Manchego Cheese wrote:
I think that the so calle "disconnect" is a convenient excuse for supporters who haven't joined - and refuse to join.
They don't feel valued. They don't feel like a membership represents value. What does it even mean to be "disconnected," I've asked people and they can't answer it. They just know they feel disconnected.
The reality is Carlton, as far as I'm concerned, has the most negative, pessimistic, fair weathered, entitled, unrealistic fan base in the league.
I'll cut the likes of Cretylus and Synbad off here by saying port adelaide are a well run, exciting club. And we've made some errors in admin, drafting and the like. But when port weren't good no one wanted a bar of them. Fact. They tarped off seats and couldn't attract sponsors. No one gave two hoots about them, their fans chief amongst that number, until they started winning games.
For mine, Carlton fans are [REDACTED] who have swarmed to this "disconnected" line not as the cop out it is, but the line they yearned for to relieve or excuse them of having to join up.
What Carlton fans want more than anything is wins. They just can't seem to admit thats the missing ingredient. Its engagement. It's not getting a discount in the shop. Its a renewal website (which, as far as I'm aware, is a template site forced on them by the league). It's the fixture (once again, the club can request particular things, but the AFL might choose to ignore them all together). Its game times (too many night games last year. Too many day games this year).
When and if Carlton start winning games more regularly the number will naturally swell. That's it.
Look they definitely want a winning team, but if you think that not structuring the organisation to drive that, enhance that, publicise that and create a positive message leading into it doesn't create fan engagement, good press and a general good will at the club that flows on into the mindset of every employee there, you're a next-level idiot. The entire job of the corporate entity that is the CFC is to make people feel good about the brand.
The supporter base of today was created by this club; it is responsible for it as an entity. The people who took on these roles are, for the most part, not directly responsible but they inherited it. They knew what they were getting into well enough to know whether or not to keep out.
If they want to play siege mentality, they will drain people emotionally and they will walk away. Happens everywhere in life.
If you are some kind of mouth piece for them, they are completely [REDACTED]. They need to take a look in the mirror and ask if they understand the operation and scope of a public-facing business in the entertainment industry.
Manchego Cheese wrote:
"I'm not renewing because the website is bad."
"I'm not renewing because when I went down to the Club no one smiled at me."
"I'm not renewing because our recruiting department is a shambles."
"I'm not renewing because they keep letting Geoffrey Edelsten in the front door."
"I'm not renewing because the board are all mates."
"I'm not renewing because Mick hurts journalist's feelings in press conferences. He's such a nasty, old man. Mark Stevens deserves better."
"I'm not renewing because we have too many night games."
"I'm not renewing because we have too many day games."
This is the job of the staff to sift through and determine what is pertinent. If they want to better automate some of the manual work there are entire industries and methodologies out there that are cost-effective to deploy even on a smaller scale like say, an AFL club. Because for all your grandstanding and posturing, that's what the AFL is in the corporate scheme of things: completely @#$%&! small fry.
The club is not above going through the concerns of fans, and needs to accept the modern, mobile-internet driven nature of PR. Everyone always had an opinion, it's just now they all have a smartphone too.