AB,
Great ideas mate... the most obvious charity that I can think of is The McGrath Foundation
I think this would be a really positive association for the Sharks. In particular, because of the negative image that the Sharks gained in 2009 with the Group Sex Scandal, Zappia's "shadow-boxing", etc.,
Another good organisation to support would be something like The Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service or something similar.
Yeah mate, I saw that article and it seems a good fit. The players are clearly very supportive of it, and then of course there's the link to Porter's mum who died this year- not sure if it was breast cancer, but its a significant tie nonetheless. Apart from being a good cause, from a PR perspective its good- recognisable brand that is on the up in terms of media exposure, great logo, great figure to be associated with in pidgeon and his late wife. If they were up for it, make us partners, put the logo on the strip and the training gear, on the website and get our boys turning up and promoting their events. And if Glenn's a sharks man- I know he lives in the shire- invite him to be our No. 1 ticket holder. He'd be a great personality to have associated with the club.
My only issue with doing this is that the McGrath Foundation might have grown too big for us already, given how the NRL have put in place that "Women in League" round where the pennies wore pink and everyone played with those weird pink balls, and we might be priced out of the market by a bigger player so to speak. Aside from the good we will do for the charity, we need to make sure we get maximum benefit from the association.
The McGrath Foundation got me thinking about an another ex-cricketer's chairty- the Steve Waugh Foundation. From their website:
http://www.stevewaughfoundation.com.au/index.php
The purpose of the Steve Waugh Foundation - Australia is expressed in the phrase "Somewhere to Turn". It captures Steve's philosophical reasons for establishing a Foundation and honours his feelings about what he wants to achieve. The Foundation is focussed on making a real difference in the lives of beneficiaries. Steve is determined that the Steve Waugh Foundation - Australia stands alone from large organisations. It is all about being there for people who really have no-where to turn. There are many individuals in Australia who have illness and afflictions that don't meet any set criteria for various reasons and as such are unable to qualify for assistance from the Government or established charitable organisations. There is a void that need to be filled for these people and it is in this area that Steve passionately believes the Foundation can not only make a difference but have a real impact.
Its a relatively young charity too, but one that will most likely grow if Steve Waugh is behind it... we're all familiar with his drive. Another marketable group with a very marketable face. I think Steve's been seen at Sharks games in the past too so either he or his son must be a fan, sign him up and make him No. ticket holder. It would be hard to find a better personality to be associated with the club and the reinforce that tough attitute the boys showed last year.
Just while having a qucik look around, the Cathy Freeman Foudation might be another good fit with the work it does with Indigenous kids. Never know, might mean we get our hands on the next Inglis or Blacklock! Either way, there are plenty of good options out there, and its a great opportunity to get a really well known, positive figure associated with the club as well.
On to your other point...
You're spot on mate, the website is seriously in need of an overhaul. I know there were steps in place towards the end of the season but that seems to have stalled a bit.
Unfortunately, it's very hard to get people at the Club to change their mindset.
On the face of things, the Club has been focused on The Leagues Club and the Rugby League team. It is very hard to modify that way of thinking to the new reality that they are, in fact, in the Media and Entertainment industry.
Regrettably, there are still many people who are sceptical and fearful of new technologies - they think that by publishing information that they are somehow losing control of who uses that information. Much of the reason for that is that there is a baseline of conservatism.
Most progressive businesses are actually opening up the communication channels - particularly online engagement and interactivity.
I would love the Sharks to put more resources into their online community engagement as well as providing (dare I say "pushing") greater amounts of information to the fans, the sponsors and to media organisations.
The simplest form of information provision would be to publish a series of comprehensive bios / CVs for all players and coaching staff in all grades as well as key personnel within the Club as a whole.
For example, you could have a bio on each of the Board Members, The CEO, The Stadium Manager etc., Perhaps each of these could include a sort of vision statement.
Realistically, that is a simple task and probably two week's work.
I guess the answer could lie in the old saying "Where there is a will, there is a way" and it's implied inverse statement of "Where there is no will, there is no way"
Couldn't agree more mate.
The bios for the players remaining after 2009 have been updated and they are just more of the same- three or four lines of dribble. And poorly written dribble- "try's" for instance. Aside from better information, can we at least start with professionally presented information?
These days, the website is the first port of call for someone outside the club who wants basic information or is interested in the club- media, fan, sponsor or whatever, particularly during the offseason, and it has to be a professional, polished piece. We expect our players to be complete professionals now more than ever and they are- blokes like Dougie who treats his body like a temple all week to ensure he's fit to play on the weekend- so the administration must be similarly professional. Check out the difference between our player profile pages and those of the dragons, rabbits or the dogs. And those aren't even all that flash, but they're a long stretch better than ours.
All errors like that take is a basic proofreading job by someone. I know the club is stretched in terms of staff etc and its probably just an oversight/time usage decision which is understandable. The 'news' articles too (which I've been very pleased to see on the increase of late, well done club) usually contain errors, and they're the things that AAP and the papers use to write their pieces. If the staff really can't spare the ten minutes it would take to proof these sorts of things, then I'm sure plenty of people here would be happy to help out, probly with script for the webiste too though I have absolutely no idea personally. Stuff like the bios and articles about the boys going to that white ribbon event are hardly top secret info, I can't see how it would hurt.
I'd love to see transcripts provided of the 'Sharks TV' items (particularly the interviews) for those that don't have access to fast broadband/internet explorer. Another thing a volunteer could do easily.
Its pedantic I know, but small things make a disproportionate difference, generally. Hell, they're the key to winning footy matches after all.
