Commercial Notes - February 21st 2009

There is so much competition in the area for sports events, it is a real challenge to build a decent matchday crowd. Our gates in comparison to other National league’s are very good, however it is crucial to increase them for the next step up. An average gate of 2,000-3,000 is our target – how will we get this with Harlequins down the road and so much in the way of competition in London?
If we look at Harlequins as a model – they have worked tremendously hard to build a captive and loyal fanbase, through huge work in the community, matchday experience and of course the rugby on the pitch over the past few years. We can do well do learn from them.

We have started an active community scheme to help integrate local schools and community groups, in addition we also need to engage the junior/mini and family market at the club to get kids more involved in the matchday experience. The Steljes kids zone, Mac the lion and masterclasses are a step in the right direction – but much work in providing better family and junior facilities is to be done in order to attract a regular family market to our games.

In addition can we rely on our Scottishness? It is after all a club formed by exiled Scots. However it is based in London and London Scottish. So it is a real challenge to integrate all into the fold. For this I look at London Irish. They have a few Irish players and identity, however only about 30% of their crowd is Irish. For them it is about the brand, the Craic and the identity. They will have 28,000 at their St Patricks day match v Northampton – Maybe 5,000 will be Irish qualified

So where does it leave us? How can we offer a better experience? How can we get more supporters in? Clearly a winning team with attractive rugby helps, but this must be backed up by a professional and comprehensive marketing campaign and also providing the facilities and experience that will attract more people.

We have succeeded on some of these areas but again there is much more to be done. We have started with a family Fun Day on 4th April and of course Calcutta Cup Carnival on 21st March.

We will be looking at special promotions, introduce a friend, discounts, payment plans, improvement of facilities and lots of other areas to help increase our crowd and make us unique from other rugby experiences and offer value for money.

However at the end of the day it is all about the rugby on the pitch and so far so good, lets hope the boys continue what has been a superb season so far and end up with a win today!

Get behind the team and make some noise!