The Twe12th Man Website

The Twe12th Man
August 10th Meeting Summary

The Twe12th Man met for what was the 3rd time on Thursday 10th August, again in Dr Browns, Middlesbrough. The main focus of the meeting was the event for the game against Chelsea on the 23rd August, though other items such as the website, 'Gibson Banner', funding and meeting location were also discussed.

It was decided at meeting number 2 (July 13th) that we wanted an event for the first home game of the season, a Twe12th Man launch event so to speak, in order to get the word out there and get noticed. It was quickly pointed out that the first home game was versus Chelsea on the 23rd August, and that this match was exactly 20 years to the day that Boro came out of liquidation and played a game against Port Vale, at Hartlepool's ground. This occasion alone deserves some celebration, and given the short space of time we had to develop and implement ideas, a card display was decided upon. After the success of the 'Eindhoven 2006' display, which was organised in the space of a week by one of our members, we felt it was the best way to launch ourselves with a bang whilst celebrating an historic landmark in the club's past.

The meeting kicked off with an explanation of the aim to do a north stand card display again for the Chelsea game. The group decided it should be simple, nothing to complicated but very bold and iconic. Several ideas were shown by 'thesmogster', focusing around a few key themes. These included linking the design to the group in some way for self-advertising, and paying tribute to Hartlepool in 86 to Holland in 06. After an explanation the mock-up designs shown, the group discussed the positives and negatives of each. One idea involved cards being turned over 'on cue' so that two messages could be displayed, the group felt this was a spectacular idea however a little to complicated for our first event - one for the future possibly. The depiction of a lion in the cards was also discussed and considered at length, the complexity of such an image being the sticking point, though it was decided we would be able to pull off such a display. It should be noted that all designs shown hinged upon a celebratory message, indicating how the club has been reborn between 1986 and 2006.

After these explanations, a vote was conducted to choose the favoured design. The vote produced two favourites, with one clear winner (Design 2a, for those in attendance). The winning design was simple and effective, and could be linked back to the Twe12th Man for publicity purposes. After discussion, it was decided that the winning design would remain under-wraps until match day, in order to maintain the impact of its message and the "wow" factor.

From choosing the design, it was decided that, funds pending, some form of printing would be done on the cards to indicate it was a Twe12th Man project, preferably with a link to the website and mailing list. The only concern that arose from the card display decision was that they would be turned into paper aeroplanes and thrown onto the pitch. In order to try and prevent this, several ideas were discussed including competition ideas, where by a random draw would be conducted after the match and the person with the winning card would receive a prize. This idea was to be looked into further.

Regarding funding, £230 is in the pot from the previous card display. It was estimated this display would cost £400, the deficit being raised from donations. This will be done through something such as Paypal or Nochex. Details will be released very shortly.

Publicity for the event is key, and the local media will be heavily involved including the Gazette. It was decided that publicity of the Twe12th Man in relation to this event was import also, to get the group noticed and the word spread. This has to happen at some point to increase our member base and potential for funding, and to increase the strength of our voice as a group.

Volunteers will be required to help put the cards out before the Chelsea match. This will be during the afternoon of the 23rd August, and will probably take 3 to 4 hours. Around 20 to 25 volunteers are required. If you would like to confirm that you are available for this, please send an email to contactus@twe12thman.co.uk, and mark the subject line with "Card Display Volunteer" so that we can identify you quickly. Please include your full name, and either an email address or phone number that you can be contacted on to confirm.

Other matters were briefly discussed, including a more professional and adaptable website, with user access to photographs and videos of projects. This will be worked upon over the coming weeks. An update of the Gibson banner was given, being that it has been made, and is awaiting an image being painted onto it. This wont be ready for the start of the season. The idea of taking the meeting around the local area was raised, to advertise what its about and gain new members. Finally, the group decided it needed some form of contact address, either going through Fly Me To The Moon or with a PO Box address, and a bank account.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday September 14th, in Dr Browns. At present this will be upstairs, though if numbers increase will be moved downstairs. On the agenda already for the next meeting will be the drafting of a manifesto of aims, and a constructive evaluation of how the Chelsea card display went, as well as future projects and funding.

Remember to drop an email to contactus@twe12thman.co.uk if you would like to be added to our mailing list, or would like to volunteer for the card display.

C'MON BORO

--T12M--