Hibs have announced arrangements regarding the club Loyalty Scheme for the 2015/16 following feedback and consultation with supporters.
The Club launched the loyalty scheme last season to recognise supporters who attend matches on a weekly basis as a season ticket holder or walk-up. The mechanism allows for wider recognition of supporters who attend away matches, as well as those who cannot commit to a season ticket but who attend Easter Road regularly.
As part of the newly structured Working Together format a group of supporters and club representatives have met over the summer to shape the Loyalty Points system for the upcoming season. Fans from supporters groups including Carlton, St Pats and Orkney branches put themselves forward for the group, and were joined by supporter representatives Amit Moudgil and Frank Dougan.
Feedback from last season was taken into account alongside experiences of other clubs operating similar systems. Particular issues around the early award of points for 15/16 season tickets, allocation of play-off away tickets and the possibility of rolling forward points to recognise ongoing attendance at matches were all discussed.
There were also discussions on the difference between loyalty in attending games compared to financial contribution through other means, such as club shop expenditure, share purchase, HSL donations etc. It was decided that both should be treated separately, with the Hibernian Loyalty Scheme focused solely on the distribution of tickets based on attendance at matches. The group will now look at the merit in developing a ‘reward’ based scheme recognising wider finanical contributions to the Club as a longer term project to develop.
As a result of the discussions some changes were proposed to the system for 15/16. The point levels for 2015/16 have been increased to 10 and 5 points for home and away matches respectively, with season ticket holders receiving 180 points. Point totals will be carried over from last season, with a rolling 3 year cycle planned for accumulation of points. For example, when season 2017/18 begins the points from 14/15 will be removed.
The accumulation of points is designed to recognise the ongoing commitment of supporters across seasons, with the 3 year period able to capture ongoing loyalty without supporters building an unassailable points total or handicapping new supporters of the Club.
The proposed points system is shown below:
| Ticket Type | 2014/15 Points | 2015/16 Points |
| Season Ticket | 150 | 180 |
| Home League/Cup Walk-Up (per game) | 5 | 10 |
| Away League/Cup Walk-Up (per game)* | 3 | 5 |
*points are only available for away matches where tickets are provided to Hibernian in advance.
The total number of points given to season ticket holders for home matches was brought into line with accumulated walk up home points (18*10=180) to bring equality in attending matches. STHs maintain value through upfront points award, meaning they will have more points for home matches compared to walk up supporters throughout the regular league season.
It is proposed to use the points system for selling tickets to every away match where we receive tickets in advance for sale. Waves of sales will be utilised to spread the sales of tickets where time permits, giving the opportunity to recognise those with the highest number of points first. We also hope to provide monthly ‘points statements’, which would be e-mailed to supporters to make it easier for supporters to be aware of the number of points they have. Please check your e-mail address on your eTicketing account to ensure you have an accurate e-mail address registered.
150 points were awarded in 2014/15 for 2015/16 season tickets, an additional 30 points will be allocated to existing tallies to make up the 180 points. Supporters should check their loyalty points by logging in to eTicketing and contact the Ticket Office (tickets@hibernianfc.co.uk / 0844 844 1875) if there are any questions.
Director Amit Moudgil said: “We believe we have a developed a loyalty system which is fair and provides priority to supporters who attend the most matches. This was only made possible through the constructive feedback we received from supporters and the efforts of the Working Together group – which has highlighted that positive changes can be made if we work in collaboration with one another”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
