Waratahs 2014

[Richo]

Yeah ticket prices for Tahs games have been good for a while, I don't think that's really the issue. Promotions, marketing and coverage on nightly news would be far more influential in the lead-up to the finals IMO.
.

I saw a survey recently (Fairfax?) that had ticket prices as the biggest reason people don't go to games. It wasn't scientific and there were some odd options, but I suspect that pricing is a bigger deal for your on-the-fence punter than many of us die hards would realize.

 

[Hawko]

If we assume that there are 40K good seats at Homebush (that's probably pushing it, I know) then the rest of them should be sold at $10 each so that we can fill the place. We still get $400K from those sales and the 40K good seats should top that up at least to the $1M mark, given that some of those good seats will be Olympic members, who don't pay I believe. The key is that we HAVE! to fill the joint, so out of that we will need at least $100K in promotions, including free to air advertising in peak times. A twenty second highlight reel (including Taf's hit on Cane, a Jackpot or Skelton hit-up and one of our long range multiple handling Izzy tries) and a ten second plug for "seat prices from $10" is all we need and would be cheap to make.

With 80K seats filled and a good announcer to rev up the excitement, we will have every chance of providing the sort of support that will lift the team to a win.

[Yeah, I know I'm getting ahead of myself but someone in TahHQ has to be planning for this now so that if/when it happens we are ready for it.]

 

[Lindommer]

Hawko, there's no way a Super Rugby match will fill Homebush, unfortunately. The top tiers on both sides won't be available unless there's a HUGE demand for tickets to the final. If every other seat's sold it makes for a crowd of, about, 60k and a bloody good occasion and spectacle.

Sorry to be a wet blanket here but realism has to set in eventually.

 

[Bessa]

Hawko, there's no way a Super Rugby match will fill Homebush, unfortunately. The top tiers on both sides won't be available unless there's a HUGE demand for tickets to the final. If every other seat's sold it makes for a crowd of, about, 60k and a bloody good occasion and spectacle.

Sorry to be a wet blanket here but realism has to set in eventually.

The other very sad fact is that even the Waratahs vs Reds Super Rugby clash earlier in the only got about 80k viewers on Foxport, and that is nationally......

 

[Bessa]

If we assume that there are 40K good seats at Homebush (that's probably pushing it, I know) then the rest of them should be sold at $10 each so that we can fill the place. We still get $400K from those sales and the 40K good seats should top that up at least to the $1M mark, given that some of those good seats will be Olympic members, who don't pay I believe. The key is that we HAVE! to fill the joint, so out of that we will need at least $100K in promotions, including free to air advertising in peak times. A twenty second highlight reel (including Taf's hit on Cane, a Jackpot or Skelton hit-up and one of our long range multiple handling Izzy tries) and a ten second plug for "seat prices from $10" is all we need and would be cheap to make.

With 80K seats filled and a good announcer to rev up the excitement, we will have every chance of providing the sort of support that will lift the team to a win.

[Yeah, I know I'm getting ahead of myself but someone in TahHQ has to be planning for this now so that if/when it happens we are ready for it.]

Unfortunately, it will be anything but cheap. The cost of a prime time advertising slot is 10's thousands of dollars and if it is during a top rating show it will be even more. The footage would all be owned by Foxsports so you need to purchase it off them, which isn't cheap either.

 

[Pfitzy]

What we it be if we win the title?

"Folau delivers Waratahs title"

The NRL emerges victorious in Super Rugby Final

In the Telegraph, it'll be 9th page from the back, under

Ricky blames NRL's rejection of Israel for him losing his job at Parramatta

 

[Badger]

Merchandise maybe, but food and beverage sales stay with the venue operator to my knowledge.

I think the merchandise stands are run by Playbill at the SFS and Rebel out at Homebush. So no direct cash flow into the coffers.

 

[Omar Comin']

I don't think you'd need to spend any money advertising on FTA TV for the final if the Waratahs were to make it. There'd definitely be a buzz about it in the media in Sydney. There should be a campaign based around filling the stadium with blue. Ensure the players and Cheika etc are plugging the tickets in every interview they do leading up to the match. I think the prices they're offering for the Brumbies match are fine. Keep those. Maybe boost up the price for the platinum and gold tickets a little and make the tickets for the worst 15-20k seats in the stadium cheaper.

Social media should be the number 1 platform. Radio and print as well, but almost everyone is on facebook these days. That's a more cost effective and measurable advertising platform than FTA TV.

For fans in regional areas they could offer some tickets that include a coach straight into Homebush on game day. Get thousands of people from the regional areas of NSW to come in for the match by making it as easy as possible for them to do so. Those tickets could be promoted through the regional clubs and unions.

The NSW rugby community alone is big enough to fill out Homebush for a Super Rugby final. Anyone that says it can't be done has no ambition. It should be done. It would be a failure not to fill it IMO.

 

[Pfitzy]

Look, if it happens, the other thing is that the record crowd for a Super Rugby game is around 55,000 and we should aim to smash that.

But let's actually get there first, hmm?

 

[I like to watch]

If we assume that there are 40K good seats at Homebush (that's probably pushing it, I know) then the rest of them should be sold at $10 each so that we can fill the place. We still get $400K from those sales and the 40K good seats should top that up at least to the $1M mark, given that some of those good seats will be Olympic members, who don't pay I believe. The key is that we HAVE! to fill the joint, so out of that we will need at least $100K in promotions, including free to air advertising in peak times. A twenty second highlight reel (including Taf's hit on Cane, a Jackpot or Skelton hit-up and one of our long range multiple handling Izzy tries) and a ten second plug for "seat prices from $10" is all we need and would be cheap to make.

With 80K seats filled and a good announcer to rev up the excitement, we will have every chance of providing the sort of support that will lift the team to a win.

[Yeah, I know I'm getting ahead of myself but someone in TahHQ has to be planning for this now so that if/when it happens we are ready for it.]

There are 40,000 better seats at Alliance than the best seat in the house at ANZ.
Just saying....

 

[p.Tah]

But let's actually get there first, hmm?

Yes, it could come crashing down against any of our last three opponents. I really hope the Tahs are taking this 'one game at a time'.

 

[qwerty51]

Douglas not being picked for the Wallabies is a big deal, the big fella needs a rest badly. Actually if Skelton doesn't get picked and Moore plays most of the Tests we should have a reasonable fresh pack.

Only Kepu, Palu and Hooper should be used heavily in the Tests.

 

[Braveheart81]

I'd love to see a massive crowd for the final in Sydney (I'd love to see the final in Sydney full stop!) but I think you're being a little over the top with expectations.

I doubt we're going to break the Super Rugby attendance record by almost 30,000 people just because the stadium can fit that many people.

How about we aim for a Super Rugby record attendance (> than 55k) and go from there? I think that would be a roaring success.

The NSW rugby community might be big enough to fill the stadium, but the reality is that many will watch on TV or at the pub.

Anyway, no more talk of finals!

There are three weeks off then three critical games to go in the regular season.

 

[WTF?]

I don't think you'd need to spend any money advertising on FTA TV for the final if the Waratahs were to make it. There'd definitely be a buzz about it in the media in Sydney. There should be a campaign based around filling the stadium with blue. Ensure the players and Cheika etc are plugging the tickets in every interview they do leading up to the match. I think the prices they're offering for the Brumbies match are fine. Keep those. Maybe boost up the price for the platinum and gold tickets a little and make the tickets for the worst 15-20k seats in the stadium cheaper.

Social media should be the number 1 platform. Radio and print as well, but almost everyone is on facebook these days. That's a more cost effective and measurable advertising platform than FTA TV.

For fans in regional areas they could offer some tickets that include a coach straight into Homebush on game day. Get thousands of people from the regional areas of NSW to come in for the match by making it as easy as possible for them to do so. Those tickets could be promoted through the regional clubs and unions.

The NSW rugby community alone is big enough to fill out Homebush for a Super Rugby final. Anyone that says it can't be done has no ambition. It should be done. It would be a failure not to fill it IMO.

Sounds great in theory but even some Bledisloe matches at ANZ don't sell out. It used to be that the only true sell out was a Bledisloe Cup match and a SOO when the Blues were winning a few (NRL would give away thousands of tickets to the Grand Final though). Even Bledisloe now doesn't fill the stadium.

A real shame as I was there in 2000 with 110,000 others and was that not an incredible atmosphere even though Lomu won it for the MIB!

 

[GunnerDownUnder]

Yes, it could come crashing down against any of our last three opponents. I really hope the Tahs are taking this 'one game at a time'.

Indeed, three tough games to go.
But Brumbies and Sharks have only two games left, so some optimism is due.

Final is due on 2/8/14
Same as week 1 of SS finals, we know it has to be at ANZ and a late night game, so could we see 4 grades beforehand?
Or all three first grade games?

 

[qwerty51]

I haven't checked the NRL/AFL draw but there's always the possibility of clashes (and even at Allianz) for non-scheduled matches.

 

[Omar Comin']

Sounds great in theory but even some Bledisloe matches at ANZ don't sell out. It used to be that the only true sell out was a Bledisloe Cup match and a SOO when the Blues were winning a few (NRL would give away thousands of tickets to the Grand Final though). Even Bledisloe now doesn't fill the stadium.

A real shame as I was there in 2000 with 110,000 others and was that not an incredible atmosphere even though Lomu won it for the MIB!

The Bledisloe is in Sydney every year.

The Waratahs in a Super Rugby final in Sydney on the other hand is obviously a lot more rare!!

And tickets for a Waratahs final would also be significantly cheaper. I stand by my statement. It would be a failure not to sell it out. Fingers crossed if we make the final it's not against the Sharks though. The promise of jakeball might discourage a few people.

 

[qwerty51]

Fuck that would love nothing better to smash Jake's Sharks 7 tries to 0 (49-18)

 

[Braveheart81]

I haven't checked the NRL/AFL draw but there's always the possibility of clashes (and even at Allianz) for non-scheduled matches.

The NRL hasn't scheduled game times for that late in the season yet. There is one game listed for ANZ that weekend (Bulldogs vs Panthers).

My guess is that there will be something in the agreement with each code that lets ANZ host the Super Rugby final if the Tahs host it and the NRL game gets held at a different timeslot.

 

[GunnerDownUnder]

The NRL hasn't scheduled game times for that late in the season yet. There is one game listed for ANZ that weekend (Bulldogs vs Panthers).

My guess is that there will be something in the agreement with each code that lets ANZ host the Super Rugby final if the Tahs host it and the NRL game gets held at a different timeslot.

Channel 9 havent chosen their games yet.
But as only one game due at ANZ it would be moved to either Friday or Sunday or Monday you would think.
Swans at SCG on the Friday.
Souths in Cairns...