We averaged around 1,300 in that diabolical last SL season at The Hive. That was down from our previous SL worst of around 2,400 in our last year at The Stoop. The majority of that loss was probably home fans. You could argue it should have been easier to rebuild the home fan base while doing well in the Championship rather than (likely) struggling in SL but there didn't seem to be much effort.

1,500 would seem a reasonable estimate but the number of new home fans is the most important aspect. The club should be gathering as much data as they can.

That's the spirit.......

(It's also the attitude of Mr Hughes, who steadfastly refuses to admit he is ever wrong nor ever made any mistakes).....







101 stuff, but you can be sure it isn't being done as it hasn't for a decade........in fact a couple of decades!

Buzza, it’s been said before, the lure of Batley is not quite as interesting as wigan! Especially for lapsed rugby league fans who may be tempted back.

If you studied our attendance data in Super League you would see a fairly decent correlation between average gates and number of home games won. You might tempt the curious to come and see us play Wigan but will keep more of these coming back if you have competitive games and the enjoyment of some wins. In that respect, the Championship seasons were a good opportunity to grow the fan base but it is a period through which the club remained a well kept secret.

Can’t disagree with that at all, a winning team is always going to get more fans.
But a winning team playing against known RL names eg, Leeds wigan Warrington are always going to draw more than winning against Batley dewsbury and workington

If you think our crowds collapsed because of relegation then you're starting from the wrong place entirely. Attendances fell away massively over a period of years before that. They stabilised in the Championship, were it really was just the hardest of hardcore.

Indeed, crowds went down from about 2010 when our win % and points difference nosedived.

When Wigan, St Helens or Leeds came to town, there was maybe 2 or 3 extra coaches......so 200 more fans than say Wakefield or Wire that came down by coach. Yet, the attendances were significantly higher, (2,000)which points to either more fans making their way south, or expat northern monkeys living in the smoke rocking up to see their "home" town play.

I for one subscribe to the latter scenario and have always said that this is our target audience.......not ANZACS, who to a man will be seen wearing a Wallabies or All Blacks shirt and very rarely the RL equivalent.......neither those who play the amateur game....but expat northerners, who make up the vast majority of our current ST holders are the ones who bring mates.....just Like I was brought by a northerner!

We need to build a match day experience......I remember after match parties at the Stoop and Griffin Park with a decent covers band and 600 or so folk happy to party.....that's the stuff that get's people to come back......not some flat capped northerner shouting "forward" at every set........even losing sides in London have attracted 3,500 averages in SL (2004)...4 home wins and yet we still pulled them in........kind of dumps on your "winning side" scenario that does.....3,500 people at 16 home games paying a score each is a million......not enough to cover Hughes's investment, but it would give us a fair crack at self sufficiency.......but if we vanish back to the 2nd tier this season, we will be lucky to get 500 in 2020......these are the harsh realities of life with our current owner.

Agree with CMG about the after match parties.

Those at the Stoop were brilliant and always packed.

Wasn't Chris? who used to be in Sky the brains behind them.

Always thought he marketed London well and not really been the same since.

Chris Warren, I think he was there until 2007.

I had some disagreements with Chris Warren but he tried very hard to make the club visible.

Here we are, four days out from our first home game back in Super League, and all we've done is send some tweets and host a mid-day stall in the shopping centre.

Let’s ignore the national press coverage

Yes, let's ignore it. A couple of freelance RL journalists writing puff pieces about David Hughes 2 months before the season kicks off does not constitute a marketing strategy! To even suggest otherwise is ridiculous.

Do you think those articles some 10 weeks ago will add one bum on a seat at Trailfinders? In the article in the Standard in November Hughes stated that

......and it would seem that his master plan to attract these 1,000 or 2,000 fans is to do nothing.

He covers our losses, but refuses to try and create a revenue stream that will reduce his input......

It will add at least one bum on seats at Trailfinders yep. Spoke to that bum on Saturday, wigan fan Gloucester fan, stated he will be at Ealing when he can.
If there is one there is more

But NB is ridiculous.

There may be a handful but it doesn't alter the fact that those articles and the bits and pieces that have followed are not enough.

Keep an eye on the standard tomorrow and the nationals, think it’s the times as one, on Saturday.

Upwards of 40 kids at broncos today with regional year 7 finals, all been given 2 free tickets for Cas game as did all the school staff. One school pretty local Richmond, other one a bit for further out, hopefully some of em will use the tickets and get the bug for watching as well as playing.
2 good squads today and some good rugby for the age group. And RL enthusiastic teachers. A couple of budding stars in both teams if they keep playing.

And another Broncos article on BBC sport website today... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/47058303

And another Broncos article on BBC sport website today... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/47058303

Quote ="northernbloke"It will add at least one bum on seats at Trailfinders yep. Spoke to that bum on Saturday, wigan fan Gloucester fan, stated he will be at Ealing when he can. If there is one there is more'" So...to be clear, a fan of Wigan had never attended a London Broncos game or a Harlequins RL game in the last 25 or so years, but is going to sporadically get to Ealing on the back of an article published on November 21st? I call Bull5h on that! Quote ="Torbreck"And another Broncos article on BBC sport website today... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/47058303'" A story about a Pro RL side on the RL section of the BBC is less use than the standard/Guardian bits in November....preaching to the choir isn't marketing.

Quote ="northernbloke"It will add at least one bum on seats at Trailfinders yep. Spoke to that bum on Saturday, wigan fan Gloucester fan, stated he will be at Ealing when he can. If there is one there is more'" So...to be clear, a fan of Wigan had never attended a London Broncos game or a Harlequins RL game in the last 25 or so years, but is going to sporadically get to Ealing on the back of an article published on November 21st? I call Bull5h on that! Quote ="Torbreck"And another Broncos article on BBC sport website today... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/47058303'" A story about a Pro RL side on the RL section of the BBC is less use than the standard/Guardian bits in November....preaching to the choir isn't marketing.

Evening standard tomorrow! Times and one other national on sat!

You calling me a liar dog?

No......but you are assuredly a misguided fool who applauds the owner for his minimal efforts to do anything other than massage his ego. It takes a special kind of stupid to applaud someone who throws £2,000,000 into a hole each year with none of that money actually assigned to plug the hole (or even make it smaller)......it really is Einsteins theory of insanity.

London's "lapsed" fans, offer a direct route to 2,500-3,000 folk who would be prime targets for an invite to come back........that would be a Customer Service/Marketing exercise.....fluffy ego massaging PR calling us the plucky underdogs or even DPS in the Standard would be a waste of money....we're not a wendyball side, we are a niche sport and we need to build from our lapsed fans and our neighbours.....
....if you want to see how it should be done, have a look at the gates London Irish will get when they move into Lionel Road......all the fans who drifted from Reading and left when they went down....they'll be there in droves, because the Exiles have been marketing the 4rse out of their move back to the capital for 6 months already.........emails, tweets, letters.....I've had the lot from them, but in the same period, nothing from the Broncos that would entice me back.

I get it that you are a fan boy of DH........I agree that we're indebted to his generosity, but christ on a bike, he really needs to spend some money on clever marketing. CyberRadio are on our shirts and in return we will get some advertising......it's the ultimate DH deal, as in it costs him nothing. We had an ally at METRO who straight up fell out with Hughes......because DH failed to realise that a little clever spend was the route to lots of free publicity.......we offered a ticket and 6 VB's for £15.00 in 2004 (IIRC) in metro and got the biggest gate that year......over 5k.......so we repeated it......Oh, no....hang on, we didn't.

People like you and Hughes need to cease in your ill informed stance that if the product is good, people will flock to it......they really won't!

All I said was the national press coverage has had an effect on at least one person.
Show me where I applauded anybody!
Have a look at gates at london Irish when! You now sound like a politician saying what will happen with no proof.
On london Irish! Do you think they will get those fans back through marketing? No actually those fans will come back because they don’t have to travel out to Reading that’s totally different.
Try a like for like comparison.
Where do you establish the fact I am a fan of DH? He is the clubs owner and financer without him at mo we don’t exist.
I can’t change that, neither can you. I don’t applaud him, unfortunately you on the other feel the need to criticise him on every thread which gets very dull.
What happened 5 10 15 years ago is gone! We are where we are try enjoying it for a change.

THATS NOT MARKETING!!!