Everyone has there reasons for signing or not.

Some just aren't as passionate asmost of us here. Asking them why they don't have the committment to buy a membership each year is like asking me why I don't buy a Melbourne Storm membership.

Some see a membership as a discounted way of going to the football so if they're not going to more than 10 games then its cheaper just to pay on the day.

Some don't buy in protest. Whether they voice their concerns is another matter.



Some great ideas here J&K, its the clubs responsibility to do this though. They should contact these people and decipher why they haven't renewed and go about solving their concerns. If we're only sending a reminder SMS from 'Chris Judd' as Doc's friends has received, then what could we learn from that?

I'm an AFL Member with a Carlton Club Support so a portion of that package goes to Carlton (value is equivalent of a Full Carlton Membership). I've considered upgrading to Captains Club to gain access to the Social Club the last two years, but nothing has really enticed me to do so.

One thing with AFL Membership is they send out a survey at the end of every season and ask a bunch of questions about your Membership, what you like, don't like and would like to see. Its the one thing AFL Membership actually do well.

I can't recall if I've received one from the club as well in the past, I may well have and perhaps some of you can clarify if they do so. If they don't, they should, if they do, hopefully they're aware of the reasons why people don't renew.

_________________
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

o'k i hope not to get pasted here for my response,

we live 150k's away making it a 300k round trip to a game. (making petrol, etag and parking all significant costs incurred) and also taking into account working around my 8 year old and hisjunior footy commitments.

after much consultation with the membership department, i wanted a reserved seat membership for 11 games this season as early arrival is not always an option (collingwood x 2 Essendon* x 2 geelong x 2 richmond (rnd1) hawthorn, fremantle, west coast, sydney) making it a trip every 2nd week basically and limiting trips to the mcg apart from big games because etihad games can cut up to an hour each way off travel time (after trying to exit the car park).

we were regrettably unable to work out a suitable membership with the membership department even though i was prepared to pay somewhat of a premium price to gain access to the games i requested (something around $45.00 per game which is what it costs to buy them straight from an outlet), i then settled on the 3 game membership (as i try to support the club as much as possible). and purchased reserved seat tickets to the other 8 games via agencies.

so my outlay this season has been 3 game membership $80.00 plus 8 other games at $44.50 each for a total $436.00 plus conservatively $300.00 in petrol $80.00 in etags and if i can get roadside parking for every trip $50.00 in parking costs.

i purchased my 8 year old a new guernsey from the merchandise stands and i have a new cap and bought 2 tickets in the raffle.

i guess what i am trying to say is that i would love to be a member but location and membership options make it almost impossible but i still like to consider myself a good supporter of the club. sometimes it is not as simple as if you are not a member then you are not truly supporting the team.

I'm still waiting for the this year's federal government AFL membership stimulus payment...

Might have lost a few there...

_________________
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

My thoughts exactly, unless Fev was the club to them.

I don't want to get too far off point here, but the Collingwood Social Club membership is far and away the best package vs that of another clubs' social club membership. That's the deal they did, they did it well, they communicate far more proficiently with their members than Carlton does and our membership 'value for money' and membership department is a fair way off the pace, I suspect, because to some extent their hands are tied with deals that occurred in the past.

As another aside - the points made by everyone in this thread are valid ones, so I'm not attacking anyone, but the number of voting members on this site is very low. Extremely low. In fact Carlton has less than 9,000 voting members. Forget about the recent non-democratic board placement for a second and think about what your membership gives you. For the majority on here it actually only gives you access to the footy. And for most of you, that's all you want. But when you voice strong opinion on how things are run, and how you want change to occur and the timeline it should be done in - your voice is a silent one. Is the footy club interested in your opinion as a non-voting member? Probably not. They want your cash - sure, and they want more members because that's another figure to show the sponsors that their brand is reaching a maximum audience. But the real number the sponsorship executives want to see is the TV numbers.

So why the need for members? Money? Yep - there's no doubting it plays a big part. Bragging rights? Yep...though not important in the big picture. In modern professional sport in Australia, there's an unhealthy reliance placed on club membership. If a club such as Carlton knows the name, telephone number, e-mail and address of approximately 10,000 people who hadn't renewed from season 2009 - wouldn't they flood that person with mail? Set aside a night for the boys to jump on the phone and call? Send e-mails advertising special deals? Use Social Media as a membership tool?

In fact if club membership were the be all and end all for me as a CEO of a footy club, wouldn't I take a trip to India - talk to Sachin Tendulkar's management and donate 200k to his charity (https://www.indiacancer.org) - get him to pose in a Carlton Football jumper, TwitPic it on Sachin's Twitter page, the Carlton, AFL, Facebook, Twitter & Cricket Australia website and invite he, his wife and his kids to Carlton when next in Australia? Set up a website connecting Carlton, PeterMac, IndiaCancer, Visy etc, brand your logo in Australia indian-laden Universities and showcase the clubs Corporate Social Responsibility which would translate into thousands of members and good press.

Just a thought.

Living ~180km away means that the three memberships I buy each year are effectively donations.

_________________
"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

Same. I became a member when Dick Pratt made the clarion call for all supporters to get on board. Carlton has given me so much joy over the last 35 years I thought it was the least I could do to show my gratitude. I am happy pay for membership even though I very rarely get to see games. (I got my fix last year when was lucky to be in Adelaide to see us belt Port Adelaide)

_________________
I need some new conspiracy theories; all my others have come true.

The club has placed a half page add in todays HUN advertising the 3 game membership and calling for supporters to join. Page 89.

Same, but make it 800km.

_________________
And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

I saw that and was very interested to note that Gibbo, Krez and Murph have been replaced by Eddie, Yazz and Jeffy!! Obviously 'Setantas Little Helpers' are now leading the membership charge!!

_________________
"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?" Billy Connolly

For once a good, swift move by the comms dept.

_________________
WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

I did not mean to upset any of the people on this site with my post...and I acknowledge the club isn't as professional as the filth....in fact I have been screaming about this since I joined this site..so I don't need reminding...but what I was alluding to was the fact that we should have a solid & large membership base who are members not for the trinkets (as Tommi so perfectly put it) who are just members of the Carlton Footy Club no matter what...that's all I was alluding to..it costs between $5 and $10 per week to be a member..

_________________
"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

23rd straight year as a member now, but I am realistic, and frankly sick of the AFL and the media trying to guilt people to fork out $130 odd dollars on something that represents extremely poor value for money.

I will always be a member, but can see many reasons why people aren't. Especially if you compare what our club 'offers' compared to others (off the field of course). I assume it is our marketing dept that is in charge, if so they continue to do a terrible job. To actually reduce what is available is a joke when you consider that they are competing for our dollars.

Personally I think very little effort is undertaken by an organisation that should have more pulling power to come up with a decent membership pack.

So instead of banging on about 'you're not a true supporter unless you are a member' or 'buy a membership' why don't you show reasons why..........the days of "do it for the club" are surely running out?????

_________________
Between our dreams and actions lies this world

Agree Kingkerna. And what about having a few training sessions in the afternoon so kids( future members) can get down after school and see the players close up, have a chat and get autographs etc. A few seasons ago they also had pie nights after training where members could go into the social club and chat with past players. We ended up talking with Ron Barassi for ages and Rod Ashman,Jim Buckley and Ken Sheldon. A great night. They don`t seem to have anything like this now.

But.....Fev.....

_________________
WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

I understand exactly what you're saying, and agree.

And just think how little some interstate members get, even in terms of communication from the club, aside from the cookie-cutter emails.

_________________
And so while others miserably pledge themselves to the pursuit of ambition and brief power, I will be stretched out in the shade, singing.

So what defines a supporter then?....one who claps at a game when a goal goes sailing through? Do not get me wrong I am the first to admit the club has a long way to go as far as being more professional is concerned...but I would not hold out on buying my membership just because they were not marketing gurus...but that's just me...each person has their own perspective on this I guess...

_________________
"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

Hey Doc, fantastic post game report on Monday, and now this one.

On your first point re Collingwood's great deal (I assume you're referring) with the MCG, that is a great advantage for Collingwood, but I believe that over time (after contractual obligations are fulfilled) we will catch up.

Interesting that we only have 9000 voting members. We always need reminding of that point. We've always had low voting numbers. I really don't believe though that our vote at elections is going to make a difference to our voice being heard, acknowledged and actioned when it comes to improvements in Marketing and Communication or even Supporter events such as the pie night. A couple of reasons for that: 1, because when no one contests for positions on the CFC board, issues such as improvements in Marketing & Communication (or other incumbent weaknesses) are not going to be discussed because they are negatives when the promotion of the great job the Marketing Dept does given the great Membership numbers is (self serving) preferred for obvious reasons (to push their own barrow); 2, the Marketing & Communication Improvements (and others) are not discussed or promoted by any incumbents or candidates contesting for a seat (see point 1) when the Debt, the promotion for increased spending on the Footy Department (always a winner), Pokies (revenue stream...another winner) are given 100% of the energy from incumbents.

If all the 40,000 members had votes, we may be promoting a more democratic and thorough discussion process, or on the other hand, we could end up in an anarchical state (with too many splinter groups developing).

Now the last point you make re Tendulkar, tells me you're in the wrong job, cruising between Hawthorn and Princes Park to watch our puppies train over a latte ot two. Great idea. I'm sure you have heaps of them, as others have proven to have too. How the hell can we get something like great idea up and running without the Marketing Dept feeling threatened by lateral thinkers?

Seriously, the boys club at Carlton is a bit of a joke, and it all starts at board level imo. I just hope that we continue with Pratt's legacy to introduce great initiatives and do everything we do with Best Practise Priciples as the Benchmark.

_________________
Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

A supporter is someone who goes to games regularly, don't be fooled into thinking that you care more about the club because you become a member. Everyone has different circumstances and reasons, if people don't put pressure on the club to improve our membership packages how are we expected to continue to grow our membership base?

I guess we could always try your method - if you love the club you must become a member

_________________
Between our dreams and actions lies this world

I can see your view...but just don't understand it that's all....a good looking scarf and a nice cap when you are still going to go to the games anyway so whats the difference?...anyway I'd still like to see us at 50,000 one day..

_________________
"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre