Programs

[LakeCountyTiger]

I have not had any luck buying a program at the games this year, by the time I get there (I'm coming from the Mentor area) they are always sold out.
Does the Athletic dept keep any leftovers, I'm thinking maybe there was some left over from the 1st or 2nd game, I wasn't able to make it down for those? It doesn't matter which game but I like to have at least one from every year.

[gotigers1]

I have not had any luck buying a program at the games this year, by the time I get there (I'm coming from the Mentor area) they are always sold out.
Does the Athletic dept keep any leftovers, I'm thinking maybe there was some left over from the 1st or 2nd game, I wasn't able to make it down for those? It doesn't matter which game but I like to have at least one from every year.

Check out SportStuff. I know that they do get some programs to sell after the game.

[Seeker]

It seems odd to me, but you seem to have to kiss someone's rear-end to buy a program every week.

What gives?

Why aren't they readily available?
Why do the people who are selling them seem to be hiding every week?

Are they selling them only in the ladies' room?

Seriously, this question was asked after the first game, and we were told it would get better.
Apparently it hasn't.

We seem to have a BIGTIME problem here!




:down:

[Red50Go]

I drive 2 hours so I haven't gotten 1 program yet either. And I think it stinks too! Providing a program for $2 or $3 or whatever so you can actually know who is who ought to be the most basic service for the admission we charge. Seems to be everywhere else. And I think it reflects very poorly on us, especially from the standpoint of our visiting opponents, some who travel from out of state, w/ sons playing, wanting keepsakes, or just following the game, etc. We are supposed to be 1st class here. This aint even Fed League bs.

And its not like we've had big crowds. We're sold out if 7000 people show up. Re-effingdiculous.

[BigTime]

It seems odd to me, but you seem to have to kiss someone's rear-end to buy a program every week.

What gives?

Why aren't they readily available?
Why do the people who are selling them seem to be hiding every week?

Are they selling them only in the ladies' room?

Seriously, this question was asked after the first game, and we were told it would get better.
Apparently it hasn't.

We seem to have a BIGTIME problem here!




:down:


On where to purchase:

Speaking for the West side only they are sold at a kiosk just inside the main gate. Program sales are also generally set up near the ticket booth outside of the gates. I also, see a couple of guys walking through the parking lots each week selling them.

* * *

On availability:

We absolutely want to meet the demand for programs, but we don't want to get stuck with hundreds of them unsold either. This year it was decided to rationalize the number of programs ordered each week depending on several factors. As you would imagine more programs were ordered for Canton McKinley than for Woodson DC on Labor Day weekend.

If you really want one then purchase them with your season tickets (and pick them up at the PROGRAMS both under the west stands) or get there early. I generally buy mine about an hour before game time. There always seems to be plently left at that time.

[mike_da_man13]

theres always penty on the visitors side or atleast when i get there

[Seeker]

On where to purchase:

Speaking for the West side only they are sold at a kiosk just inside the main gate. Program sales are also generally set up near the ticket booth outside of the gates. I also, see a couple of guys walking through the parking lots each week selling them.
When are this kiosk and stand closed? I have looked for them around 7:00 and I can't find them.
Why can't there be people walking around selling programs under the stands in the area in front of the snack bars?
That is the LOGICAL place to sell programs!

I generally buy mine about an hour before game time. There always seems to be plently left at that time.

Who gets there an hour before game time?
On a Friday night it is almost impossible for many of us, now that the games start at 7:30.

Have there been any programs left over at the games this year?
If there haven't, then I guess someone is happy, even though many fans are disappointed.

If there are any left over, then it should be obvious that the people selling them need to keep on selling them instead of going into hiding every week!

[Seeker]

Dear Massillon Football Boosters:

Those of us in business know a few things.

One is that short-term decisions that benefit the company are not always good long-term decisions if they piss-off the key customer base.

IMO, your key customer base is not the season ticket holders or the other loyal fans. It is the "swing" customers, that decide whether or not to attend a game based on it's relative entertainment and satisfaction value.

I would humbly suggest that an effort be made to have programs readily available for purchase up until game time.
This would include people walking through the stands to sell them.

[Obie Wan]

If you raise the price of the program, it should cover any overage. Let's say a program costs $2 and sells for $3. If you sellout of 3000 at $3, that's a profit of $3000. If you print 4000 and sell 3500 at $4, that's a profit of $6000. Obviously, the real numbers differ from these so the break even point will move up or down, and there's a limit as to how much you can charge for the program before sales drop, but the point remains: 100% sales is not the optimal strategy.

As a matter of business, though, if the goal is to sell out each week, that's a somewhat peculiar target. Why not just print 50? The goal (from a financial sense) should be to maximize revenue. The two objectives are not at all synonomous.

You should also note that the philosophy of deliberately underserving the market also disregards one fundamental tenet of sales: you have no idea how big the potential market is. If you print and sell 1000 programs, what does that tell you? It tells me is that a) more than 1000 people wanted a program, b) you're leaving money on the table, and c) you're creating a "base" of dissatisfied would-be customers. Perhaps the number of programs available should be increased until it is known how big the market really is. Nobody's going to be spot on with their estimates every week, but it seems that employing a strategy that views unsold product as the cardinal sin is both short-sighted and imprudent.

[Seeker]

That what I said, but OW said it gooder.

[Red50Go]

Excellent post Seeker! I too am a business manager, and I assure you our goal is NEVER run out!!! If thats our boosters' stated goal then I guarentee it will backfire eventually. People will start bringing internet rosters, newspaper clips, or find other ways, til they no longer need programs whether they are available or not. Or maybe not buy for spite. I am almost there already.

Granted you dont want thousands of unsold programs either, but I am sure there are some better ideas out there that dont leave hundreds of fans clueless for a game, and/or a bad taste in their mouth.

[section3]

I do not believe the goal was to sell out but to not be throwing away hundreds of programs every week. whoever is in charge of ordering programs based it on the averages going back several years. season tickets are ordered in i believe april or may and you can order a program card. this gives them a good number to start with. my guess it that programs were losing money and that is why the number was cut back. i'm sure if season ticket holders jumped from what 4500 to 7000 program orders would jump also. i know at the herbstreit they had a couple thousand programs for 3 games and didn't sell out. so what is a good number to add????? 5 or 500 ???

[LakeCountyTiger]

I would think as long as Massillon has been playing and selling programs they have a pretty good correlation history as far as programs per attendance, I think? So, I guess the tricky part would be trying to predict the attendance. But if the numbers are real it seems like you could get pretty close. It wouldn't have to be team specific, but rather type of game.
Example:

early season non rivals last year.
Mentor 8,578
Chardon 8,495

Late season non rival last year
W.Wilson 6,631
North 6,936
I'm sure teams like Iggy are pretty consistant in the past

Or maybe whatever formula they're using, start tweeking it each week till you find the right number, I know they do what they think is right and hopefully it won't be a problem forever.
Oh well, just trying to help plus maybe I'm a little uptight tonight thinking about the game tomorrow, and feel like rambling on. Although, I really would like a program:sour:
Hopefully I'll see some of you at the game.

[Al.]

If memory serves me correctly only the front cover, the four pages in the center and one or two pictures within the program change each week. Even if too many copies are printed each week, I can't imagine that the expense of removing the staples from the unsold progarms and replacing the necessary page for the next game would be more than the potential additional revenue generated by printing the extra copies. :scratchchin:

[Obie Wan]

If memory serves me correctly only the front cover, the four pages in the center and one or two pictures within the program change each week. Even if too many copies are printed each week, I can't imagine that the expense of removing the staples from the unsold progarms and replacing the necessary page for the next game would be more than the potential additional revenue generated by printing the extra copies. :scratchchin:
Have you seen the price of staples lately? :poke:

[Al.]

Have you seen the price of staples lately? :poke:

No, but I can imagine the price of "child labor" to remove them is sky-high :laugh: