Local Rugby League Culture 3 2 example essay topic

1. Introduction; Despite having a successful year in the 2004 season, the Huddersfield Giants have failed to increase their attendances by enough to continue their development into a top club in the European Super League. This is a report to identify and solve problems preventing the Huddersfield Giants from gaining consistently high attendances. 2. Findings; 2.1. Poor public awareness - As a recent survey has shown, almost everyone in Huddersfield is aware of the Giants' existence.

It is, however, clear that they simply show no interest in either Rugby League or the Giants. This is most obvious when walking through the town centre - the quantity of Giants merchandise, either worn by commuters or in cars and shop windows is negligible. In comparison, Huddersfield Town has a large presence in the area, similar to that of the Bradford Bulls in the city of Bradford. This poor awareness results in a lack of interest in games and results, which must be rectified in order to gain free publicity; the best form of advertising is word of mouth, as a friend's recommendations are more trustworthy than that of a large company. If an individual is exposed to enough news and merchandise related to the Giants, he will begin pay attention to Giants news, similar to how it is easy to gain an affinity with a particular rock band by seeing large quantities of people wearing their t shirts - at the Carling festival I noticed that many people had 'Kasabian' flags. I did not know of this new band, but soon remembered their songs when I heard them.

Similarly, if constantly reminded of the existence of the Giants, the people of Huddersfield would begin to remember recent Giants news. This is involuntary, and subconsciously many people would begin to follow the club. Such people would then be willing to attend matches which had special deals designed to capture new customers. 2.2. Huddersfield Town - HTAFC are considered to be the only significant professional sporting club in the town of Huddersfield. For this reason many people would be willing to watch a Giants match, but would not even consider them to be a team they would support 'full time'.

These individuals consider Rugby League to be a minority sport, comparable to the likes of bass fishing and curling. When marketing to these people it is important to consider that they are different to other members of the community; they must first be convinced that Rugby League isn't a minority sport, and the 'Rugby's tereotype must be lost. 2.3. High prices of admission - A recent survey showed that the population of Huddersfield are, indeed, not discouraged from attending Giants matches because of the relatively high prices of admission. They do, in fact, consider the prices to be cheap, as they are often compared to those of HTAFC. Away supporters, however, think differently. These will compare the prices of admission to those of their own club, and will invariably find them to be too high.

It is often considered that lb 14 is the most an adult will be willing to pay to watch a game in a high quality stadium such as the Galpharm Stadium. It is often found that many supporters of other clubs would rather stand in a terrace than pay extra to sit down. A Good example of this is at Headingley or Odsal; the terraces will regularly filled more than the seating areas. In this way the Galpharm Stadium is at a disadvantage. 2.4.

Poor product; 2.4. 1. Unsuccessful team - A successful team will invariably gain support. For a team to be considered successful, however, it must attain frequent victories and be competitive throughout the length of a season or more. The Giants high league placing at the beginning of the 2004 season does not constitute a team being successful; Potential supporters would be attracted by the victories, but would soon lose faith when the team loses. This is evidently the case because a great deal of current supporters are of the older generations, i.e. the more successful generations.

These will return in the hope that the team will start winning again. Those who watched during the more recent years have not returned, and are mirrored in today's supporters (or lack of them). 2.4. 2. Playing Style - Spectators of modern day Rugby League like to watch a fast, open game played by athletes showing various skills.

They like to see a great deal of passing and offloading with an emphasis on the skills shown by backs. The modern day supporter likes forwards who are part of many large, but essentially fast collisions. This is in stark contrast to those who watched the sport during the days of winter rugby. These are often more suited to Rugby Union in that they wish to watch a game of attrition where players battle for possession and territory.

Given that almost all Super League teams have changed to play a more open style, it is much harder to be attractive to the older generation. 2.4. 3. Lack of terraces - A large proportion of attendances at Giants games will be away supporters. The majority of these have been found to prefer to stand in a terrace than to sit down, as is shown at grounds such as Odsal and Headingley. This is the case because whilst standing supporters can stand closer to each other, giving a thicker atmosphere and making the match more enjoyable.

In seats this is not possible and so the match day experience is undermined. 2.5. Lack of local derby match - "I don't care where we come next year as long as it is one place above Wigan" - Almost all Saints supporters. A local rivalry is essential to a club's success for many reasons. It not only gives at least one game a year which is guaranteed to have a relatively high attendance but also adds to the culture of the club. New and potential supporters love to learn of a local rival who the club likes to beat more than any other; recent results against this club will undoubtedly be a point of discussion amongst supporters of the Giants and so could lead to advertising through word of mouth. Giants supporters will also attempt to convert friends into supporters, if only to help them in arguments against the fans of this rival team.

If anything, it makes being a supporter of the Giants more than simply being someone who goes to matches; when choosing to be a supporter the customer will also be buying their way into a culture and tradition. This culture and tradition must include having a local rival. All top sporting clubs have a local derby, and the Giants should have too. 3.

Recommendations; 3.1. Increase of merchandising; 3.1. 1. Lower Prices of Certain Products - Some items, such as replica shirts, are likely to be bought by most supporters regardless of price. The great majority of other items, however, are subject to a great deal of price elasticity. This is because merchandise is a luxury to have, and in no way a necessity.

It is also significant to realise that the Giants have no competitors and so have a monopoly of this luxury market. It is apparent, therefore, that of the few factors affecting a buying decision, price and value for money are the most important; no one will be willing to buy an item from the club shop if it is too expensive as they often have nothing to offer other than novelty. It is not realistic that anyone would enter the club shop with the intention of buying a Huddersfield Giants pencil, or a rosette - these things are simply bought for novelty on impulse. For this reason, it is important that prices of such things are low enough to ensure that an impulse sale can be achieved.

It must be low enough that the thought of something being too expensive is not a factor in the decision of a customer. If this were the case the club shop could make many more sales immediately after good wins. 3.1. 2. Distribution - Given that a great deal of sales are (or at least should be) impulse sales, customers should not have to go out of their way in order to make a purchase. It is recommended that outlets inside the stadium intended to be used to sell programs are also used to sell items such as flags, scarves and novelty items. 3.1.

3. Car Stickers - small car stickers are a useful way of giving customers the opportunity of expressing themselves whilst getting free advertising for the Giants. It is recommended that, if possible, these stickers are made free, and that every supporter has one on the windows of his car, house and anything else it is possible to stick on. If this is unfeasible economically, a sponsor should be used to pay for the production in return for advertising space on the stickers. 3.2. Increased player appearances; 3.2. 1.

Schools - Any professional sports player automatically has 'star's status amongst young children, regardless of how famous he actually is. This could be used to gain favour with school children around Huddersfield; a Giants player could visit schools to perform activities with the children, which need not necessarily be rugby related. These could include helping in PE lessons, Q&A sessions (preferably with foreign players, to make the event more interesting) or having players with special talents showing them to the school. If a player were to appear interesting to a child, and gave him a free ticket to a game, he may ask his parents to go to that game. The parent would than have to buy a ticket and the child may become a fan; it is not uncommon for a child to become fanatical about something he enjoys, which would then lead to merchandise sales. 3.2.

2. Amateur Club association - Amateur Rugby League players would be more likely to go to Giants games as they have an interest in Rugby League already. One player could be assigned a club to be associated with, and would have duties such as attending games regularly (if infrequently), taking part in club functions and possibly helping with junior team coaching. The amateur club would welcome the attention, and the Giants players who took part in this would benefit from being immersed in the local Rugby League culture. 3.2. 3.

Huddersfield news - The greatest proportion of Giants supporters should be people who have a true loyalty to the town of Huddersfield. All those who fall into this category will, no doubt, read the Huddersfield Examiner, and be aware of local news. If Giants players were to be associated with any local events, media attention would be directed to the event in question. Many local organisations who hold various events would be delighted for media interest and would welcome the association. For example, if a local community centre were holding a car boot sale as a fund raiser it may not receive any attention in the local media. If, however, a Giants player were to take part, there may be a story, if only a small one, in the Examiner describing the player as a 'Del Boy'.

This would be favourable for both the Giants and the community centre, building a bond between the two. 3.3. Building of good relationship with Huddersfield Town - A great deal of publicity is given to HTAFC. When at all possible the Giants should share (or steal) this exposure. A good way of achieving this would be to have events in which both sets of players take part. The England vs. Australia cricket match could be adapted to become Giants vs. Town. The Town players could then complement the Giants, perhaps helping to change Rugby League's image in the eyes of town fans.

It would also be useful to get space in the HTAFC match day programme, though this may be unfeasible. 3.4. Amend Rugby League stereotype - This is very hard to do. The only way to give a family image, or indeed simply a young one, is to show the correct type of supporters to the public; all supporters shown in the match day programme should be part of the correct market segment. The Huddersfield Examiner should also be encouraged to only print picture which show these. In addition to this it would be advisable to slightly increase the exposure of fans as opposed to players, as this would show that a Giants game is more than a game of rugby, but an event. 3.5. Lower price of admission / ticket giveaways - Lowering the price of admission would almost certainly increase the number of away supporters willing to attend matches.

For this to have maximum effect there must also be a press release from the Giants, explaining how they now realise that the prices in the past were too high. This would improve the clubs image, and make it appear more family friendly. In order to gain more home supporters, however, there must be an increase in the quantity of free tickets given to children. They must be too young to be able to attend the game on their own, and so will bring a parent - Primary school is the correct age for this. Free tickets should be donated to school raffles, and the schools encouraged to endorse the games. 3.6. Supporter-to-friend advertising - Supporters should be encouraged to introduce a friend to the club.

This can be achieved though having 'bring a friend' days (it is not advisable to offer cheaper tickets for a friend, but rather the match day experience should employ this theme), or by offering a small reduction in prices for games if the attendance for a quoted game hits a high target. This would encourage supporters to bring friends in an attempt to have reduced prices, and would cause them to feel more involved with the marketing of the club as they work together to attain a target. 3.7. Development of local derby match - This is the most important marketing tool which the Giants are not employing, and is essential to the prosperity of any club. In order to promote a match to derby status the club simply has to express a dislike for its rival, preferably before and after a match with them. The club should not label the game as being a derby, as this would evoke traditionalists to give a text book definition of derby, which would probably result in a non profitable team being chosen. Instead, the chosen club should be labelled as a large, or bitter rival.

Open criticism of the rival club would be recommended, though this should be trivial and not have any serious repercussions. Players should also be encouraged to express how much they enjoy beating the rival team. It would help if the Examiner were to run a story explaining how they see the team as a rival, and encourage fans to turn out for that game. I would suggest that Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are the team which should be given local rival status.

Wakefield fans have a dislike for the Huddersfield club, given the 2001 relegation battle, the 2004 play off battle, and the previous years' close results between the two clubs. 3.8. Further research - Regular focus groups should be employed in order to monitor the success of any marketing strategies. They are also very important in order for the marketing dept. to determine the clubs image so it can learn how effective attempts at changing it have been. The image of the Giants is the most important factor determining whether or not someone becomes a supporter of the club, and this cannot be determined through the use of questionnaires. Though a focus group would be more expensive, it would be much more effective.

4. Conclusion - Huddersfield is a town of football fans that all have a preconception of Rugby League. This must be changed in order for the Giants to be seen as a realistic alternative to football. Any opportunity to change the image of the club must be taken. It is also very important for the Giants to create a derby match so that attendances can be increased. Report by Kristian McDermott 10/9/04