THE 2015 RELEVANCE LADDERVictoria's most prominent clubs, based on support and digital following
Team Ave crowd membership Twitter Facebook TV audience TotalCollingwood 48,706 75,037 75,550 316,514 764,466 1,280,273
Hawthorn 43,706 72,924 59,448 280,464 718,983 1,175,525
Essendon 42,103 60,818 74,769 305,884 627,703 1,111,277
Richmond 48,891 70,809 52,717 183,535 749,000 1,104,952
Carlton 35,967 47,305 67,296 226,560 639,699 1,016,827
Geelong 34,946 44,312 53,127 147,823 642,681 922,889
Nth Melb 26,754 41,012 36,616 103,559 589,657 797,598
St Kilda 26,439 32,746 38,591 132,020 382,512 612,308
W. Bulldogs 26,564 35,222 30,875 91,310 400,935 584,906
Melbourne 30,377 35,953 37,253 84,338 374,901 562,822
Data supplied by Bastion----------------------------------------------------
Is your AFL club 'relevant' in 2015? We have the answer Jon Pierik
The Age
September 4, 2015 When it comes to supporters of the traditionally big Melbourne clubs, it seems regardless of on-field performance, they are guaranteed strong support, television audiences and social-media engagement.
How else do you explain that of the top six sides on the AFL "relevance ladder", compiled by sports marketing agency Bastion Group, two of the top three - Collingwood and Essendon - have not made the finals, while Carlton, after a year of turmoil, comfortably sits in sixth position? Indeed, Geelong, another side not to make the finals, was seventh.
The relevance ladder takes into account average attendances, 2015 membership, followers on Twitter and Facebook and average television audiences, although some clubs have questioned the depth of investigation.
Melbourne sits last in terms of Victorian-based clubs but has bristled at the figures, declaring they do not represent the wide coverage the club and high-profile coach Paul Roos have enjoyed through traditional media this season, pointing to the successful Big Freeze campaign the club helped to organise for former coach Neale Daniher's bid to raise awareness for motor neurone disease.
The Demons say they rank ninth overall for club website audiences, no.1 overall for page impressions per member, while their backdrops featuring club sponsors at press conferences have enjoyed strong recognition. Other clubs have questioned why there was no breakdown of club website figures, with one media chief suggesting the social media figures were "misleading" as they did show how many times a supporter had "engaged" with the club.
According to Bastion, the Demons had greater crowds and membership than the Western Bulldogs, and more Twitter followers, but fell away on Facebook and average television audiences to ultimately be at the bottom of Victorian-based clubs.
Bastion director Jack Watts said the Demons occupied a "niche, affluent space" but this traditional affluence could morph into major dollars flowing into the club.
The Bulldogs were the lowest performing Victorian-based club last year as their slow but methodical on-field rebuild continued. However, such is the tough fight to make inroads in a market where family allegiances extend through generations, the Bulldogs have jumped just the one spot in a year despite emerging as the feel-good story of the season and enjoying greater coverage through traditional media.
Dubbed the "Harlem Globetrotters" of the AFL by some commentators because of their attacking and exciting play, the Bulldogs have secured their first finals berth since 2010, and have some believing they can cause a premiership boilover.
Bastion, which has former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou as a director, points out that the Bulldogs continue to struggle on social media but their average crowds, membership and television audience are higher than St Kilda's - which finished one spot ahead on the relevance ladder - and their heartland has much scope to grow in financial terms.
Overall, Watts said "there weren't really any major surprises" in the data which reinforced the cycle where big clubs, already with healthy support, can enjoy better financial resourcing and prominence in Friday night and Saturday night timeslots, which has the two-fold effect of having their sponsorship worth more, and the chance to increase their supporter base. For this reason, Watts said equalisation measures were so important.
"We have the cap on club spending but we really haven't addressed the cause in how we fundamentally get more people to support these (lower-ranked) clubs," he said.
"That ties into the broadcast rights agreement and that needs to be a watershed to secure the commercial future of every club in the game."
North Melbourne has made the finals for a second-straight season and, like the Bulldogs, enjoy an attacking style of play. However, they still remain among the lower rungs of the relevance ladder, reinforcing how difficult it is for clubs with historically modest supporter bases to grow.
It's no surprise the Magpies and Hawks lead the relevance ladder despite Richmond averaging higher crowds. As Bastion reports, the Magpies social media numbers "are off the chart".
That the Magpies can afford to invest $1 million into their own television studio, and provide such things as slick club documentaries, provides the club with a major advantage in terms of tailoring specific content to their supporters. The Hawks also have their own - more modest - studio.
The Tigers are a growing power and their hold is only likely to grow should they win their first final this year since 2001.
The Blues are an intriguing case study. While their crowds and membership are well off the top four sides, they had more Twitter and Facebook engagement than the Tigers and their average television audiences weren't too far behind the Hawks.
The same can be said about the Bombers. Record membership and healthy average attendances (although these dipped as the season unfolded and coach James Hird left) combined with Twitter and Facebook numbers second only to Collingwood show supporters have remained engaged despite the struggles on the field and the on-going supplements scandal.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/is-your-afl-club-relevant-in-2015-we-have-the-answer-20150902-gjdipe.html
