Hey team,
Sorry I've been slack updating this recently - but to be honest the last few club catch-ups have been rather informal and honestly not a huge amount of consequence has been discussed (and then buggering off to South America for WCQ and Christmas with family etc..)
Today however the below has been provided to the club. In light of the planned protest action of some and general unhappiness of other I have taken the step of fronting some of the larger concerns of the fan base to the club. I hope you all feel this is a fair summary of the state of things but I'm also sure there will be issues you feel are under or over stated. Summarising such a broad and often contrasting group of views isn't easy but we have tried our best.
As always people are welcome to contact the club directly so please feel free to continue doing that as I know many of you already do.
It’s fair to say there are some unhappy feelings flowing around the fan base currently. Fans want us to front these issues with you, so here they are no holds barred.
I know you both frequent social media and probably have your own take on the current vibe but this is the Fever take on things.
I’ll be sharing this on the YF forums to be very transparent with what feedback has been passed onto you around this (and similarly will look to share any response more broadly as well).
The main complaint -
Communications: fans are frustrated that communication to them is a mixed bag, a good chunk of them feel disconnected and unwanted, and that feeling seems to be getting worse:
- It has been raised that people feel there is some news the club should be the one telling them rather than simply reading about it in the media. The initial lack of an announcement from the club on the move of the last game of the season left a bad taste in some people’s mouth. There were obviously press releases sent out but people feel more proactive communications from the club would be ideal – tweets, news on the club website, fb posts etc were not present around this. This does seem to happen on good news items but the feeling is the club needs to front on some of the “bad news” as well rather than it simply being a line item in the usual Friday newsletter. Fans would rather hear all news direct from the Phoenix rather than from someone else, while this won’t always be possible, it is the standard the club should strive for.
- More broadly the fans appreciate the proactive stuff. Members nights were widely regarded as a welcome part of the comms programme, and although weren’t always hugely attended, the info discussed did filter to the broader fan base in a variety of ways and the honesty with which the club shared information bought a lot of goodwill. It would be good if the club could find ways to do this sort of stuff - probably less formally but more regularly – obviously some stuff is sensitive but the club’s openness and honesty has been a hallmark we should continue.
- In the context of both of the above a “member” shouldn’t just be a current season pass holder. There are many people that feel as connected to the club, if not more so, than season pass holders and they need to be able to continue that connection. Living out of town shouldn’t be a reason to be dropped out of that “inner circle” the club talks to. These guys are the easiest fans to win back, and should be treated that way and kept in the fold. A way for these fans to continue to opt-in to receiving key club updates would be ideal – without undermining the premium membership offering obviously.
Some other issues:
- Home-away games: There remain some fans unhappy about taking games out of Wellington. The financial basis for this might remain, but it’s still a big issue for the fan base. The late notice being especially grating for away fans travelling within and to NZ. The commitment to Wellington in terms of the re-brand at the start of the season has reignited discussion in that some fans want to see the club “walking the talk” on this commitment to Wellington. This is a particular bug-bear and a source of disillusionment for many long-standing fans in particular.
- Marketing: Many fans still believe more visible marketing of games is a key to getting the fan base growing again. It may be reasonable to explore some of the now-stalled initiatives that did used to exist, eg the weekly “office poster” provided by the club so that despite the tight budget constraints there can feel like is more tangible presence in the city as well as factoring this into planning for next season. Obviously the club is best placed to know where the marketing money is being spent however and what the returns are on that, but the sentiment that “not enough is being done” is certainly prevalent in the fan base.
- Culture: There is concern that a culture-shift has occurred behind the scenes that is not benefitting the club. There is an air of unhappiness and lack of desire at times which fans find worrying. There is genuine concern that a culture problem inside the club underpins a range of the other issues above as well as under-performance on the pitch so I highlight for that reason only.
All of the above has led to planned protest action by some fans. I will not take it upon myself to put words in the mouths of those protesters by detailing their exact concerns more than I have above, but I’m certain that engagement from the club with those people would go a long way and I’m more than happy to help facilitate such a meeting of the minds. I’m also conscious you are likely aware of those plans and are very welcome to engage directly.
I look forward to discussing in more detail at the next of our more formal meetings.
Dave