Fan Survey
Between 7-10, October 2008, FansViewTM, an independent marketing research company, conducted marketing research on behalf of Newcastle Fans United. The results were extremely encouraging and had wider implications.
1141 supporters were asked to respond to a questionnaire and 358 sent back fully completed questionnaires. Only 358 fully completed questionnaires were used in the analysis. Incomplete or spoiled questionnaires form no part of any of this analysis. The sample of 358 respondents represents a response rate of 31.4% from a total population of 1141 potential respondents.
Newcastle Fans United was interested in what the typical fan’s views were on NUFC becoming fan owned. The research found:
- 66% would commit £1000 each if Newcastle Fans United were close to completing the deal to buy the club
- The average commitment which fans were prepared to invest was £958.66 each
- Season ticket holders were willing to commit an average of £1219.75 each
- Under 35s average commitment would be £866 each and these fans represent the minority of respondents
- Nearly 75% believe that a supporter owned club was the best long term option
- 59% believe that fan ownership of a Premier League club is possible
- 95% would be more likely to buy from a store who donated a proportion of profits to the Newcastle Fans United project
- 85% would buy more NUFC merchandise if the profits were re-invested in the club
- When given 11 choices of advice to give the Newcastle Fans United project, only 3% selected the “Give up, it won’t work!” option
The interesting points from this concern the initial purchase and the operational funding after purchase. Fans feel that the £1000 share price is pitched correctly, yet the commonly held belief that season ticket holders would not buy is proven incorrect. Season Ticket holders would be willing to commit more than non-season ticket holders. Also, funding the club purchase using donations from retailers incorporated into the NFU programme looks likely to boost sales and generate funds for the purchase. In terms of operational finance for the club, NUFC merchandising sales would increase if people knew the profits were being re-invested in the club.
The research profiled the respondents. It found
- 93% (333) of respondents were male
- 55% of respondents fall within the age ranges of 25-44 years old
- Nearly 25% were season ticket holders
- 21% of respondents lived within 10 miles of St. James Park
- 25% of respondents were based abroad
- 38% of respondents lived over 100 miles from St James Park
- Only 37% rarely or never attend St. James Park and nearly 25% attend all or most games
- 42% have some level of attendance at away games
Interestingly, 90 respondents were season ticket holders and around 75 respondents lived within 10 miles of the stadium. As expected the majority of respondents were male and that the bulk fell into the 25-44 year old age range. Just over half (53%) of the respondents, either lived abroad or over 100 miles from the stadium.
The research sought to identify the issues that were of concern and to voice the fans feelings. It found:
- 100% of fans were unhappy with the current situation at NUFC
- Only 9% think that things will improve soon
- 85% think that ticket prices are acceptable
- 98% think that the link between club and community should be strong
- However, only 33% think that this link, currently, is very strong
The most noteworthy finding from the fans’ feelings and issues completely dispels the myth about Geordies and Newcastle fans. The survey found that the least important thing to the respondents was “winning trophies” and the most important was “the quality of the first team manager”. The second most important issue (out of a total of 11 choices) was the quality of the first team squad. This indicates that the typical Newcastle fan is looking more for long term stability and quality of football. It also indicates that Newcastle fans are realistic about winning silverware, despite what is written in the press and rival fans’ forums.