AFLW: Have expansion clubs learnt from previous marketing mistakes?
The clock is ticking down with less than two weeks to go until the seventh AFLW pre-season, where four new teams will enter the competition.
Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney will all come in with a unique point of view, having seen how both the foundation clubs and two phases of expansion clubs entered the competition, and having observed what was done right, and what mistakes they need to avoid.
This observation not only goes past what was done with regards to matter on the field, but also how the AFLW arm of the clubs were marketed off the field.
In the early years of the competition, fans bemoaned the lack of AFLW merchandise from which they could purchase from the clubs they support.
It was ever so highlighted in the first year of women’s semi-professional football, when fans couldn’t even buy replica jumpers from the State of Origin game between Victoria and the Allies — potential customers screaming “take my money” as league headquarters replied with “meh”.
Even individual AFLW player merchandise and memorabilia seems rare as hen’s teeth to find, as Becca Hayne pointed out in her Haynesplaining blog, when she explained the lack of officially licensed products promoting the woman who’ll surely be the first AFLW Hall of Fame Legend, Erin Phillips.
When that void of products promoting the stars of the competition was attempted to be filled, with League Tees releasing their Tayla Harris inspired T-Shirt to raise funds for charity; what did the league headquarters do? Send in the lawyers! Oh, and continue to fail to meet the demand of the fans wanting this type of merchandise.
So, with some of the past failures highlighted, and admittedly some clubs are starting to do a little better now with their AFLW merchandise, have the incoming AFLW clubs learnt from the fan feedback?
Sadly, it appears no.
As of typing, neither Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide or Sydney, have any merchandise available when the term “AFLW” is entered into the search function of their online shops.
On the membership front, all four expansion clubs now have AFLW memberships available for purchase, and while Sydney boasts it has the highest membership (even before playing a single game), its current offering (like Port Adelaide’s) does not include game entry.
From this point forward, I’m going to specifically look at what the Essendon Football Club has done, what it hasn’t done and what it should be doing.
Now, the reason for looking closely at the Bombers is not just because I grew up following the club (as a kid I was in the Cheer Squad in 1992 and 1993), but also they have a very unique opportunity coming up in just over a week from now.
After a slow build from entering the VFLW competition in 2018 and finishing last with just one win, the Bombers finished the 2022 Home and Away season as undefeated Minor Premiers, and secured hosting rights for their Qualifying Final against Hawthorn on June 11th, and the Semi-Final (either Major or Minor) the following weekend.
Let’s be honest, everyone loves a good bandwagon, and with both the Essendon men’s AFL and VFL sides struggling, all efforts at the club should be focused towards women’s section — the side that’s winning on the field (VFLW) and off the field in the recruitment stakes (AFLW).
I want to pick out the first AFLW item that was made available for purchase online from Essendon, and that was the AFLW Memberships.
The only build up to what should have been a very important moment, the inaugural (or foundation) AFLW Membership of the club, was an image teasing one sleep to go, and then complimented the next day with a short ten second video clip from Bonnie Toogood.
Quite frankly, Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell should drag the club’s membership, marketing and social media departments into his office and blast them for such a lazy and weak effort for the resources the club has at hand. An effort that had no personal connection with the fanbase, or urgency for fans to immediately jump online and hit the purchase button.
It’s puzzling why these departments didn’t get the five players the Bombers poached from other clubs, who grew up as Essendon supporters, place them in front of a camera explaining what it meant to grow up following the club — all while showing photos of them as kids wearing the black and red, with emotional music building the tension — and then cut to them holding and then putting on the jumper, with them explaining how that moment feels.
Imagine releasing these stories of Jorja Borg, Sophie Alexander, Sophie Van de Heuvel, Bonnie Toogood and Madison Prespakis a day at a time in a five day countdown, building (virtually) a bond with the fanbase, and getting them excited to not only purchase an AFLW membership when it became available, but also attend all the club’s AFLW events in the build-up to, and including, Essendon’s first ever AFLW game for premiership points.
As much as that moment is gone, there’s still a chance to build that bond (thanks to the success of the VFLW team), but only if the Membership and Marketing Departments are keen and switched on.
The Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend will see a lot of sections of the club busy with the club’s 150th Year celebrations, including a Friday night AFL game against hated rival Carlton, and a Saturday night Gala Dinner priced at $495 per head (not exactly screaming an invite to rank and file members)!
While Saturday night celebrates the past, Saturday morning is all about the future, with the VFLW team playing in a Qualifying Final, no doubt cheered on by the club’s AFLW signings (as spotted at Windy Hill last weekend).
The opportunity lies here, with some pieces already in place, for the club to not only ring up considerable numbers of membership and merchandise sales, but also build a strong bond between the AFLW players and fanbase.
First order of a business is the car park on the Brewster Street wing needs to look busy, with food trucks (that’s multiple, not singular) and three tents set-up by the club — Membership, Merchandise and Signatures.
Secondly, the hook. Promote that two of Essendon’s AFLW signings, Madison Prespakis and Bonnie Toogood, will be available 60 minutes before and 30 minutes after the VFLW Qualifying Final to sign footballs and posters for fans. Add to that at half-time, that there will be for all kids, a kick-to-kick session with Madison and Bonnie out on the ground (for variety, Sophie Alexander and Sophie Van de Heuvel could be promoted for the Semi-Final weekend). With no junior footy on Saturday morning, a great chance to appeal to kids, who will bring their parents (and wallets!) along with them.
Thirdly, the sell. With merchandise, Essendon has dropped the ball, with zero AFLW products available. A smart approach would have had AFLW winter wear (jackets, hoodies, etc) available now, before the season, so you have fans who are essentially walking, talking billboards promoting the AFLW team and their upcoming inaugural season.
It can however, still be be salvaged with some products that can be produced quickly and easily. The most obvious is posters. It would be very quick and easy for the social media team to have a photo of the players signed so far (individually) in an Essendon AFLW jumper, with their name in big, bold letters, and of course, the sponsors logos in the corners. You can even have a second bite of the cherry, by having a ‘caricature’ version of the players (individually) on a poster, that could also be purchased. That’s really just scratching the surface.
Finally, the bond. I mentioned above about the club’s newly signed AFLW players doing a signature session and a half-time kick-to-kick. While there is some interaction, fans would feel they need to keep the time short, due to a queue behind them. There’s still one more thing though, that the club can do on the day to build the bond, while also presenting a hook and sell.
Present a “game day exclusive” for both the VFLW Qualifying Final and Semi-Final. If an Essendon fan signs up for an AFLW Membership on the day (and also for those before the day), they’ll be given access to an exclusive meet’n’greet function after the match in the Hird Stand. It’s a very simple strategy, Party Pies and Soft Drinks put on for free (alcohol at bar prices, of course!), while the signed AFLW players and (after their warm-downs) VFLW players will mingle with supporters. The Hawks are already doing something similar, but incorporated into their AFLW memberships.
By way of luck, the VFL (men’s) team is playing after the VFLW Qualifying Final, giving added incentive for fans to stick around longer. The longer they stay and chat to the players, the more they get to like them and build a bond. A bond that will make the fanbase want to come out in greater numbers to cheer the team, and for the women’s section of the club’s finances, a fanbase that wants to pour money in, buying their merchandise.
Talking pure numbers, if you hooked people into attending just the VFLW Qualifying Final and say 250 adults purchased an AFLW Access membership, that’s an easy $20,000 plus, made on the day — all with a little effort using the resources the club already has at its disposal.
This is just one example of making money and giving AFLW fans (competition wide) what they have been screaming for. It uses the one advantage the women’s game has over the men’s game, and should be a motto, not only for Essendon, but all AFLW clubs.
It’s more personal and affordable.
Peter Holden is the founder of Women’s Australian Rules Football Radio, and has broadcast in excess of 300 women’s matches, including VWFL, VFLW, AFLW Exhibition Matches, AFLW Practice Matches, Interstate Representatives Matches, AFL International Cups and USAFL National Tournaments.