[garfield]

Stu, on 25 November 2011 - 12:50 PM, said:

See the bold and you will figure out why this is shown on TV. The Discovery Channel makes money by selling advertisement time; and the companies which advertise hope to make money by appealing to the people watching the program. Thus the Discovery Channel aired Cuhnkin Punkin because for some reason Canon and Discover Card were convinced that they would profit by paying for the airing of this contest. Therefore, if DCI could convince major corporations like Canon or Discover Card to pay for the airing the Finals then DCI would also appear on the Discovery Channel. This is nothing more than Marketing 101.

Well, it only took 19 posts for someone to highlight the important sentence.

Canon Cameras and Discover Card. They were convinced to underwrite the Punkin show.

Even with the differences in the activity formats, can someone come up with a marketing idea that would attract corporate underwriting?

Neither Canon nor Discover grow pumpkins, so don't limit the idea to horn or drum manufacturers.

[Stu]

garfield, on 25 November 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

Well, it only took 19 posts for someone to highlight the important sentence.

Canon Cameras and Discover Card. They were convinced to underwrite the Punkin show.

Even with the differences in the activity formats, can someone come up with a marketing idea that would attract corporate underwriting?

Neither Canon nor Discover grow pumpkins, so don't limit the idea to horn or drum manufacturers.

Thanks for the compliment, but is was the most obvious reason! As for someone getting creative in marketing DCI... um... when people at DCI (who actually do get paid) are not fulfilling that marketing objective, why should we (who do not get paid by DCI) devote time and energy in coming up with great marketing ideas (for free)? Out of "love" for the activity? How about DCI hiring successful marketing sales staff who can actually convince Canon that paying for the airing of DCI Finals would generate more revenue for Canon than Chunkin Punkin.

This post has been edited by Stu: 25 November 2011 - 01:46 PM

[actucker]

Has it occurred to anyone here that maybe DCI isn't interested in pursuing a national television market and thus doing the things necessary to make that happen? Perhaps they aren't bad at their jobs, but instead have a different idea of what this activity is than the fans who sit here and criticize them? I know that I personally don't want to see the lot "dumbed down" in order to appeal to the masses. Someone mentioned a culture of stuff that goes on outside of the arena. What do you call the lot? Have you looked on Youtube lately? There are drumming and brass videos everywhere. There are even videos of corps visual warm ups. I'd say that's a pretty big culture among the community.

The fact is, DCI is not something that is simple enough to appeal to the masses. Neither is Opera, or Jazz, or Ballet, or Modern Dance. We live in the society of ADD. Your average person can't devote more than about 30 seconds of attention to anything that they aren't personally invested in. To simplify our activity enough to actually develop a mass following would change the very essence of what our activity is, and what we all love about it. Most of the things we love about corps, or rave about when we see them live is stuff that your average person isn't going to recognize. Think about all of the subtleties that get discussed on this board. Now think about how many people with no experience in this activity would even know enough about those things to recognize them, much less appreciate them or choose to watch them on TV?

The marching activity in general is alive and well. While the overall number of corps has certainly dwindled over the years, the number of students auditioning every year continues to grow. Interest in the activity continues to hold steady despite a bad economy in which the arts tend to be the first to go.

We are a niche activity. To be anything else would mean changing the fundamental concept behind the activity.

[Plan9]

garfield, on 25 November 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

Well, it only took 19 posts for someone to highlight the important sentence.

Canon Cameras and Discover Card. They were convinced to underwrite the Punkin show.

Even with the differences in the activity formats, can someone come up with a marketing idea that would attract corporate underwriting?

Neither Canon nor Discover grow pumpkins, so don't limit the idea to horn or drum manufacturers.

This is precisely the point.....we see MB/DC as two separate activities, when it's actually a continuation of one. We see MB/DC as a specialized endeavor when it's mostly a backdrop for young adults discovery of themselves. It's a teen activity filled with all the exploration of teenage framed in what I believe is a very understandable and entertaining artform. It also has focus, work ethic, ups and downs and school drama.

Discover doesn't give a crap about pumpkins, they look at the demographics, how it applies to their products and then supports its longevitiy. The market of a MB/DC program is wide open from clothes to food to music and instruments to anything teenagers and their interested parents buy. Afterall, their just American kids, doing American stuff.

For a reality based MB/DC program, I see it following mulitiple organizations and showing the dream of high schoolers into the big leagues and highlighting the extraordinary performances of some of the high schools and top corps. Some specific "stars" would emerge along with the drama of found and lost loves, friends, competitions, personal and organizational acheivements and failures.

[Jeff Ream]

if you can find a company or advertisers willing to pay to help get it on the air, go for it. Punkin Chunkin obviously found it.


DCI on ESPN didn't even draw what an NHL game gets in terms of ratings, and the NHL hasseveral blue chip advertisers. Can't really get Bud Light to advertise for a youth activity now can we?


It's all about the financials people, and the willingness of someone to pay. We the fans didn't pay PBS. Advertisers didn't want to pony up andpay ESPN.

so find that person/company willing to fork out the $$$, and you'll see DCI on free tv. Until you do that, this dead horse will be beat timeand time again.

[Plan9]

actucker, on 25 November 2011 - 02:46 PM, said:

Has it occurred to anyone here that maybe DCI isn't interested in pursuing a national television market and thus doing the things necessary to make that happen? Perhaps they aren't bad at their jobs, but instead have a different idea of what this activity is than the fans who sit here and criticize them? I know that I personally don't want to see the lot "dumbed down" in order to appeal to the masses. Someone mentioned a culture of stuff that goes on outside of the arena. What do you call the lot? Have you looked on Youtube lately? There are drumming and brass videos everywhere. There are even videos of corps visual warm ups. I'd say that's a pretty big culture among the community.

The fact is, DCI is not something that is simple enough to appeal to the masses. Neither is Opera, or Jazz, or Ballet, or Modern Dance. We live in the society of ADD. Your average person can't devote more than about 30 seconds of attention to anything that they aren't personally invested in. To simplify our activity enough to actually develop a mass following would change the very essence of what our activity is, and what we all love about it. Most of the things we love about corps, or rave about when we see them live is stuff that your average person isn't going to recognize. Think about all of the subtleties that get discussed on this board. Now think about how many people with no experience in this activity would even know enough about those things to recognize them, much less appreciate them or choose to watch them on TV?

The marching activity in general is alive and well. While the overall number of corps has certainly dwindled over the years, the number of students auditioning every year continues to grow. Interest in the activity continues to hold steady despite a bad economy in which the arts tend to be the first to go.

We are a niche activity. To be anything else would mean changing the fundamental concept behind the activity.

First of all, it isn't interest in a national television market that should be the goal, it should be interest period. TV is only a prime for the pump, the rest is found live on fields throughout the country. And, I don't think DCI is bad at their jobs either, they just see them in traditional ways and as I have discovered....tradition is both a blessing and a curse for DCI.

I believe as you, that DC is alive and well, such as it is. I just feel that it hasn't unlocked its potential of outreach and appeal to a more broad fan base. 10 years ago variety television (song and dance stuff) was DOA, but then someone found a way to re-package it and wha lah!

[Plan9]

Jeff Ream, on 25 November 2011 - 03:04 PM, said:

if you can find a company or advertisers willing to pay to help get it on the air, go for it. Punkin Chunkin obviously found it.


DCI on ESPN didn't even draw what an NHL game gets in terms of ratings, and the NHL hasseveral blue chip advertisers. Can't really get Bud Light to advertise for a youth activity now can we?


It's all about the financials people, and the willingness of someone to pay. We the fans didn't pay PBS. Advertisers didn't want to pony up andpay ESPN.

so find that person/company willing to fork out the $$$, and you'll see DCI on free tv. Until you do that, this dead horse will be beat timeand time again.

It''s not the advertisers responsibility to create the interest, they simply pay for exposure when it exists. DCI will not expand its fan base beyond what we see unless it's willing to tell its story in ways that are interesting to those who have not experienced it. Finally, the bolded part is old news from an antiquated business model....and shaming the fan base is surrender to failed marketing policy.

NOTE: Not directed at you Jeff, your comments are both accurate and sad.

[actucker]

Plan9, on 25 November 2011 - 03:05 PM, said:

First of all, it isn't interest in a national television market that should be the goal, it should be interest period. TV is only a prime for the pump, the rest is found live on fields throughout the country. And, I don't think DCI is bad at their jobs either, they just see them in traditional ways and as I have discovered....tradition is both a blessing and a curse for DCI.

I believe as you, that DC is alive and well, such as it is. I just feel that it hasn't unlocked its potential of outreach and appeal to a more broad fan base. 10 years ago variety television (song and dance stuff) was DOA, but then someone found a way to re-package it and wha lah!

My point is that even if that were true, perhaps they aren't interested in doing what would need to be done to appeal to a broader fan base. Drum corps, as is, is not appealing to the general public. I'm not sure I want to see drum corps that would be.

[Jeff Ream]

Plan9, on 25 November 2011 - 03:12 PM, said:

It''s not the advertisers responsibility to create the interest, they simply pay for exposure when it exists. DCI will not expand its fan base beyond what we see unless it's willing to tell its story in ways that are interesting to those who have not experienced it. Finally, the bolded part is old news from an antiquated business model....and shaming the fan base is surrender to failed marketing policy.

NOTE: Not directed at you Jeff, your comments are both accurate and sad.

honestly, I think a DCI based reality show at this point is the way to go. But someone has to fund it, even before advertisers.

[gbass598]

In the Discovery Channel's defense, it is a lot more entertaining to see how far a pumpkin than fly than watching 11 minutes of BD staring at themselves in a mirror.