There are several topics here on attendances, TV rights, double headers, media coverage etc which basically centre on the prominence of GAA sports.

While there are competitive issues related to fact that other sports are at more intense competitive phase, I think that marketing has a key role to play and is neglected by GAA.

Even the pre-season competitions saw good crowds; eg Armagh/Tyrone, Dubs/Meath and there have been some excellent crowds for Mayo, Kerry, Dublin, Donegal, Tyrone football and Dubs, Cats, Clare, Cork hurling. And what is more the games themselves have been worth the entry fee.

My question is why not put more effort and money into attracting more people? The IRFU can fill Thomond and RDS and even occasionally the Aviva, for pro 12 games. Why? Because they create a bit of a buzz around them and make people interested in them. Like the Americans with NBA and baseball, even where games are not necesscarily of crucial importance, they make them into events. In the States the local NBA and NFL and MLB teams and even college teams are identified with their home city and towns.

Here, we are almost apologetic about the fact that Cork and Kilkenny hurlers, and Tyrone and Mayo and Dublin footballers and others, are inextricably linked to the sense of the places they are from.

Dublin GAA people threw a strop about Leinster rugby laying claim to the 'boys in blue' and attaching glamour to their team. I know some Limerick and Cork people feel similarly about Munster. My attitude is fair play to them. Take a leaf out of their book rather than mutter in the corner. If we think we have a better product then sell the jaysus thing! When first round league games in Croke Park were properly marketed they filled the place twice and got over 50,000 on others. Instead of building on that we sat on our laurels.

There is an old Irish saying "Dá mbeadh gúth gabhair agat, bí I lár an margadh." If you have a dog to sell, sell it!

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 04/03/2015 10:21:37    1699038

Hurlingdub,

Fair enough points made re marketing and part of me agrees with you.

However, I read this article yesterday from Joe Brolly, you or others may have already read it

I wondered does he have a point and tbh i think im siding more with his argument, its a bit heart wrenching in the beginning particularly if you have kids of your own but i can see where hes going with it. Do we really want to continue to chase corporate sponsorship and money to the detriment of the club and community?

Anyhow if you havent read it i would recommend you do. In my eyes for all his irritating faults and occasional rants he is a good man with a good heart who wants the best for the GAA and what it represents to our people.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/joe-brolly-more-people-went-to-mass-in-donnybrook-than-watched-the-all-ireland-final-on-sky-31030958.html

bumpernut (Antrim) - Posts: 1852 - 04/03/2015 10:38:35    1699045

Ive been saying this for years. I think because the GAA makes so much money from All Ireland Semi's and Finals that they dont worry about marketing league/provincial games. I think the huge gap from September to January gives other sports more exposure. There was no GAA publicity over the winter. The only news was negativity about a large number of playing retiring. The GAA are intersted in concerts and American Football than marketing league/championship

HughHunt24 (Cork) - Posts: 841 - 04/03/2015 10:43:19    1699046

Fair play Hurling, great topic. Not only do The Yanks have a sense of place about their sports, they are part of their culture and they market them well to visitors. There are plenty of empty seats at games in Croke Park each summer unless the Dubs are playing or it's the All Ireland final. Why don't they encourage more tourists to go to games? If they can offer tax back on goods bought by tourists why not tax back on tickets. Would also be good for pubs,shops, restaurants, taxis etc near those grounds. Someone posted here recently that there were tourists at a Dublin hurling game (I think) recently and they heard about the game in the Jameson distillery. Fair play to whoever thought to market the game there. Imagine if the GAA made more effort in marketing of the games we're so proud of.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7344 - 04/03/2015 10:53:28    1699050

You make my point more succinctly than I did Hugh! GAA is far too smug about the Summer crowds when a bit more effort and money would raise hugely the prominence of the games at this time of the year. And it is not as though we would be trying to sell people a pup. The quality and intensity of games so far has been excellent so more people should know about then and be given chance to see them. I am constantly amazed by number of people who don't know that Dublin are playing league games. Fair enough, you might depict them as casual supporters rather than the regulars who will be there anyway. My point is that those casuals or eventers could be attracted given the right sort of advertising. We are competing with a huge array of counter attractions but a visit to Croker or Pair Uí Rinn or Castlebar of Nowlan Park is not exactly prohibitive! And more importantly is far better entertainment than most other attractions, live or otherwise.

Green and Red, good point regarding Americans. They are intensely proud of their teams and sports, even the bad teams, and they actively market games to visitors. We are nearly embarrassed about them it seems. I am sports fanatic but some of most memorable visits abroad have been to local sports events, even in sports I would be pretty ignorant about.

Bumper, I have great time for Joe Brolly and it was very moving article, the part about the wee lad in Derry. I would argue that proper marketing would actually get away from the corporate media stuff he went on to, as you are primarily selling bums on seats, not TV rights. But they are mutually beneficial. More people go to games, the more interest there is, and the more the media will cover them.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 04/03/2015 11:07:33    1699059

but I have come to the way of thinking the gaa currently does that they would be wasting money marketing league games
because of the fact that any point I have made on hoganstand realting to all three games in the league in football I attended
the simple reply from 90% of posters is its only february or march
and what do you expect this time of year
or sure its nothing to worry about this time of year
the attitude of the people who go to the league is to put it down and make it of little importance
then why on earth would the gaa throw money at promoting the thing
as any new recurits they would get would immediatly be put off by listening to people beside them at the ground
reduce the importance of the game they just watched to shadow boxing.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 04/03/2015 12:03:55    1699088

04/03/2015 12:03:55
hill16no1man
County: Dublin
Posts: 9335

1699088 but I have come to the way of thinking the gaa currently does that they would be wasting money marketing league games
because of the fact that any point I have made on hoganstand realting to all three games in the league in football I attended
the simple reply from 90% of posters is its only february or march
and what do you expect this time of year
or sure its nothing to worry about this time of year
the attitude of the people who go to the league is to put it down and make it of little importancethen why on earth would the gaa throw money at promoting the thing
as any new recurits they would get would immediatly be put off by listening to people beside them at the ground
reduce the importance of the game they just watched to shadow boxing.

I blame GAA for that for continuling thinkering with the league espcially in hurling

HughHunt24 (Cork) - Posts: 841 - 04/03/2015 14:05:54    1699144

the odd thing about that is the media and profile hype around division 1a has increased
and attendances are up in the hurling division 1a
but in terms of actually winning it sure its easier to win it being in division 1b
you play weaker teams yet still get to the same stage as one of the division 1a teams after playing harder teams
you will still get the same beinfits as you could aim to peak for the knockout stages of the league

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 04/03/2015 14:28:54    1699157

It's not just the supporters who put little or no importance in the league. At the launch a few weeks ago TJ Ryan was interviewed and when a leading question was put to him about promotion being important TJ said "no. Not really." The interviewer was obviously there to push the importance if the league so he pushed on with the same line of questioning and TJ kept giving variations of the same answer.

After Limerick played Waterford in the first round 3 weeks ago Derek McGrath was asked the same thing and gave the exact same answer as TJ. He said the only thing suffering in Waterford by them being in 1b are the county board coffers. And he said he is happy to tip away and get to a 1/4 final and wasn't pushed with promotion.

Both those interviews are available on this site somewhere.

So to say the GAA should pump money into marketing the league is a bit of a simplistic view. Why pump money to attract fans who don't care about it when the managers/players themselves don't care about it?

mike03 (Limerick) - Posts: 2000 - 04/03/2015 15:30:49    1699175