& & /0(#)!)'1&)2&"-"!.$'"32&402)'"225& & & 6"*'&(*!1"%%2&1*("&

Transcription

1 "#$%$'#$($%)$'*+*,%)-)%. /0(#))'1)2"-".$'"32402)'"225 6"*'(*1"%%21*(" 20'6*.78%9:0'"7;<;

2 Contents 1. Executive Summary page 3 2. Introduction page 4 3. Objectives page 5 4. Strategies page 6 5. Evaluation page 8 6. Conclusion page 16 "

3 1. Executive Summary The Demons District Football Umpires Association (DDFUA) has recently completed a significant promotional activity targeted at promoting the Umpiring is Everyone s Business message to grass-roots football in the Demons District. This promotional activity involved AFL Umpire Dean Margetts umpiring a game of local under 17s football during the AFL split-round break. Dean returned to his original junior district to umpire a game between Gosnells JFC and Kenwick JFC on Sunday 27 th June This promotional activity was designed to achieve a number of important objectives, which are detailed below. The most significant of these was to promote umpiring in the Demons District and the Umpiring is Everyone s Business campaign to the general public. A significant amount of media publicity was associated with this event, which is also detailed below. This news coverage focussed primarily on the Internet and the local community. However, state-wide coverage was also garnered through stories on Ten News and The Western Front. This promotional activity also relied heavily on the emerging partnerships between the DDFUA, the Demons District and the junior clubs. The host club, Gosnells JFC, went to great lengths to ensure that the Umpire AFL message was promoted on gameday. It was a considerable achievement to see how the competing clubs, officials and spectators embraced this campaign. It was truly a great day for football in the community. DDFUA President Daniel Gibbons 14 July 2010 #

4 2. Introduction The Demons District Football Umpires Association (DDFUA) is an incorporated association based in the southeast metropolitan area of Western Australia. It is home to all field umpires officiating the game of AFL football in the Demons District. The Demons District is under the jurisdiction of the Perth Football Development Council and covers an area extending from South Perth to Gosnells. This project had its genesis two or three years ago when the DDFUA approached AFL umpire Dean Margetts with the suggestion that he returns to his original junior district to umpire a game. At the start of 2010 this idea was developed further and it was suggested that the split-round break was the perfect time for Dean to return to grass-roots football. This idea also coincided with the AFL s Umpiring is Everyone s Business campaign. This campaign highlights that umpiring is a shared responsibility, encouraging all participants to have a role in creating positive match day environments. As a result, it was thought that this promotional game would be a worthy and significant contribution to the campaign. The game would also be used to recognise the considerable achievements that have been made in the District over the past two years. The recruitment and retention of junior umpires has become a strong focus of the District and definite steps have been taken to ensure that junior football is played in an environment that is fun and safe for all involved. This game would be a testament to that achievement. $

5 3. Objectives This promotional activity was designed to achieve the following objectives: Promote umpiring in the district in a unique way Increase the profile of umpiring by having the game covered by local and state media representatives Promote grass-roots football in the Demons District by ensuring that the game is well attended and publicised Promote the Demons District s commitment to the Umpiring is Everyone s Business campaign through its association with the game Demonstrate the AFL WAFC s commitment to grass-roots football through its association with the game Promote the two participating clubs and allow them to use the event to further their interests %

6 4. Strategies 4.1 Planning This promotional activity was a couple of years in the making but quickly took shape at the start of After the initial idea was formed the DDFUA created a proposal document that outlined the promotional activity, its objectives and sought approval from the relevant bodies. Once approval was given, further progressions were made in regards to planning the activity. It was intended that Dean Margetts would umpire on one week of the splitround, however, it was not known which weekend he would be available for. Thus it was necessary to plan for two options. The most crucial part of this was selecting the clubs that were to be involved in the game. Two separate fixtures were chosen and two proposal documents were created. These were then submitted to those clubs and we appealed for their support in this promotion. Initially, we believed that Dean would receive notification of his availabilities the week before the start of the split-round. Thus, we were anticipating having to make quick arrangements with the chosen host club once we knew what game Dean would be umpiring. However, the AFL Umpiring Department gave its umpires approximately four weeks notice of what game they would be umpiring. This enabled us to provide certainty to the clubs involved and made it much easier to commence planning with the host club, Gosnells JFC. Without this prior warning, it would have been much harder to plan and promote this event. 4.2 Pre-Game Once the details of the game were set in place, it was necessary for it to be promoted. A media release was created and this was submitted to a number of state and local media outlets. We also used some contacts within the AFL industry to submit the media release to a number of websites, including the AFL website. Gosnells JFC also played an important role in the pre-game planning of this event. John MacMilllan was given management of this promotion on behalf of Gosnells JFC and did an inordinate amount of work to ensure that this activity was a success. He approached the local newspapers, which led to the Gosnells Examiner and the Comment News showing interest in this promotion. Both newspapers approached the DDFUA for access to Dean and consequently articles appeared in both publications and also on the Community Newspapers website. John also utilised some personal contacts to approach The Western Front to film the game for Channel Ten. The Western Front producer rang the DDFUA the day before the game to confirm that they would be attending. As a result there was a story on Channel Ten news on the Tuesday following the game and that story also appeared on The Western Front a week after the game. It had been hoped that a major news outlet would show interest in this event and having Channel Ten promote the game and what we were attempting to achieve was a significant part of this promotion. Prior to game-day, all relevant bodies (Demons District, WAFC) received notification of the game details so those people could attend and support the promotion.

7 4.3 Game-Day On the day, Gosnells exceeded all expectations in its efforts to welcome Dean. It had painted a Welcome Dean banner which hung on the outer scoreboard, had made up an Umpiring is Everyone s Business printed banner and had hired a council flashing sign that read a number of messages including Welcome Dean and Respect, Support, Thanks. The DDFUA also sought other promotional material from WAFC Umpiring that were placed around the ground and all club officials wore Umpire AFL merchandise. The Umpiring is Everyone s Business message saturated the ground, which was a unique sight to see. '

8 5. Evaluation An assessment of the promotional activity against the desired objectives is outlined below. 5.1 Promote umpiring in the district in a unique way It was determined that having an AFL umpire officiate a game of junior football during the AFL season was an unprecedented achievement in Australia. It was a totally unique activity that highlighted umpiring with the Demons District prior to, and during, the game. It promoted umpiring to the junior clubs involved and to the wider district community. Furthermore, it allowed the DDFUA to highlight its existing umpires who are rapidly becoming accomplished and experienced umpires. 5.2 Increase the profile of umpiring by having the game covered by local and state media representatives There was extensive media coverage of the game and details of the promotional activity appeared in a number of media outlets. The following articles appeared on various websites: 1. Article on AFL website: (

9 2. Article on AFL Community Club website: 3. Article on WAFC website: )

10 5. Article on AFLUA website: 6. Article on Perth Demons website: *+

11 7. Article on Community Newspapers Group website: **

12 The following articles appeared in written publications: 1. Article in WAFL Budget (19 June 2010): 2. Article in Gosnells Examiner (24 June 2010): *"

13 3. Article in Comment News (22 June 2010): *#

14 The following promotions appeared on the radio: 1. Interview with Dean Margetts on SportFM Morning Show (23 June 2010) Link to podcast 2. Interview 882 6PR - Bouncing Around (27 June 2010) The following footage appeared on television: 1. Channel Ten News (29 June 2010) 2. The Western Front - Channel Ten (3 July 2010) Link to episode 5.3 Promote grass-roots football in the Demons District by ensuring that the game is well attended and publicised This promotion was largely focussed on promoting umpiring within the District, however, we always attempted to emphasise the two participating clubs and how they have embraced the Umpiring is Everyone s Business message. This promotional event would not have been as successful without the strong support of Gosnells JFC and Kenwick JFC. Those clubs also had already proven to be strong supporters of umpiring in the District and thus were great choices to be the participating teams. This event had tremendous promotional value and, as mentioned, drew significant interest from the media. These stories, particularly the stories on Channel Ten, showed the participating clubs in a good light and people would have recognised how unique it would have been to see two clubs so strongly supporting umpiring. In an effort to draw a large crowd the details of the game were included in all the media and promotional material published prior to the date. This ensured that people were fully informed of game details in order for them to attend. 5.4 Promote the Demons District s commitment to the Umpiring is Everyone s Business campaign through its association with the game The DDFUA attempted to position the game as a celebration or testament to how the Demons District has embraced the Umpiring is Everyone s Business message. The media release emphasised the measures that have been put in place over the last couple of years to ensure that junior football is played in a safe and fun environment for all. This fact was mentioned in most of the news articles promoting the game was a key message that we attempted to communicate at all times. We attempted to recognise the fact that the Demons District had identified the abuse of umpires as a critical problem affecting the recruitment and retention of umpires and had taken a number of steps to address this. The fact that over the last year, the number of umpires in the District has grown by about 160% demonstrates the success of those measures. This game was to serve as a celebration of that and a testament to the values that the Umpiring is Everyone s Business campaign exalts and that those within the Demons District had already embraced many of these prior to the 2010 season. *$

15 5.5 Demonstrate the AFL WAFC s commitment to grass-roots football through its association with the game The Umpiring is Everyone s Business campaign is a great initiative from the AFL and WAFC. The DDFUA was extremely happy to make a contribution to this campaign by holding this promotional event. The WAFC and AFL also gained some great publicity through its support of the game and it was undoubtedly a great day for AFL in the community. However, it would not have been possible without the support of the AFL and WAFC. Most significantly, they supported Dean Margetts involvement in the game and gave him all the necessary help to ensure that he could participate in the promotion. WAFC Umpiring also provided a significant amount of promotional materials and giveaways, which showed its support of the event and umpiring in the Demons District. 5.6 Promote the two participating clubs and allow them to use the event to further their interests The DDFUA had a few key objectives to achieve as a result of this promotional activity. It was not possible to achieve these objectives without the support of the participating clubs. Consequently, the DDFUA felt that those clubs should be able to use the event in a way that also benefits its club. The participating clubs had already been given some excellent promotion in the lead up to the game but it was also hoped that the activity would provide them some tangible benefits as well. It was particularly hoped that the host club, Gosnells JFC, would benefit from holding this event by increasing the number of people attending the game. Gosnells JFC viewed this as a significant fundraiser for the club and consequently an important event for them. There was a significantly bigger crowd than usual for a home and away match and it probably rivalled a finals size crowd, which was an excellent outcome for all involved. *%

16 6. Conclusion The DDFUA believes that the Dean Margetts game was a very successful promotional activity that made a significant contribution to the Umpiring is Everyone s Business campaign in the Demons District and Western Australia. The Umpiring is Everyone s Business campaign stresses that that umpiring is everyone's business- whether you are a coach, player, parent, administrator, support, we all have a role to play in creating positive match day environments. This promotional activity showed that grass-roots football values the role of the umpire in the game and that the Demons District has taken strong steps to ensure that the abuse of umpires is no longer tolerated. It was also a great day for football in the community and was a testament to the partnerships being formed between the DDFUA and other relevant groups. A number of different people made contributions towards this activity and it would not have been successful without the support of the AFL, WAFC, Demons District and the junior clubs. Recognition must also go to Dean Margetts who made the single most significant contribution to this promotion and it would clearly not have been possible without his support. Dean has shown a tremendous commitment to his original junior district over a number of years and this promotion continues that commitment. The DDFUA is completely satisfied with the success of this promotional activity and all the original objectives were achieved. It is very pleased with the amount of media coverage that the activity garnered and believes that this was a valuable promotion for umpiring in the Demons District. The DDFUA hopes that this promotional activity remains as a testament to the tremendous achievements being made in the Demons District and demonstrates the DDFUA s commitment to ensuring that umpiring in the Demons District continues to grow and prosper. *