OK, we all know that one of our main problems at the moment is making our brand an attractive prospect - especially to potential sponsors. Obviously some on field success would help improve our situation, but thinking outside the square, what else can we do? At the moment everyone hates us as we're the "club that cheated it's way through the 90s, and now we're getting what we deserve". We must turn this around. It can be done, I mean shit, even Carlton and Essendon* supporters these days recognise that Collingwood is a good brand... so if they were able to do it, so can we!

Pagan's talked about all the negatives coming out of internet sites at the moment - so here's our chance to be possitive... Let's get the proactive ideas flowing!!

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If meat is murder then yoghurt must be burglary
GO YOU BIG RED FIRE ENGINE
Move aside Kouta, Lance etc - you're holding us back... from entering the under 18s

Winning a game where Murphy, Russell and Hartlett (and any other young'ens) play 3/4 or more will be huge for us. I promise I will write 5 articles on it - and they'll be good for a change!

baby blues, Kids coming through, the 'draft of 2005' - this is where the upside could come from.

ps wolfy can you arrange to get tyrants net access at telstra please

Baby Blues is spot on. Everyone seems to forget (or needs reminding) that we have one of the youngest lists in the AFL. Hawthorn forever get credit for being on the right track on-field (forgetting off-field for now), but not us.

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"I had to eat"

Waits patiently for the sack Pagan posts to stream in...

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Richard Pratt - A Carlton legend.

nice work Wolfy....

for a start (and I think this has been touched upon elsewhere) get rid of Collo. Thanks for your help but lets get a young president, media friendly, with good connections to sell the brand at every opportunity (sounds familiar to someone!) While we are at it, lets get a CEO who has a crack. Have a look at what Campbell Rose is doing at the Bulldogs. That Whitten Oval redevelopment is going to be a beauty. They are making something of it, rather than palming it off as too hard. Princes park is prime real estate, close to Uni, city etc. It is underutilised to the s'house.

The club needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 00's. Everytime I have contact with the club I come away with a negative impression (membership stuff ups, a club shop off Lygon Street that looks like an op shop).

GO BLUEBOYS

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I support Carlton, Fulham and I'm an accountant - my mate calls me a 3 time loser.

Media/business savvy people on the board.

Case in point - Eddie McGuire. Took a struggling, shit club and turned them into a powerful brand that the sponsors are kicking down the door to sponsor.

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Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

The leaders around the club must convey, to the other players (especially the middle tier players like Houlihan, Scotland, etc) the importance of giving 100% commitment to the team each time they step on to the ground.

The club is in a disastrous position, both on and off field and unless we can achieve some on-field success, the ability to effectively market and brand the famous navy blue will be lost forever. Without a good / attractive brand, sponsorship $$ just won't flow. It is true that all the information about the club is in the press, but the senior players and even some of the up and comers (e.g. Waite, Fisher, etc) must band together to summarize and deliver a clear, concise and yet simple message to the other players on what the current situation is and how it will impact on each of their playing futures and how important it is to work together as a team to achieve on-field success. They all need a wake up call.

I feel the desperation, team spirit and hunger to win is just not there. In the Parkin days, themes such as team work were strongly in-grained into the heads of each player and more often than not, it helped overcome many talent / skill deficiencies that we had and actually won us games. Kouta is the only remaining premiership player on the team and was under the Parkin regime. I hope he can share some of that knowledge to the players.

Even if we get back in the black financially, without on-field success, we will be no-where. that is the bottom line. The fate of the club is in the player's hand and they can and will play a big part in moulding our future.

This gives the McNamee push more credence

http://www.talkingcarlton.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8642

Can we afford him?

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If meat is murder then yoghurt must be burglary
GO YOU BIG RED FIRE ENGINE
Move aside Kouta, Lance etc - you're holding us back... from entering the under 18s

can we not afford him, would be my response (given he has the right credentials etc)

Sometimes you've got to spend a bit to make a lot.

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This might sound extreme in the context of alleged sexual assault, drunken violence and a drug trafficking charge...

To simplify things a little, Collingwood is a good brand because it is aligned with the face of television. Everytime you see Eddie he's banged on about Collingwood so much that you think of Collingwood the moment you spot him on the box. This is no way denying or meaning to take away any of the sterling work he and his staff have done to follow through with these advantages, but it will be interesting to see how well Collingwood's succession plan works when he leaves, which will be sooner rather than later.

That said, I'd love to have someone flying the flag for us and all but quashing any thoughts of negative spin as Eddie has done in the past.

Baby Blues is a good positive image, it portrays a new Carlton, but the Baby angle isn't enough IMO, and it's been done. We need to focus on the great things that make Carlton unique and ram that home like there's no tomorrow. Trouble is, at this point in time that is probably our history. The History. Future. line was actually pretty good. Workshop that for a bit and we might be on to something.

Where Eddie has been so good is in being able to deliver on his promises. Once he got himself established, people knew he'd be a pretty safe risk because he had the means with which to give good value to his new sponsors. They really have been fighting way above the benchmark for any other club while he's been so prominent on TV.

We can come up with the greatest marketing plan in the world, but unless we can deliver, either on field or off, we'll always be pushing shit up hill I reckon.

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I can't believe I'm going to say this, but these seem to be dire times.

Your avatar got me thinking camel.

Doesn't the scum have some kind of link with ManU?

What about us forming some kind of a link with Chelsea?

The publicity of a deal like this would be fantastic for the club.

And if Roman can give us any spare change he's got in his pocket, we'd be out of debt.

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I AM DISENFRANCHISED

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#DonTheStash

Some good points made in here by all posters. What we need is a vision. One of the things McGuire was so successful at was selling the vision for his club.

For example, in press conferences like those recently, when questions are asked about our current situation, turn it around. "We are not here to apportion blame, but to talk about our vision for the future. Carlton is a strong brand and we will be rebuilding that brand over the next 5 years."

Talk about the new talent at the club, talk about our positive relationship with the AFL, sell the media the new look training ground with great facilities.

The club must develop a successful vision of itself in the future, and then constantly and consistently repeat it and sell it. The media then becomes a powerful aid for rebuilding the brand and attracting members and sponsors.

And I'd sell this "Rebuilding Carlton" concept to every financial institute in Australia and try and improve on the deal with the NAB. We should try and reduce our interest by offering the NAB (and if they don't play ball) the opportunity to be our "financial partner". Guarantee them mentions on the club press releases and in interview through the media. Give the institutes the opportunity to appear benevolent in supporting a struggling club.

I'd also sell the same message to potential sponsors. This approach has the following benefits;

1) It makes the club look like it has a vision for the future
2) It provides a vision that members and sponsors want to be involved in
3) It makes the club look magnanimous by not blaming the previous board for the current situation
4) It takes the focus off the negative and onto the positive

Its all about selling a message and giving a positive perception.
Whats our message that we have been pushing?
Its "we are broke!!!!..."

Its one bad story in the paper after another... its players on drugs.. its vice captains and ex players bagging the club... its salary cap rorts..its tax situations... court cases... splits in the club between factions... wooden spoons..fat players... it goes on and on...

But the club has been slow to put good news stories out there.. manufacture them... get involved in the community,... start by going to a hospital and making sire the papers are there.... then to say a vietnamese school.. or a muslim school.. and teaching them footy..

That doesnt cost anything....!!!

you can get involved in Jarusas site...!!!

There are a million and one ways to get the name out there that doesnt cost a thing.

I remember the call for volunteers...dannyboy and molesy and a few others have helped and thats great.
But i know so many others that have put their names forward along with their particular craft and they have never even heard a thank you.

Doors were locked on weekend training.
Staff look disinterested.

It goes on and on.. but all these little things kill the brand...

You want enthusiastic staff because theyre youre front line...!!!!

Thats such a simple thing but it seems not at Carlton.

You cant blame morale around the place just on money!!!!.. there needs to be some people management too...

There is not enough thats right about the place currently on or off field and thats why were struggling.

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I think we need to change the public image of the club. These days we use Kouta, Fatboy and Fevola as the player brand. They are seen as overpaid yesterday's players and Fev is usually in the media for all the wrong reasons.

Collo is a bit old and grey to promote against the Eddies of the comp.

Youth is the only way to go. Murphy, Waite, Fisher, Carrazzo etc should be marketed as "The Young Guns" - the future of the club. When they kick in they will give us years of great positive image to ride on.

Remember the mileage the club got out of the "Mosquito Fleet" in the late 70's/early 80's? Cattogio, Buckley, Harmes, Sheldon and co gave us an unique marketing image that lasted for years.

Clearly we are at the same point of the brand cycle...

Where do I send my invoice??..

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"...that's the thing about opinion - you don't have to know anything to have one..." Andre Agassi commenting on Pat Cash 2004
"...the less you know - the more you believe..." - Bono 2006

lets sack pagan


i dont think anyone would care so much about whether we win or lose, we just need to play an attractive and competitive brand of football. we sucked hard on the weekend, and it wasnt that we lost by 99 points, it wasnt that port was the better team...we put more pressure on ourselves than we put on our opponent. still, lets wait for the season proper before we blame our gameplans and strategy...

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R A D I C A L B R O T H E R S

Inspired by the One-Minute Sculptures of Erwin Wurm

"All in all is all we are..."

The membership brochure featured Betts, Simpson, Walker, Waite, Stevens, last year's recruits, Kouta. No sign of Fev, Whitnall.

As a marketing person I do not like the "Something Blue..."campaign..the sticker on my car just doesn't move people or send a message of some meaning. I loved the "History; Future campaign" as it said something of our heritage.

All the Carlton hardbacks in the shop and in my bookcase have a great story to tell....especially when Sydneysiders ask me why I named my son Carlton....I refer to those books and the history moves them.

Ideas/ Messages that could be considered:

Let the public know who we are, what we have achieved and where we are going....I'm not just talking exclusively for Melbournians. Give those without a team some encouragement to choose Carlton.

*"150 years ago a Melbourne suburb.....founding club" (ride on the growth of aussie rules Australia wide), and tell the public who we are and where we come from...
furthermore attempt to touch the 600,000 Carlton supporters in this country...and get some of them on board, give them a sense of belonging...and give them an avenue to donate $1 or $5 in their own suburb/town wherever in Aust. Find voluntary reps in every town, in every city...all we have to do is ask people "do you know of any Carlton supporters in Penrith....Who may they be...do you know how I could get in contact with them?" Grassroots stuff starts small.

*working class roots...won 3 in a row... against the odds....45-68 No Flags and out of the depths of despair won flags...68, 70, 72...

*most people do not know that Carlton have won the most VFL/AFL premierships. I still have this argument with Melbournians.

*and now after our recruiting we are on the verge again...

*Refer to our heroes; names like Walls, Barassi, Jezza that people have heard of, and highlight names of our greats...Big Nick, Kernahan, Williams, Silvagni, Braddleyt...in TVC's, ie make a big deal of them again. Get dads to bring in their kids to volunteer time and feel part of the club. Fix up the hall of fame. Have a Hall of Fame legend associated with community deeds. "current young blue, Fisher the Big Nick Legend caretaker visits John Brown suffering from..." People love history.

*start a column "where are you now" in local rags, and bring old supporters' focus back to the club by connecting them with their past favourites...and we'll find them....wherever they are....this can be started FOC as a story of interest for smalltime rags, local papers. This can be collated into a magazine format (not necassarily glossy either)...can subscribe to...

* My saying about the blues since 1996 has been "TTHE EMPIRE WILL STRIKE BACK...it's catchy and there's no comeback

*Chelsea FC association is a great idea, as I sort of barrack for them because they were the Blue team in the 60's and they still are....and as mentioned you just never know what may come our way...everyone loves Australia...give them a reason to be involved.

*Target ethnic groups starting with those in close proximity of Princes Park; Brunswick, Fairfield,etc...get them involved. The Calton Vietnamese food festival...

*The big thing going for us right now as I mentioned last week (thread??), that can tail onto the Carlton legends message is the " baby blues ", who cares if that tag was connected to Essendon* in the 80's and again in the 90's...people don't or wont remember it and hey if they do it wouldn't take before the Baby Blues were remembered in the same vein or noted as the team in the 00's...that grew up to win its 17th premiership. (we've got to give our supporters hope, a journey, a sense of belonging, regardless of the fact that a few of TC contributors know better....they have the crystal ball)

* give volunteers a site where they can see people requirements/jobs so they can respond to..........and maybe this will improve the morale of the marketing dept....not having a go, but from my experience it lacks vibe, coordination....they need help...or some added value

*encourage people to call their newborn Carlton, make a bigdeal for the kids...they're our future too...yeah yeah...now I'm going off like a frog in a sock

so I'll stop hear, and get myself a cold one; CARLTON* Draught.

I'm just rattling off ideas without too much thinking through...brainstorming...just to show there's millions of ideas, no such thing as bad ones when brainstorming....we share them, develop them and implemet them.

THE EMPIRE WILL STRIKE BACK

If you look at how Collingwood went from a spoon in 1999 to a commercial powerhouse in the 00's - it was on the back of onfield performances which saw them reach 2 grandfinals. Old, big clubs like us are sleeping giants; for every dedicated supporter there are 3 fairweather fans - when onfield success comes people jump on the bandwagon and the giant awakens. Play good footy and you get good tv coverage, get good coverage and you get good sponsors. 6 figure marketing campaigns can be completely undone by a shoddy performance a practise match. When a club like carlton becomes competitive on the field, the slightest tweaks in the way the club is presented can reap huge financial benefits, until then we are simply trying to sell a product that is of poor quality and little value. And when all this happens.....get a damn captain that promotes the club!! I dont have foxtel so I see Kouta about as much as Bruce Doull. James Hird and Nathan Buckley command respect; Fev has yet to command the English language. Get Brad Fisher some media training please.

I'm already preparing for my kid who will be born in September. Checked the prices at the shop Saturday, found a dummy (for me), a bib, little jacket and jumper and other stuff. Can't wait for that day!!

As for the Chelsea association, if Roman throws in a few million I'm all for it. I'm sure Camel would be happy with that also.

Volunteers site is a great idea. I've always wanted to help out on that front but never had calls returned or was told nothing was available.

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Mjonc signing off at 8888