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The Southend United Program debate.

What is your choice on matchday programme provision?


  • Total voters
    170
  • Poll closed .
I'm not a program buyer unless it's the big cup games that I'll buy one and put it away for keeps sake.

It just shows how out of touch this new CEO is with the fans. The whole match day experience for so many people (and has been for the last 100 years), to buy a program, sit down and read it before the game. He does realise not everyone is 30-40 years old and reads there phone all the time right?

If this is his way forward, he can do one, he'll be taking away the fun for our older fans.
 
The thing about improvement is that it takes time to change something that has been in need of change for a long time. So maybe it's a bit early to judge just yet, especially when you are trying to move things forward with bugger all finances as a starting point.
 
Whether we think it will save the planet or not clubs like all businesses will be expected to demonstrate actions to reduce environmental impact. I’d have thought a far bigger costs saving and paperlite impact would be to move over to digital tickets like we had a Wealdstone. No more printing and posting, no more queues at the ticket office and reduced staff cost. Will no doubt require some initial investment but a bigger impact that the programme saga.

They should try cleaning the toilets, the gases from toilets into the air far outways a paper waste.
 
I'm not a program buyer unless it's the big cup games that I'll buy one and put it away for keeps sake.

It just shows how out of touch this new CEO is with the fans. The whole match day experience for so many people (and has been for the last 100 years), to buy a program, sit down and read it before the game. He does realise not everyone is 30-40 years old and reads there phone all the time right?

If this is his way forward, he can do one, he'll be taking away the fun for our older fans.
You don't usually buy a programme but the CEO is out of touch for thinking most people don't buy programmes anymore? (Let's be honest that's the reason he's trying to phase them out, it's not because of the environment.)
 
Have the club also stopped the 50/50 draw? Although it was never really that successful, prize of only £250ish compared to other clubs including non league. Still, £250 a game is better than nothing for the club. It looks as if we are concentrating on where we can cut rather than where we can increase income. Surely doing both should be the project.
 
Have the club also stopped the 50/50 draw? Although it was never really that successful, prize of only £250ish compared to other clubs including non league. Still, £250 a game is better than nothing for the club. It looks as if we are concentrating on where we can cut rather than where we can increase income. Surely doing both should be the project.
I guess so, there's no BlueBelles now to sell the tickets!
 
You don't usually buy a programme but the CEO is out of touch for thinking most people don't buy programmes anymore? (Let's be honest that's the reason he's trying to phase them out, it's not because of the environment.)

Not at all, it's my observation where I see lot's of people buy them. Just because I don't doesn't mean others don't.
 
Have the club also stopped the 50/50 draw? Although it was never really that successful, prize of only £250ish compared to other clubs including non league. Still, £250 a game is better than nothing for the club. It looks as if we are concentrating on where we can cut rather than where we can increase income. Surely doing both should be the project.
The 50/50 is what I miss the most, although I'm always rather surprised when you'd go somewhere with a 1/3 of our average attendance, e.g Fleetwood, and their prize funds would be double ours....
 
If I buy a programme it will only be a physical version.

And the poll suggests I'm not the only one that thinks like that.

I agree.

I was also thinking about the sponsors and companies who pay good money to have there product advertised on a match day programme.

If I was one of the above, I wouldn't be happy at all with the limitation to my potential customer..... This CEO is doing a great job of pushing away businesses from investing in advertisment. He sounds like a right clown to me.

He won't be here long that's for sure.
 
I agree.

I was also thinking about the sponsors and companies who pay good money to have there product advertised on a match day programme.

If I was one of the above, I wouldn't be happy at all with the limitation to my potential customer..... This CEO is doing a great job of pushing away businesses from investing in advertisment. He sounds like a right clown to me.

He won't be here long that's for sure.
That is your opinion but do you actually know that's the case? It seems to me that we have had several new sponsors, including Solopress that are a main club sponsor for the North Stand and are the Club's official print partner.
 
This is an interesting topic.

The club can easily work out the margin on each program sold. The decision would not have been made if the margin were high enough. It must be very small.

What is also difficult is selling advertising space. This is very hard.

Last year Argos got rid of The Book of Dreams (they tried it before and failed). Not had an effect on the sales at all. All those who wanted to keep the printed version simply went online.

We have to accept that if something makes little return why should the club do it?

And by a return, I mean more than money, a holistic return. For example goodwill.

I don't think in the long run it will be missed.

It is likely that the club will print programs for special events.
 
That is your opinion but do you actually know that's the case? It seems to me that we have had several new sponsors, including Solopress that are a main club sponsor for the North Stand and are the Club's official print partner.

I think you've highlighted the wrong part RHB. By his actions, companies won't want to sponsor or advertise (in the programme) if it's not distributed to the wider Southend fan base on match day.
 
Year on year advertising spend on printed media has been falling for 5 years.


This is probably the root cause of the program being discontinued.

The simple truth (inconvenient to us fans) is that we simply did not buy it in the quantities needed to make it viable.

To sell the program at cost would probably make us all swear and rant at the price of it.

Cannot win!!
 
I get why the collectors want to keep it and others like to maintain a tradition but things change and print will be less and less. Most of us read the echo online, lots of trade journals no longer have print runs and even the big nationals do far more online now.

It’s not just print. Streaming has significantly reduced CD sales and sometimes the tide is just too strong.
I commented to @Shrimpergarry on Sat about how impressed I was with the advertising this year. Not knowing the prices but we have lots of ground and kit sponsors. I’m most intrigued how he got a Swindon based medical software company to sponsor the East stand. I just can’t see what’s in it for them.
 
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