The Travelling Circus - playing home games around NZ

Pick your tune, poison, beats i guess...

Ricky Nelson - Travelin' Man 1961

Lynyrd Skynyrd-Travellin' Man-1976

Mos Def - Travellin Man 2002

I was just imagining that cool character Fox or whichever has just said that...

I would agree on the poor form but the 3-0  in the Tron should have given a decent crowd in Auckland, especially as Auckland had absolutely perfect weather conditions. But something I did notice at both venues and cities. ...ZERO publicity on the radio as such, ZERO publicity near the venues or in busy shopping areas, and these are things the marketing department should be held accountable for. Especially for the game in Auckland. They should have hammered on about the recent 3-0 to encourage fans to come along.

A quick PS to my last message...It is not the fans job to do the clubs job for them and the sooner the club stop taking the fans for granted and assuming we will do the job, the better. Yes fans are doing their unofficial bit to spread the word and encourage attendence, but it appears to me if this is what the club are heavily relying on - probably far too much.

They don't rely on fans to do it.

Well I hope they are not relying on some marketing company. I am not being smart with my next remark Dale, but in Hamilton or Auckland did you notice any advertising? I am open to the idea I may have missed it, if there was some.

Well considering I was only in each town for 8 hours before each game, didn't buy a paper,  flick on the TV or radio,  it's probably not surprising I didn't see anything. Having said that, there is strong competition for advertising just before Christmas which makes it harder.

I didn't see a thing in Auckland.

I'm in the Waikato and I didn't see or hear anything about the game.  Not a single person I talked to knew the game was on, and a number are sport fans (but not football specifically) that said they would have come with me if they knew the game was on when I spoke to them in the week leading up to the game.

I think had we been winning though, people would be more switched on to the Phoenix and more might have known because they were taking an interest.  To me, I think if we win, people will show, if we don't they won't, and all the marketing in the world probably won't drastically change the attendance more than a few hundred either way.

Add to this New Plymouth and Rotorua have been used for Pre-season matches against NZA

Maybe easier to list the grounds they have not played at

Did you see the big billboard ft. Kosta on Albert St near Aotea Square?

when I went to the suburbs vs ACFC game on Sunday (the day after the Nix game) I thought I would do some polling, very informal of course.

Spoke to about 6 people, 1 of which went (brought a table in the lounge for his Christmas work do) and the other 5 didn't go - asked the 5 why not and once I got past the shrugging of shoulders they all indicated they thought the product on show was rubbish - most of these guys based it on their last experience watching the Nix play in Auckland - so either the sandpit game or the Eden Park game against Adelaide (from memory).


Now before you write these guys off as Euro snobs they are at a SSP game!


I do hope that every who went to this game, which for me was exciting and the atmosphere was good, talks a couple of people each into the next game at QBE - fingers crossed.

No, I didn't go there.

Yes, cos sure as shark the agency that did it will win an award for it.

$15

But you get to see All White, Moses Dyer

He was actually not bad against City.  Off point however.

Can't believe the Phoenix not only play half their games outside Wellington, they play them outside of NZ! Bloody shambles.

game on Jan 1st will be home game 127

Can the Nix drag in Dave Bobbyn to sing Welcome home on Jan 1st.
We should have a house warming party for the new turf and welcome home our long lost team.

We want a reason for people to come not stay away.

Does he know sign language?

Perhaps he could start a riot like he helped to in the past?

For those of us sick of the travelling circus, this week we are going to travel to Wellington. Apparently, it is the capital city and does have some minor connection to the Travelling Phoenix.....allegedly.

Now that Wellington has emptied out for the holidays as it does every year since 1945, expect the management to complain about a 5k crowd and yet again thinly threaten that if attenedances don't improve, they may have to take more games away on the road.

I see the NRL 9's are also on the weekend 4/5 Feb in Auckland, cause I've seen a ton of advertising for it. 

Although, I guess there were never too many cross over fans going to choose the nix if the 9's weren't on that weekend???

adjusted

Another Traveling Circus fail. 

5185 is not good enough to justify taking games on the road. FFA has said we need to engage the rest of NZ, but, unfortunately if the rest of NZ dont know that there is a game on in their town, they won't go to it! 

In the match thread & the Fever Bus thread numerous people have posted about the lack of promotion & marketing that was done in New Plymouth & Taranaki, this was exactly the same for the games in Hamilton & Auckland. There appears to be a pattern evolving here!

The local Councils are the one who underwrite these Traveling Circus forays, but surely it is in the interests of the club to maximise the promotion of these events. Its all well & good to say that the Phoenix don't lose money on the TC games, but they are LOSING FANS! This is surely the opposite of the purpose of the TC games!

I hate the fact that we have four games away - I love going to them! (& it's even better when the club pays for me to go), but I'd rather they were at the Home of the Phoenix. 

The usual antagonists were, once again, conspicuous & silent, by their apparent absence (not a peronal dig at the two who usually come out with all their buzz words!), I'm just saying that, for the loyal fans - no matter where they are from - it is a pain in the arse to lose the home town advantage so often.

It was a great day out on saturday, fantastic company on the bus (thanks Phoenix Facebook Comp), great beer (courtesy of Garage Project), healthy lunch in Whanganui (courtesy of McDonalds), met some great North Shore football fans (Mike Smith & Sonny), plenty of laughs with the usual lot from all over the country who made the effort to get there, but unfortunately, once again "The NIX failed to turn up"

The FFA keep pushing the regional games, but, apart from when games are played in Geelong, the crowds are shyte! 

The FFA need to stop penalising the supporters who are the bread & butter of the clubs!

Make the whole gameday experience better, so that people want to take their kids for the whole day out, lay on subsidised transport for season ticket holders, if you are playing away from Wellington, put on subsidised buses or flights! Free tickets for Season Ticket holders who travel to Australia, negotiate discounted flights to Australia for season ticket holers, make it worthwhile to be a season ticket holder!

What's your evidence for the statement 'they are losing fans'?

This travelling circus arrangement has been around for a long time now and Wellington crowds have been flat. I just don't think that many people care that much if the odd game is out of town.

Personally, I quite like it. It gives us a chance to #FeverTua

As for promotion. I think you're right on that point. 

Perhaps the issue is that nobody actually wants to promote the games that much. Regional development/tourism/councils pay for the games, and once that cost is sunk they aren't too inclined to promote the hell out of it because the potential extra return of another couple of thousand tickets sold isn't worth the outlay. The Phoenix aren't inclined to spend money on marketing because it's not their 'core market'.

This is speculation, but maybe nobody cares enough!

didn't see you there Smith?

The attendances in Wellington, Hamilton, Auckland & now New Plymouth, would indicate that they are losing fans!

Nothing that five straight victories wouldn't put right.

Edited a post & a new post came up!

Lowest attendance at Westpac this season: 5,548. (Jan 1 vs Adelaide, bottom of the table and half the city away on holiday).

Travelling circus attendances this season: 5,234, 5,702, 5,185.

Becoming very hard for the club to justify 4 games away from Westpac. Suspect we may see if pulled back to 2/3 games a season due to lack of crowds.