good having a product if you don't promote it well. But aren't they doing a 'Race to 6k' roadshow and 'Refer a friend' incentives? The incentive could be a bit bigger (less than the mark-up on a replica shirt). Also, the club has never seemed to take the opportunity to grab the contact details of people who have bought a ticket and watched Swindon down the years and build a proper contact database. They can't just magic up a list of email addresses now, so it's a missed opportunity.

The real problem is that the club has been in such decline the past few years, under an awful administration, that it will take time to get people back or find new supporters.

And the reason why Huddersfield sold 14,000 season tickets is that they priced them at just £100 (it's their Centenary year). I know it would cause a dent in the finances for Swindon for this year, but a one-off price of £100 would get a lot more people in and they might just then acquire the habit for future seasons. A discount of £60 is only really going to appeal to people who were probably considering buiying one anyway. But the difference between £100 and £229 x 6,000 really could be called a good investment (not a word that ever makes much sense when you talk about football clubs) even if it would amount to £0.75m.

Another thing they could do is announce that if they don't reach 6,000 and therefore the lower price doesn't apply, then people could get their money back. There must be people holding back who would pay £229 but not £289. Or is that the case already and I've missed it?

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Paul, Coate says...
3:20pm Fri 4 Jul 08

LACEY174 wrote:
Maybe, they should attempt to attract people from the local area. I mean has their been a leaflet drop? Former fans may look at main website and not know all about the price or may not have the web. New fans need to found, a price drop is great for current fans, but to get to 6,000 new fans need to be targeted. I wonder if there has been a targeted push in the local areas, Wiltshire/Gloucester
shire. Universities/college
s should be targeted as well.

They've been doing a roadshow at schools, colleges, community events, leaflet drops in Town Center on night of the Champions League final (ie targetted at football fans rather than just random), advertising on buses and at train station. There's actually a lot being done to market this

Report this post »

Hertz, swindon says...
3:59pm Fri 4 Jul 08

Got chatting up the local pub and a lot of folks still did'nt know about the 6k deal , we convinced a fella to buy the ticket on the end of our row which he has now purchased and he has'nt been out the town since Bert Head was manager, this fella just needed convincing , he was looking for re assurance that things had changed so we gave him the hard sell , if AF can create that feel good factor that he wants off the field I am sure word will spread but at the moment its a bit like going to the theatre the punter picks the show they want to see , i.e Leeds the other games will be a maybe until the word spreads (and if it works). Shame the building is still being refurbed an open day might convince a few that things have improved and they will be getting value for money off the pitch for starters , if they fall short on the promise and it isn't the day out they are trying to promote and punters expect then they will vote with the feet as always, unfortunately Its just the way it is , we always have 3k season tkt sales or there abouts and 2-3k walk in punters ,( probably not always the same 2-3k walk ins either) so we know they are out there getting them to part with the hard earned and give it a go will not be easy .
I really hope they do it but alas somehow I just can't see it.
Remember last season pre season legends game ,lot of us always have season tkts but a whole bunch of others bought tkts and again some had'nt been out the CG for years the entertainment on the pitch was great but Oh dear when the ladies visited the facilities at half time they all said they would never come back again , first game of the season and they were a disgrace , we all know how important such a simple thing is to the ladies , why did'nt someone check these things pre kick off and before half time and if they did hopefully they are'nt still employed by STFC .
Not long now though , we will do our bit to get as many stay aways through the turnstiles for pre season I just hope all the hyp we have been giving it does'nt fall short. The glass is full

Got chatting up the local pub and a lot of folks still did'nt know about the 6k deal , we convinced a fella to buy the ticket on the end of our row which he has now purchased and he has'nt been out the town since Bert Head was manager, this fella just needed convincing , he was looking for re assurance that things had changed so we gave him the hard sell , if AF can create that feel good factor that he wants off the field I am sure word will spread but at the moment its a bit like going to the theatre the punter picks the show they want to see , i.e Leeds the other games will be a maybe until the word spreads (and if it works). Shame the building is still being refurbed an open day might convince a few that things have improved and they will be getting value for money off the pitch for starters , if they fall short on the promise and it isn't the day out they are trying to promote and punters expect then they will vote with the feet as always, unfortunately Its just the way it is , we always have 3k season tkt sales or there abouts and 2-3k walk in punters ,( probably not always the same 2-3k walk ins either) so we know they are out there getting them to part with the hard earned and give it a go will not be easy . I really hope they do it but alas somehow I just can't see it. Remember last season pre season legends game ,lot of us always have season tkts but a whole bunch of others bought tkts and again some had'nt been out the CG for years the entertainment on the pitch was great but Oh dear when the ladies visited the facilities at half time they all said they would never come back again , first game of the season and they were a disgrace , we all know how important such a simple thing is to the ladies , why did'nt someone check these things pre kick off and before half time and if they did hopefully they are'nt still employed by STFC . Not long now though , we will do our bit to get as many stay aways through the turnstiles for pre season I just hope all the hyp we have been giving it does'nt fall short. The glass is full

Report this post »

STFCYorkshire, westbury says...
4:32pm Fri 4 Jul 08

steve wrote:

Martin wrote:
STFCYorkshire wrote: Well they are trying but we all know that there is no way they will sell another two thousand. Real shame the club has **** poor support.
Apart from dirty Leeds at home of course... Shocking. Maybe football really has all but died in this town full of outsiders.
Every offspring of these people are potential fans,thats exactly how i became a Town fan every male in my family supports the gooners but i was brought up in swindon and moved away at 15yrs old and have never stopped supporting the Town,we must try and get the youngsters to the C.G as soon as possible they hold the key to the future.

you dont need to convince me sir i am a leeds fan but because i believe that it is right and just my family should support their local team I purchase season tickets. My son was even Swindon mascot last year against leeds :-/

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pcowley, Swindon says...
5:32pm Fri 4 Jul 08

Good idea by the board yet again!! Ive tried advertising this today, and told about 20 people so thats all i can do.Fingers crossed anyway! Lets hope Mulgrew signs too, but it depends if he wants to.I heard a deal has already been done with Wolves. We all know how hard it is to agree personal terms dont we??

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zzzzzzzz, space says...
6:12pm Fri 4 Jul 08

You can only applaud the new regime for trying to generate interest in the local club,however despite being a large town there isn't enough of the 'Born and Bred' support and it's not the most welcoming place to go and watch a football team if you have no direct link to the town.

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steve, brentford says...
1:59pm Sat 5 Jul 08

STFCYorkshire wrote:

steve wrote:
Martin wrote:
STFCYorkshire wrote: Well they are trying but we all know that there is no way they will sell another two thousand. Real shame the club has **** poor support.
Apart from dirty Leeds at home of course... Shocking. Maybe football really has all but died in this town full of outsiders.
Every offspring of these people are potential fans,thats exactly how i became a Town fan every male in my family supports the gooners but i was brought up in swindon and moved away at 15yrs old and have never stopped supporting the Town,we must try and get the youngsters to the C.G as soon as possible they hold the key to the future.
you dont need to convince me sir i am a leeds fan but because i believe that it is right and just my family should support their local team I purchase season tickets. My son was even Swindon mascot last year against leeds :-/

Fair play to you Yorkie.