Huddersfield Town

Facilitated by Mark Bradley of the Fan Experience Company, this latest meeting was attended by Club representatives; Directors Ann Hough and Nigel Clibbens; Club Ambassador Andy Booth and Rachel Taylor from the Supporter Partnerships team; Ticket Office Manager Sue Beaumont; Marketing Coordinator Jonathan Wilkinson and CRM Manager Richard Mills.

 

10 supporters from the Voices Panel were also in attendance at PPG Canalside. The meeting was pleased to welcome KSDL Managing Director Gareth Davies and John Robinson, the John Smith’s Stadium Safety Officer, as guests too. This was a clear demonstration of all parties’ commitment to working together and a landmark step forward.

 

The focal point of the meeting was the newly created ‘Singing Section’ in the Fantastic Media Stand Lower Tier. Topics covered included how 2014/15 Season Cards in that stand will be marketed going forward and numbers sold to date, which the Club confirmed was 350. In addition, ideas regarding ‘pay on the day’ and one-off transfers to the FM Lower by Season Card holders in other stands were discussed. Club officials also confirmed that this stand would be designated for match day promotions during the 2014/15 campaign. 

 

The existing ‘banners and flags’ campaign, supported by a crowd funding initiative, and the match day experience - including stewarding – were also on the agenda. Flags and banners are seen as a way of adding to the spectacle of match day and this has caught the imagination of supporters on the fans’ forum ‘Down At The Mac’, who have set up a donation page – collecting a total of £1,000 to date. Click HERE to find out more and to get involved. 

  

John Robinson explained the basis of the current ‘Flag and Banner’ policy and also about the allocation of stewards to different areas of the ground, also answering general questions about arrangements for flags and banners. They talked about stewarding, policing and how the fans, Club and safety team could work together to deal with match day behaviour issues. 

 

Ideas to help raise funds to buy banners and for other things to improve the match day atmosphere were also discussed.

 

Other topics on the evening were the appointment of a Supporter Liaison Officer (SLO), the 1908 Loyalty Scheme and match day fan engagement for the upcoming 2014/15 campaign. The process for selection of an SLO was debated and it was decided upon a selection panel of two supporters from the ‘Voices Panel’, plus one Club representative. An in-built majority of supporters would be established to choose the SLO. So far half a dozen applications have been received for the role; click HERE for more information.

 

Feedback regarding the 1908 Loyalty Scheme was taken and issues regarding the name, promotion and marketing, recognition of ‘loyalty’ and reward ideas were debated. Further ideas would be discussed fully at future ATT meetings. 

Huddersfield Town’s Chief Executive Nigel Clibbens commented:

“The ‘All Together Town’ initiative is going from strength to strength. Its first goal of improving the match day atmosphere has really captured the imagination of our supporters, who are now creating their own ways of improving match days such as the crowd-funded banners for the FM Lower. 

“I’m delighted that Gareth and John from KSDL could join us; it was great to see all the stakeholders involved in Huddersfield Town match days at last night’s meeting. The supporters, the Club and KSDL need to work together to ensure the match day experience is as good as it can possibly be and engaging and working together in this way is a positive step forward.

“As fans can see there is a lot going on; I’m sure ‘ATT’ it will make an impact moving forward.” 

Gareth Davies of KSDL added:

“The meeting was very useful and informative.”

 

Fully detailed meeting notes and action points will be uploaded on htafc.com when they become available. 

 

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 25 June 2014.

 

For full information on the ‘All Together Town’ initiative, click HERE.