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SevensPhD
Chris McKivat (8)
I think this is a serious, and true, problem. Unless you were seeking for upcoming Wallabies matches, then you had no idea this was going on. I invited about 10 people on the Thursday, and got 8 to come along with me...BUT NONE OF THEM EVEN HEARD THE WALLABIES WERE IN TOWN, until I told them.
I don't remember advertising for it around the GC. I don't even remember getting an email from one of my many eNewsletters subscriptions.
So:
1. a low-end match-up against a team nobody in Australia cares about or many ex-pats
2. at a stadium with zero precinct atmosphere and issues getting to/from (took me 45 minutes each way and I live in GC)
3. on at the same time as the QLD NRL finals match-up (I've run into lots of dual code fans on GC)
4. on too late at night (8pm) for many fans to enjoy (I prefer arvo)
5. rain in the forecast
6. Aussies have nothing to play for (out of Rugby Championship contention)
7. a vanilla team - a good team. Everyone I brought kept discussing this throughout the night. The team lacks creativity and flair. Only Izzy has a x-factor (hold your breath when he gets the ball). We need to put 6-7 tries on the 12th ranked team in the world, and do it in exciting fashion to capture the imaginations of non-rugby fans.
8. zero advertising from ARU or GC and QLD Events to non-rugby fanatics
Pretty much a perfect storm for low attendance.
I was there too (9 tickets = 0.06 % of the crowd) and I'm not sure what the problem was. GCDRU Senior club rugby had finished the previous week, junior club rugby grand finals were on that morning, so neither of those should really have had an impact. There was the second last GPS rugby round, and due to holidays next week, TSS had their presentation dinner that night, so that might have kept a few away. There were a couple of bus loads of boarders there though.
Those of us with Reds memberships on the GC travel up to Suncorp at least 8 times a year, so I don't have too much sympathy for the GC is too far from Brisbane argument (yes I have kids). I also have no idea, why the attendance at Aus v France at Suncorp was so poor (8 tickets for that)
The Robina stadium is great, but the surrounding area is a wasteland. Hopefully, some bars and restaurants will be built there some time in the next 10 years!
One of the biggest problems we have with promotion is that the FTA broadcaster is the poorest rater of the lot so their own promotions will reach less people. Combine that with the fact that Channel 10 don't exactly have a lot of other programming that would be likely to attract rugby fans means that the ads they run will be seen by less attendees/viewers.
The Foxsports ads will only ever preach to the choir on the most part because those viewers are likely to already be aware of the rugby test.
The question with a limited budget is how to best increase the exposure of an event like this test? It's not like the ARU is in a position to bombard the FTA networks with ad campaigns.
The Foxsports ads will only ever preach to the choir on the most part because those viewers are likely to already be aware of the rugby test.
The question with a limited budget is how to best increase the exposure of an event like this test? It's not like the ARU is in a position to bombard the FTA networks with ad campaigns.
Lorenzo
Colin Windon (37)
Strong post.
No one cares about whether we run 2 or 3rd in the RC, myself included. It's hard to sell a game against Argentina after the let down in NZ (in terms of result and entertainment) and the let down in Perth (in terms of entertainment and almost result). There's no expat support (which boosts the English and Irish crowds at those fixtures) and the Wallabies have a bit of a long term habit of playing down to the standard (though Arg is a lot better than their ranking) of visiting teams (see: every June test series ever) when they sit below them in the rankings.
You can leverage the early season we-haven't-been-pumped-by-NZ-yet buzz by playing these games somewhere with an appropriately shaped and sized stadium and before the bledisloe tests.
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
Teir 1
Brisbane
Sydney
Tier 2
Perth
Melbourne
Tier 3
Newcastle
Gold Coast
Canberra
Radelaide
That's the way I think most see it. Tier 1 locations probably deserve 2 tests a season, tier 2, 1, & the tier 3s should be vying for what's left.
I reckon if you ensure you play 7 home tests for three years of the cycle, you could rotate game 7 between Newcastle, Canberra and somewhere else, whether that's persisting with Cold Toast, giving Radelaide a go, or giving an extra test to WA/VIC once every 8 years.
Brisbane
Sydney
Tier 2
Perth
Melbourne
Tier 3
Newcastle
Gold Coast
Canberra
Radelaide
That's the way I think most see it. Tier 1 locations probably deserve 2 tests a season, tier 2, 1, & the tier 3s should be vying for what's left.
I reckon if you ensure you play 7 home tests for three years of the cycle, you could rotate game 7 between Newcastle, Canberra and somewhere else, whether that's persisting with Cold Toast, giving Radelaide a go, or giving an extra test to WA/VIC once every 8 years.
BDA
Jim Lenehan (48)
I think the biggest reasons for the GC crowd being so small were:-
1. Lack of any promotion;
2. Weather
3. Bledisloe game 2
4. Cowboys v Broncos game
(in that order)
Gold Coast's are notoriously fickle in terms of live sporting events. The weather probably cost them about 2,000 fans. Also the fact that the last game most casual fans tuned into was the Bledisloe game which left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, would have cost them a few thousand supporters I would have thought. The lack of promotion was a killer. A lot of my league-fan friends had no idea it was on. To top it off, you had the biggest game of the year for Queensland NRL fans on at the same time. Most of my mates were more interested in watching that game (which had a lot more riding on it) or at the very least they wanted to see both games so the pub was the best option.
If the team was undefeated this season, there was no Cowboys v Broncos game, the weather was tops and the promotion was substantially better, I still doubt they'd get a sell-out.
I don't necessarily think they should scrap the games at CBUS, they just need to put some effort into marketing and PR. Let's see how things go next year.
1. Lack of any promotion;
2. Weather
3. Bledisloe game 2
4. Cowboys v Broncos game
(in that order)
Gold Coast's are notoriously fickle in terms of live sporting events. The weather probably cost them about 2,000 fans. Also the fact that the last game most casual fans tuned into was the Bledisloe game which left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, would have cost them a few thousand supporters I would have thought. The lack of promotion was a killer. A lot of my league-fan friends had no idea it was on. To top it off, you had the biggest game of the year for Queensland NRL fans on at the same time. Most of my mates were more interested in watching that game (which had a lot more riding on it) or at the very least they wanted to see both games so the pub was the best option.
If the team was undefeated this season, there was no Cowboys v Broncos game, the weather was tops and the promotion was substantially better, I still doubt they'd get a sell-out.
I don't necessarily think they should scrap the games at CBUS, they just need to put some effort into marketing and PR. Let's see how things go next year.
Pfitzy
Nathan Sharpe (72)
A real bastard having this tournament in the middle of finals time for NRL and AFL. We could ask for that to be changed, but the rest of SANZAR would just shrug and tell us to fuck off; after all, they don't have any other contact sports going on that draw the fans away.
Perhaps we have to accept the other side of the crowded rugby/league/AFL coin: those who are rugby supporters are also likely to have another sport they follow. When it comes to - as you say - games with actual results riding on it, people will get behind it.
Otherwise, if you're a Queensland rugby fan, chances are you support the Reds, Broncos/Cowboys, and you'll have to look at what works for you.
T
Train Without a Station
Guest
Let's face it thought Pfitzy. It was basically a perfect storm to fuck us.
Who would have thought 2 QLD NRL teams would be playing in a final on that weekend, let alone the same night? Just so happened that's how the results panned out and where they fell into the draw.
Who would have thought 2 QLD NRL teams would be playing in a final on that weekend, let alone the same night? Just so happened that's how the results panned out and where they fell into the draw.
I like to watch
David Codey (61)
All good points.
Maybe another issue is the Puma's inability to attract interest.
I know I will generally plan things around Test matches,but not so much the Puma's.
My impression is that Tests with them are usually either scrappy or dour.
Casual Rugby followers I know consider the Puma's to be 3rd rate,and are critical of any games against them, where we are scrappy and not dominant.
NextPropModel
Frank Nicholson (4)
Agree with all of the above. I see there were 4 junior teams from local clubs playing after the NRC game, which was great, but the majority of people I spoke to through the week had no idea the Wallabies were playing on the coast. Did Gold Coast Rugby advertise the fact the game was on? I didn't hear a peep out of them. The other factor is that there is a HUGE amount of Kiwis playing Rugby on the GC, and they couldn't give a fart about a Wallabies game. Sadly, they influence their Aussie born kids in the same way.
I watched the NRC game as well, and i had people around me arriving toward the 2nd half who had NO IDEA what the NRC was, or who the teams were. How can this be??? I find that bloody incredible. What hope does our game have if even Rugby fans don't know about the NRC comp? I know the free to view channels won't advertise the games, but maybe through radio? Does this happen in NSW, or just QLD?
Stillnoidea
Peter Burge (5)
Be interesting to know exactly how many people traveled from Brisbane to watch the game. There's probably only 10000 fans on the Goldie. They are the ones who travel to Brissie to watch games, and probably most of them were at the game. The rest were likely casual or from Brissie. I think they have seriously under estimated the support on the Coast and the willingness of Brissie fans to travel. Also as mentioned above, a substantial number of the Goldie rugby community are Kiwis (and some saffas) who wouldn't piss on the Wallabies if they were on fire.
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
Don't forget northern NSW, just across the border there must be thousands of rugby people, just as close to Robina as Brisbane is. And country people don't mind travelling, I was in our seafood shop the other day, and a couple drove in from a couple of hundred clicks away to pick up their weekly seafood order.
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