good call

love your work isaac

Isaac,

Excellent idea. Would love to see something along these lines implemented. Obviously the 36ers are struggling for crowds right now, and they need to look at why that is. Hearing a fans perspective on why people are staying away would be most beneficial, especially if one or two of this 'committee' are people that HAVE stayed away in recent times.

Getting a good cross-section of people would be vital to this being successful, as would going into it with an open mind.

Even just a few small changes could make a huge difference and it may take a forward-thinking outsider to get the 36ers' name back in the public's mind.

36ers,

I would suggest that you do make a concerted effort to show the loyal supporters that you're taking steps to getting the 36ers back on track.

At least acknowledging suggestions like Isaac's is a good step. If you aren't going to implement something like this then explain why not? What is it that you ARE doing to improve the current situation?

Most of this perceived 'negativity' (as Yogee put it) is because all of us loyal fans are passionate about getting the 36ers' heading in the right direction and getting the Dome packed out again.

This type of strategy Isaac is used all the time in business. Groups of employees come together for a meeting and brainstorm ideas such as improving productivity, making the work place a much more pleasant environment to work in, cutting costs in the way you do things, etc, etc. It works in the workplace and I'm sure it would work here. There are many fans who are passionate enough to spare some time to participate. You could even have them standing in major shopping centres on a Thursday night or Saturday afternoon wearing a Sixers T shirt and cap handing out leaflets. Let's bring together the resources we have that are not going to cost much as we do have those resources.

Nice work Isaac, a good idea but I can't see this happening. Much money has been spent on a marketing department and to hand marketing over to the fans will make the Sixers admin look very stooopid.

As a fan I would like to know the structure of the Sixers organisation.
Much is said on this forum of putting a quality team on the floor.
Who are and how many people work in the Sixers admin? How many marketers are there?

George:

I don't know much about the admin scenario. Previously (at least a season ago), as I understand it, marketing was more or less handled by Mark Robinson (General Manager, AKA "Robbo") and Teresa Whitehorn (not sure of her title at the time -- but basically working under him in the marketing field).

While I was away in 2003, Mark Robinson left the Sixers (not sure of the circumstances) and now works for the Melbourne Tigers. For what it's worth, I always found him great to deal with -- he was the guy with the shaved head who'd sometimes do court announcements at games -- did a great job at that too, in my opinion).

Currently, Whitehorn is the Marketing Manager (have had no issues dealing with her in person). A team of external consultants has been brought on board, as of this season, as ticket selling and sponsorship specialists. I believe there are three or four of them.

In addition, a company called JABA are in handling the new website as well as being involved in ideas beyond this. Adrian heads up the JABA team and you may have seen him posting as "Bongobrain" on the Sixers forum. Again, for what it's worth, I have met Adrian a couple of times and he seems very open, decent and "old school". What you see on the Sixers site -- me writing match reports, DJ's corner, Potsie's Trash Talk, and MD's What's Hap'nin' are his efforts to beef up content.

The fact, despite all of this, is that the Dome isn't full. Something has to be done to change that.

You either sit there looking stupid or you swallow your pride, look stupid for one day, and try something new.

Thanks for the reply Isaac.

The external consultants you mentioned who are the "ticket selling and sponsorship specialists" don't seem to be cutting the mustard.

The problem here is bringing in "outside" consultants. What a poor decision.
Isaac, I hope that in the very near future the Sixers realise how much repect and pull you have in the BASA community. You only have the game at heart and your ideas are well thought out and the cost for your knowledge is free.

Isaac for GM in 2005!

Great last line Isaac!!

Very true.

I was just wondering if you could say how your "guest appearances" on the club site came about?

Im not trying to allude to an us/them forum debate again, just interested in if you offered, or someone approached you to do it?

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Avanti, Adrian from JABA got in touch as he was looking for someone to provide match reports as they were not being done by the club. Adrian (or the club) had already approached DJ to contribute his part and to provide some score updates (where possible) for away games. I also put forward that Paul Bauer could contribute something, but I think they had already talked to him about that. Adrian should be commended for his initiative.

For sure, like I said I wasnt trying to start the slag match all over again..

Thanks for the response.

Btw, keep up the good work.

As far as press releases, I am hoping since my meeting with the club yesterday, I might actually start getting some, as that has been my main beef with the club for many seasons.

Even when I was providing the news content for the club site (even before Isaac & Nick took over the site), I could never get any news out of the club. They assure me I will now be getting press releases so that I can pass them on to my audience groups (mainly here and OzHoops).

Given that newcomers are going to be more impressed with a fuller stadium, I'd sort out getting the people who packed out the Dome 2-3 years ago back first. Survey all season ticket holders, sponsors, basketball fans in SA, and then see what they say.

Then, if the response indicates that people are unhappy with ticket prices, find a way to address that (it might not be by reducing the price). The response might indicate that people are not hearing about their club, or they aren't getting a response to their questions, or that they think the entertainment at games is poor, or whatever.

If a survey has already happened, I haven't seen or heard anything about it. Surely this is one of the first things you'd do, rather than flying blind and trying to guess what people want?

To counter negative press, the Sixers should issued a press release today (on their site, The Advertiser, etc) talking about the team's preparations for the game on Saturday night. It certainly wouldn't hurt.

I see the solution as simply, the general public needs to know there actually is a basketball league out there that is EXCITING. That in its entirety is what marketing a sport is about. Im currently in the USA and constantly see signs of the upcoming NBA season, results of the pre-season games are on all sports reports, players movements are in the papers. The 36ers and the NBL itself need to learn to use the Australian news media to advertise itself. They dont need $3000 commercials, they need the media to take an interest in them. Invite Channel 7, 9 or 10 to attend a game, in return for positive comments on the game and to help promote the atmosphere that a packed stadium can provide. Anyone who has attended an AFL game knows the atmosphere there is electric, but the atmosphere at a basketball game is so much bigger, simply because your closer to everyone and you can hear the players calling out even from the rear of the stadium. My parents have never liked sports, they now attend basketball games regularly, because they experienced how much the crowd can get you into a game, but people arent shown or told this. Thats what is needed to promote the game.

I think i made sense and didnt drift of topic.....

owell back to the NBA games!!

Isaac seems to be campaigning for a basketball version of "The Apprentice". I wonder who will play Donald Trump? Maybe this could be televised and run alongside the proposed ACE31 TV show!

Issac,
I applaud your comments about surveying the past season ticket holders, and anyone else they have on file as having purchased tickets to a game (Surely this could come from the club or Venutix records).
Only problem with your calls for a survey is that someone would then have to acknowledge there is a problem with ticket sales, and the general response from all within the admin group seems to be 'There is no problem, things are great, we dont want to ruin the reputation of the game by dropping prices, we need to maintain the prices to keep up the standards........."

Seems to me the managemnt are just burying their heads in the sand hoping that things will improve as the season progresses, and the guys have a few more wins. Perhaps, but surely this is only a temporary solution, we need a long term strategy to bring people back, and keep them back for years to come, not some bunch who jump on the bandwagon for a couple of games and then drop away again.

WAKE UP SIXERS MANAGEMENT B4 its too late Please

Well if a survey showed that fans wanted prices lowered, and the management were adamant that would not occur, then the only real option is to increase the product offering. Given that the game is fixed, that means doing more with entertainment (again, limited to a couple of 2 minute breaks and 5-8 minutes at half-time?) or other aspects.

May not work but...

Give free tickets to a bunch of loud uni students and give them say 10 bucks free alcahol each and sit them in a group behind one of the baskets. The back up the western end and the eastern end are almost always empty (except the western last night). Surely getting some not tooo drunk uni students in a block of seats is sure to create some noise.

Now no offence to the current cheersquad but you don't exactly lift the roof off. Surely even if you had to pay some young guys to sit together and become the unofficial cheersquad, as Perth have done at each end of the court, it would increase the atmoshpere no end. It would be better if they knew something about the game (you could once again hear "Weekes is a wanker" chants) but it is not essential, we just want noise makers.

This wouldn't be that expensive to do and whilst there may be some issues with it, would have a chance of working out.

Sixersfan, there's not that many in the cheer squad to be able to carry the sound throughout the stadium. I sit near the Sixers dancers end and can hear them make quite a bit of noise but too far away from the cheer squad to be able to hear them. You really need everyone in the stadium to make noise for it to be noisy throughout.

Tommy...management of the Sixers are very well aware of the drop off in season ticket holders, and are very concerned about it, and are trying to come up with ideas as to how to get people to the game.

They have floated a couple of ideas past me, and until they are firm, I wont mention them, for fear of jeopardising any negotiations.

As for getting uni students in..yeah great idea.....free alcohol...VERY bad idea. Also I think it may even be illegal for licensed venues to give away booze (not sure...not up with liquor licensing laws). But drunk uni students intimidating families, sorry I dont think that idea will get a nod. Amd I dont mean that on an attack on uni students (have been one myself)....i dont think theres a need for ANYONE to get drunk at the basketball. If you cant go 2 1/2 hours without needing to get off your face, basketball crowd numbers are the least of your worries.

Great Idea Isaac,

I think even have the equivalent idea Nationaly, covering the whole NBL(the NBL volunteers);a committee dedicated to increasing the popularity, marketing ideas, and crowd attendances, wide reach of the game etc, from the fans persepective.Possibly have one or two representatives from each NBL tream fanbase.

Maybe they could have a website and forum specificaly designed for this (as getting togther a bunch of fans from all around the country on a regular basis, together in one city ,is expensive and a hastle).

Oh by the way isaac, when I move back to Adelaide, if this concept was implented for the 36rs, I would put my hand up for sure.

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Ok fair enough, if the right people actualy listen to some great feedback and ideas via these sites then you are right, although maybe a section in each website forum could be set aside for this type of thing.

Yogee, Glad to hear something is being done, and that ideas are being run by you. My comments were more related to the way the Sixers forum barred any 'whinging' by fans about tickets, signings, admin etc. Also there seemed to be a denial of lagging ticket sales which I still have not heard from the club.

I realise the club has to protect its position, but fans would like some form of acknowledgement even if it is a quick reply from the club to say, 'Thanks for your email, we value the opinion of all our members, and we are looking into the situation'. There is a topic at the moment on this site saying that they havent had ANY form of reply from the club, surley half the problem is making your customers FEEL wanted.

I dont expect them to run each idea to a vote by the supporters, but when you have a number of supporters who feel they are being ignored, they give up and go elsewhere (like Adel United soccer matches).

The suggestion of giving tickets to Uni students is great, but I suspect will never happen, as I was told the reason they stoppped selling cheap seats at the top of the Southern stand was because people were buying cheap tickets, and sitting in the more expensive 'below concourse' seats, sometimes creating arguements with the season ticket holders when they tried to claim their regular seats. The whole philosophy these days seems to be about coralling people throught the obstacle barriers, locked gates on the concourse, carpark etc. Even the 'no standing zone' around the concourse balustrade forces people to stand in the middle of the corridor so they wont lean over the spectators below and spill drinks on them. Wouldnt it have been easier just to say 'no drinks in this zone'? Keep the corridor open to allow easy circulation? I personally got sick of being asked by the security guys to stand behind the line 5 times a night during the game when I didnt even have a drink in my hand. It does not add to my enjoyment of the game and pushes me to look elsewhere to spend my entertainment dollar.

Ok, excuse my ignorance but as an Adelaidian living in Melbourne ,and unfortunately as a result I'm not 100% up to date on all the possible types of tickets you can buy at a 36rs live match, but, do the 36rs offer discounts to Families/Group Bookings/Companies buying tickets in bulk for staff/Students ?

Also maybe as part of the 36rs membership you can earn points each time you attend a match , and then say if you attend 10 matches ( worth of points) you can redeem the points for a free ticket. This is a win/win as it gets fans to attend more often so they can get their points, more tickets are sold as a result,and the fans get a good deal too.

I don't believe there is any group pricing at this stage. There is a concession ticket available ($23.50 + $2.20 transaction fee, if paying by credit card I think).

$22.50, I think it is Isaac?

Anonymous, you are right in what you have said. We all knew when the NBL went to Sydney (because that's where the sponsorship dollars are) that we were on the downhill slide in terms of relevance. We have had to endure 2 yrs of Sydney champs, so we could get FTA coverage and a major sponsor. Oh well at least weve got one signed up.
As far as Foxtel, I cant see how the NBL raves about them being partners of the game. I have always thought they used to show a lot more games when Mitsubishi were sponsoring the championship, and that 3 games a week out of 10-12 hardly constitutes a major partnership or promotion of the game. I mean why all the hooplah about a weekly NBL chat show that runs for 30mins when the old one hosted by Clinton Grybas used to go for twice as long?

I am just about to get foxtel installed so I'll have to give you my opinion after I have watched afew matches.

Now in regards to free to Air, it seems it's unlikely that the major networks will have full coverage just yet whilst the league is in it's rebuilding phase. However I have been pushing for a number of ways there can be more free to air Basketball to start the ball rolling in terms of eventual free to air coverage.

This can be done on many fronts, email the NBL and ask them when and if they will be showing some nationwide commercials featuring NBL players and philips products or Virgin Airlines.

http://www.nbl.com.au/default.aspx?s=feedback

Some nationwide commercials would be great promotion for the game and I don't see why the sponsors couldn't put up the money for the ads as they could feature their product in them to make a return.
(or individual clubs;36rs, could approach philips or virgin for the
same concept)

The other important thing is to push for a panel show on FTA, perhaps channel 10 can buy NBL wrap like it has previously done and show it at a suitable timeslot, once again. Email the NBL to ask if this is happening or email foxtel..

Hopefully SBS will one day start a world Basktball Show concept to bring more attention to the sport on the international level on FTA.I have already sent a long email detailing the benefits of such a concept, if you would like to do the same , email...

[email protected]

Perhaps if the NBL is going to have any kind of Free To Air coverage it has to start brick by brick, and the first option is commercials and panel shows, then the next is to get some kind of free to air coverage. I was thinking start by showing the playoffs only, and skipping hte rest of the season on FTA, then later once this has gained momentum, the full season can be shown.
If you are going to screen FTA matches (to begin with) only screen it in the opposite city /state as to which the game is being played. If Adelaide and Perth are playing in Perth, only screen the game back to Adelaide.(obviously not in Perth and no the rest of the country for this match, this way you have maximum interest by your television audience). If the match was played in Perth you would of course do the opposite.

Now, getting back to tie the 36rs back into this point, like someone else suggested (posted), they could have their own show , or even better yet a show called SA Hoops or SA Basketball. A localy produced TV show showing highlights of matches, Adelaide 36rs / Adelaide lightning as guests, and some segments on junior and minor leagues etc South Aussie boomers/Opals etc
Obviously this show would only screen in South Aus.

Well, I guess you were right Tommy etc on saying that it seems they will be showing more games in NSW on foxtel etc as I just had foxtel digital installed and could only watch the Hunter/Bullets match not the 36rs/Taipans match.( I wish I was in Adelaide last night, would have loved to have seen the farley dunk,and the win ! )
Although I think there will be a 36rs wed night game been shown on fox.
Anyway, part of me was just happy to see some basketball on TV !!, what a difference foxtel makes.
One thing I was impressed with, considering it's foxtel digital, was how good the picture quality was, so clear and crisp.Apparently there is supposed to be interactive witht he NBL but I couldn't use it ; either I haven't figured it out yet or it's not up and running yet.
Hopefully not showing many 36rs games will be a good incentive for people to go to live games, I will be down in Adelaide around january and am looking forward to going to afew, I can't wait.

Foxtel Active for the NBL is meant to start in November for Wendesday night games.

Not sure if this Wednesdays game will be the first one they will be doing it for, would be good if it is as its a sixers game :-)

thanks DJ

Ticket prices are always going to be an issue for families. it is just too expensive for a family of 4 or 5 to go. why is it that you can go to a game in another state for under $20 but not here? anyway, unless BASA can come up with a better pricing structure for families, they will stay away. and why give tickets to uni students, what about all the junior basa district players, shouldnt they get the free tickets, then maybe their parents only would have to but one or two adult tickets for a night out for the family?