Our Comms Strategy?

[Bill McCai]

Whether or not you agree with the season ticket price increases, or the messaging that came out from the Ask Wolves series - to do it like we have done is very cynical in my opinion. The first we knew about the c7% increase on the season tickets was via an individual email (then todays laughable comparison with Leicester) - the Ask Wolves thing last year was drip fed to us in an understandable manner - today it was almost like a 'bury it all together'. Is this the best our comms guys can do? What happened to 'One Pack'? Who are advising them to do it like this?

 

[Jayjaywolves]

Whether or not you agree with the season ticket price increases, or the messaging that came out from the Ask Wolves series - to do it like we have done is very cynical in my opinion. The first we knew about the c7% increase on the season tickets was via an individual email (then todays laughable comparison with Leicester) - the Ask Wolves thing last year was drip fed to us in an understandable manner - today it was almost like a 'bury it all together'. Is this the best our comms guys can do? What happened to 'One Pack'? Who are advising them to do it like this?

I think Laurie knew what was coming and didn't agree with it, that's why Jeff brought the hammer down super quick with him.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

It was definitely a 'bury it all together'.

As you mentioned and I covered earlier, Vinny Clarke actually lies in his video. If that was the only video out today, which it should be, the response would be furious and rightly so.

However, people will understandably focus on Shi and Lage today and that won't get discussed as much as it should.

 

[Bill McCai]

We may or may not agree with what Bruno/Jeff/Sellars et al say - but to dump it all today without any context - especially considering the season ticket communication (of which there was none until they had to) makes you wonder what the angle is? Are our Marketing guys qualified for the job they are doing?

 

[MattH]

I don't think anyone capable in PR has the power they need at the club.

 

[Finch3d]

There comms is shocking. They go out there way to make videos like today which on face of it sounds good but the way its executed is wrong. Its a shotgun of infornation to digest in one go during season ticket renewal period. In a hope to get us all on board. But they are so removed from a large chunk of fan base by the sounds of it, they end up doing more damage.

The info in the ground redevelopment I thought was quite good and showed things are still in motion. There's plans there, he even said he would LOVE to talk to us about them. Well... what the hell is stopping you. The comms on it is so thin on ground you have no choice but to jump to conclusions and often wrong conclusions.... they could have put the ground development in an club announcnment ages ago. And keep the dialogue with us open. Yet we're left hanging in the dark for a long time speculating over temp stand and such... even trickel the Info out of a period of time to keep the interest and dialogue open. But no... here's a shotgun blast of info in a couple hours worth of videos all at once and likely to be buried and lost if you don't have the time to invest in watching.

 

[WasStefan]

Whether or not you agree with the season ticket price increases, or the messaging that came out from the Ask Wolves series - to do it like we have done is very cynical in my opinion. The first we knew about the c7% increase on the season tickets was via an individual email (then todays laughable comparison with Leicester) - the Ask Wolves thing last year was drip fed to us in an understandable manner - today it was almost like a 'bury it all together'. Is this the best our comms guys can do? What happened to 'One Pack'? Who are advising them to do it like this?

Agree some very bizarre snippets on these ask wolves recordings

 

[RosehillWolf]

It’s been ****e since Dalrymple left. Not much care seems to go into anything to be honest. Like it or lump it I suppose

 

[Bill McCai]

Simply put, it does not feel like we have credible people in some really important (the most important?) roles. I would love to know why the club could not front up about the season ticket increases - the mark of a man with a lack of belief (authority) - Vinny?

 

[Coshamwolves]

It’s been ****e since Dalrymple left. Not much care seems to go into anything to be honest. Like it or lump it I suppose

I don`t think they liked it that Laurie was open about everything

 

[RosehillWolf]

I don`t think they liked it Laurie was open about everything

That’s what we liked about him

 

[Padraig]

We may or may not agree with what Bruno/Jeff/Sellars et al say - but to dump it all today without any context - especially considering the season ticket communication (of which there was none until they had to) makes you wonder what the angle is? Are our Marketing guys qualified for the job they are doing?

If it was full of good news then yes, they’d probably have drip fed it.
You can only work with what you have. They know what they are doing.

 

[Bill McCai]

Do they? It is like the 'Goodbye John' or 'Goodbye Romain' posts they have been putting up recently - following both players own announcements. There is no explanation or comment in either 'story' from Bruno or the club. We are almost consistently on the back foot. Get ahead of the game - own the narrative. It all feels so amateur at the moment - I assume this is to do with the people we have in charge of communications.

 

[JOSWolf]

Whether or not you agree with the season ticket price increases, or the messaging that came out from the Ask Wolves series - to do it like we have done is very cynical in my opinion. The first we knew about the c7% increase on the season tickets was via an individual email (then todays laughable comparison with Leicester) - the Ask Wolves thing last year was drip fed to us in an understandable manner - today it was almost like a 'bury it all together'. Is this the best our comms guys can do? What happened to 'One Pack'? Who are advising them to do it like this?

The only interview I felt any warmth to was Lage's interview and I'm not his biggest fan by any means. The rest, especially Shi and Sellars left me feeling totally disconnected and certainly not part of one pack.

 

[Stoichkov]

I get the impression Jeff is sick of fans moaning, considering what they have done for the club

I agree with him

 

[MattH]

I get the impression Jeff is sick of fans moaning, considering what they have done for the club

I agree with him

Then his best move would be to hire someone who can present the club properly externally. I happen to agree with Fosun's approach all things considered, but Jeff keeps shooting himself in the foot regarding comms. He spoke a lot of sense in the (too long) Ask Wolves vid but that was always going to be buried in the media narrative by naive soundbites on not being as big as Man City, or appearing to criticise "local" fans.

 

[HowfenWolf]

I get the impression Jeff is sick of fans moaning, considering what they have done for the club

I agree with him

Good for you. Other people have different views. In the west we can voice our opinions (frequently through social media) something thats not allowed in totalitarian countries & cultures.The masses just do as they are told almost without question.
If someone promises one thing & delivers something totally different - are people not right to feel aggreived or let down??
Mistakes are made in business & sometimes you have no option but to take it on the chin - same applies to Jeff

 

[Rhoswolf]

Good for you. Other people have different views. In the west we can voice our opinions (frequently through social media) something thats not allowed in totalitarian countries & cultures.The masses just do as they are told almost without question.
If someone promises one thing & delivers something totally different - are people not right to feel aggreived or let down??
Mistakes are made in business & sometimes you have no option but to take it on the chin - same applies to Jeff

Maybe he should open up a reeducation camp at Compton for the dissident legacy fans.

 

[oldgoldheart]

They dont care. Legacy fans are an afterthought. We would need falling attendances before anyone paid attention

 

[oldgoldheart]

Do they? It is like the 'Goodbye John' or 'Goodbye Romain' posts they have been putting up recently - following both players own announcements. There is no explanation or comment in either 'story' from Bruno or the club. We are almost consistently on the back foot. Get ahead of the game - own the narrative. It all feels so amateur at the moment - I assume this is to do with the people we have in charge of communications.

Its almost certainly the comms guys desperately trying to rescue things after jeff has taken action i.e. get rid of ruddy

There is no comms strategy. Its just:

1. Jeff makes decision
2. It gets implemented by nearest yes person
3. Comms rushes about trying to make the best job they can

 

[Leominster_Wolf]

It was definitely a 'bury it all together'.

As you mentioned and I covered earlier, Vinny Clarke actually lies in his video. If that was the only video out today, which it should be, the response would be furious and rightly so.

However, people will understandably focus on Shi and Lage today and that won't get discussed as much as it should.

depends on what you consider lying - or fitting the truth to a narrative.

Vinny said - in terms of gate/ticket revenue Leicester earn more comparative to ground capacity
He said they have a capacity of 1.9% above ours and their gate receipts are more than 1.9% above ours

Looking at the 2019 accounts for both clubs (the last one before covid affected)
Wolves £11.539m
Leicester £14.686m

So what he said is not false they had 27% more gate receipt revenue than Wolves

Obviously that will include corporate packages and also will vary depending on cup games, and make up of fan base demographic. If for example we have a higher percentage OAP or kids tickets, this will lower the overall income comparatively.
But what he said is not an out and out lie, it may be a narrative, it may be fitting the truth to a narrative and her certainly did however muddy the waters with talk of a few 'headline' cheap STs at clubs like west ham etc

I suppose ultimately it comes down to what was said and how. If he skipped the ST prices completely and just spoke about gate receipt income, then it wouldn't be a lie.

 

[Glow69]

Its almost certainly the comms guys desperately trying to rescue things after jeff has taken action i.e. get rid of ruddy

There is no comms strategy. Its just:

1. Jeff makes decision
2. It gets implemented by nearest yes person
3. Comms rushes about trying to make the best job they can

Yeah let's all do this because we've got rid of a keeper whose been a calamity for 3 years.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

depends on what you consider lying - or fitting the truth to a narrative.

Vinny said - in terms of gate/ticket revenue Leicester earn more comparative to ground capacity
He said they have a capacity of 1.9% above ours and their gate receipts are more than 1.9% above ours

Looking at the 2019 accounts for both clubs (the last one before covid affected)
Wolves £11.539m
Leicester £14.686m

So what he said is not false they had 27% more gate receipt revenue than Wolves

Obviously that will include corporate packages and also will vary depending on cup games, and make up of fan base demographic. If for example we have a higher percentage OAP or kids tickets, this will lower the overall income comparatively.
But what he said is not an out and out lie, it may be a narrative, it may be fitting the truth to a narrative and her certainly did however muddy the waters with talk of a few 'headline' cheap STs at clubs like west ham etc

I suppose ultimately it comes down to what was said and how. If he skipped the ST prices completely and just spoke about gate receipt income, then it wouldn't be a lie.

No he’s a liar and should be hung from the mon on a hoss in town accordingly

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

Always amuses me how much someone’s worth increases once they leave the club. Thelwell was ridiculed for his dossiers and now he’s the greatest DOF in world football and now Dalrymple is held up as some media mogul when several ITK have stated (including myself) that within the club he was universally disliked and known for being useless and what he did. The fact he’s gone from the most watched league in the world to a tier 3 sporting league at best tells you his worth or lack of

 

[wolvesjoe]

I get the impression Jeff is sick of fans moaning, considering what they have done for the club

I agree with him

I dont see that at all. Fans want the best possible for their club, and can see obvious areas
where rich owners could make a difference, esp, with Molineux.

There may be a few who dont understand FFP and its broad impact, but most people get it.

All the nonsense about virtual fans making a huge difference doesnt fool the fanbase, so they
rightly perceive it as BS.

Criticism is part of the civic dialogue and Jeff Shi and his team just have to accept that.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

depends on what you consider lying - or fitting the truth to a narrative.

Vinny said - in terms of gate/ticket revenue Leicester earn more comparative to ground capacity
He said they have a capacity of 1.9% above ours and their gate receipts are more than 1.9% above ours

Looking at the 2019 accounts for both clubs (the last one before covid affected)
Wolves £11.539m
Leicester £14.686m

So what he said is not false they had 27% more gate receipt revenue than Wolves

Obviously that will include corporate packages and also will vary depending on cup games, and make up of fan base demographic. If for example we have a higher percentage OAP or kids tickets, this will lower the overall income comparatively.
But what he said is not an out and out lie, it may be a narrative, it may be fitting the truth to a narrative and her certainly did however muddy the waters with talk of a few 'headline' cheap STs at clubs like west ham etc

I suppose ultimately it comes down to what was said and how. If he skipped the ST prices completely and just spoke about gate receipt income, then it wouldn't be a lie.

He said:

"The notion that Leicester are cheaper than us on season tickets is not true."

It is true.

Gate receipts are misleading and fans don't really care because as you rightly point out it can be dependent on other factors such as cup games and the demographic. Also, they may charge more for individual tickets.

If we cut the BS, this is how it works:

South Bank at Wolves - £590 to renew.
Equivalent at Leicester - £435 to renew.

North Bank at Wolves - £590 to renew.
Equivalent at Leicester - £400 or £435 to renew.

Steve Bull at Wolves - £686 to renew.
Equivalent at J1, J9 & J10 - £440 to renew.
Equivalent in central areas - £550 to £630 to renew.

Billy Wright at Wolves - £786 to renew
Equivalent at Leicester - £490 to £635 to renew for the majority.
It should be added in this stand they have a small area that offers season tickets at £935 to £1,172, I don't know if this is some sort of corporate or if normal fans could be included.

Anyway, the vast majority of Leicester fans will be paying less than Wolves fans, and by a considerable amount in many cases as well. If anything, Leicester actually do the opposite to what Vinny says as well. They have cheap tickets on the whole, with a 'headline' high price.

A season ticket holder doesn't care about the clubs gate receipts, rightly so, they care about what they have to pay.

For our head of ticketing to say it's 'not true' that Leicester have cheaper season tickets is insulting and it's a lie.

To anyone that says these ticket prices are new, this was the first price rise Leicester have done in years, so the same has always applied.

2022/23 Season Tickets: Renewals Open With Mobile Tickets Available

Leicester City Season Tickets are now available for renewal for the 2022/23 campaign.

www.lcfc.com

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

No he’s a liar and should be hung from the mon on a hoss in town accordingly

He did lie.

It's quite sad that fans like you actually stick up for figures like this when the facts are in front of you. It should be something that unites our support and even as a club apologist you should be concerned that a key person off the pitch at the club can talk such rubbish.

 

[Derbywolf85]

The worst part about this, and we all know it...

They don't give a **** what we think (and don't bring up the goal music, that's just a feeble thing Russ through out there).

 

[Wolf in the Lions' Den]

Its almost certainly the comms guys desperately trying to rescue things after jeff has taken action i.e. get rid of ruddy

There is no comms strategy. Its just:

1. Jeff makes decision
2. It gets implemented by nearest yes person
3. Comms rushes about trying to make the best job they can

As someone who’s worked in comms (not in football) for 15 years, 100% this!

It’s so frustrating when you know something is going to be poorly received but senior stakeholders won’t listen or expect you to wave your magic wand to fix bad strategy with comms.

 

[MattH]

As someone who’s worked in comms (not in football) for 15 years, 100% this!

It’s so frustrating when you know something is going to be poorly received but senior stakeholders won’t listen or expect you to wave your magic wand to fix bad strategy with comms.

Jeff Shi is a comms nightmare. Doesn't want to engage and when he does goes off on one about stuff that's no doubt important but alienating to the audience. We'd have been better off keeping Dalrymple as the public face, from a comms point of view at least.

 

[Stoichkov]

I dont see that at all. Fans want the best possible for their club, and can see obvious areas
where rich owners could make a difference, esp, with Molineux.

There may be a few who dont understand FFP and its broad impact, but most people get it.

All the nonsense about virtual fans making a huge difference doesnt fool the fanbase, so they
rightly perceive it as BS.

Criticism is part of the civic dialogue and Jeff Shi and his team just have to accept that.

well put joe, and you're right - it is part of the job. i guess i'm just talking about the hyperbole and flippant comments written without any thought

we might not understand it all, and it might seem far out, but it's farcical to suggest jeff and these people aren't working hard to come up with innovative solutions that will help to set us apart and take us forward, in a league dominated by a few clubs with apparently bottomless pockets

frankly it seems very ungrateful. just my opinion

 

[Stoichkov]

Good for you. Other people have different views. In the west we can voice our opinions (frequently through social media) something thats not allowed in totalitarian countries & cultures.The masses just do as they are told almost without question.
If someone promises one thing & delivers something totally different - are people not right to feel aggreived or let down??
Mistakes are made in business & sometimes you have no option but to take it on the chin - same applies to Jeff

wow, are you really making this cultural?

there's no doubt people can and should express views - but quite a bit of it is just furious anxiety ridden teeth nashing. that's the bit that i think is ****ing them off

 

[oldgoldheart]

Jeff Shi is a comms nightmare. Doesn't want to engage and when he does goes off on one about stuff that's no doubt important but alienating to the audience. We'd have been better off keeping Dalrymple as the public face, from a comms point of view at least.

dalrymple couldn't work with shi. he was a decent enough guy. bit oit of his depth but OK. shi is an autocrat. he makes the rules and he is ****ed off that the fans don't tow his line

 

[ASB]

Like a classic politician too when Vinny trotted out a fair few percentages that suited his argument, then when asked a direct question about percentage increases he stated the absolute increase to avoid a headline stat that didn't support his points.

As much as I dislike Jeff's "like it or lump it" approach (I'm sure I'd feel differently if listening to it as a shareholder in a company not a fan of a club) at least it felt like he was being honest.

 

[Rhoswolf]

wow, are you really making this cultural?

there's no doubt people can and should express views - but quite a bit of it is just furious anxiety ridden teeth nashing. that's the bit that i think is ****ing them off

You could be accused of exactly the same but on the other side of the current divide, company man comes to mind.

 

[Streathamwolf]

You could be accused of exactly the same but on the other side of the current divide, company man comes to mind.

A company man is PAID to toe the line. We are all supporters, the fact that Stoichkov doesn't agree with you doesn’t make him a paid stooge ffs.

 

[Streathamwolf]

Good for you. Other people have different views. In the west we can voice our opinions (frequently through social media) something thats not allowed in totalitarian countries & cultures.The masses just do as they are told almost without question.
If someone promises one thing & delivers something totally different - are people not right to feel aggreived or let down??
Mistakes are made in business & sometimes you have no option but to take it on the chin - same applies to Jeff

And Jeff has acknowledged his mistake re the Man City comment. What do you want, ritual suicide?

 

[Rhoswolf]

A company man is PAID but quite a bit of it is just furious anxiety ridden teeth nashing. that's the bit that i think is ****ing them offto toe the line. We are all supporters, the fact that Stoichkov doesn't agree with you doesn’t make him a paid stooge ffs.

Well stating "a bit of it is just furious anxiety ridden teeth nashing. that's the bit that i think is ****ing them off" is somewhat extreme wouldn't you agree, or a balanced opinion?

 

[Streathamwolf]

It is, in my opinion, a little harsh but with some truth, as is often the case with overly emotional posts on here - including yours and some of mine of course.

 

[Deleted member drgr12429]

MM, I'm sick of the club never telling us anything.
Also MM, the club takes 11 videos telling us lots of things and are just lying about everything.
You've gotta loff at this ****...