sburstall Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Right. Hence bringing us to the question: what does DCI stand to gain from having a radio station?I'm a CPA... this thread has brought my attention to trying to understand the economics. Having a pair of eyes (and a little bit of grey matter) crunching through it could be helpful. I'd bet that DCI is watching the Nielsen ratings of the ESPN2 broadcast, as well as all the movie theater simulcasts. Those are probably a pretty good gauge of how well the activity will penetrate by means of media. If a one-night special on ESPN2, which is going into a LOT of homes, is only marginally effective at generating interest, it's simply not worth DCI's money to sink it into a drum corps radio station. Follow the money, if you will. ^0^ ^0^ ^0^ Doing a little reseach: Satellite and cable tv are in 86% of homes. Satellite and cable TV. That's still a lot of homes that, even with basic cable/satellite would have an ESPN2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I'd bet that DCI is watching the Nielsen ratings of the ESPN2 broadcast, as well as all the movie theater simulcasts. Those are probably a pretty good gauge of how well the activity will penetrate by means of media. If a one-night special on ESPN2, which is going into a LOT of homes, is only marginally effective at generating interest, it's simply not worth DCI's money to sink it into a drum corps radio station.Follow the money, if you will. ^0^ ^0^ ^0^ I agree. But the missing piece, IMO, is the marketing side of this. Just putting a show on ESPN or putting some tunes on some Sirius channel is not enough if no one knows it's there. Taking neilsen ratings when you haven't done your absolute best to promote the event/channel does you no good in determining its ultimate benefit. IMO, the marketing efforts to date have been preaching to the choir. Coltrin was brought in specifically to EXPAND the drum corps audience through professional marketing. All this (Satellite, tv productions, etc) should be part of an overall marketing strategy/overhaul to increase DCI's standing in the marketplace. Again, I'm sure they're working on stuff -- but it's been a year and I haven't seen anything that justifies that kind of time so far. They're supposed to be the professionals and marketing, by it's very nature, is not supposed to be secretive. All I know, is that if this were my company looking for marketing partners, I wouldn't wait a year to show some splashy results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaSqueegee Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I can't live without XM in the car!!! I mean shout......Air America, ESPN Radio, ESPN News, any MLB game, The 90's, The Blend, The MIX, Top 20 on 20........SWEET!!!! I'll listen to the Tigers games on XM before I will the local AM station...just sounds better!!!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Again, I'm sure they're working on stuff -- but it's been a year and I haven't seen anything that justifies that kind of time so far. They're supposed to be the professionals and marketing, by it's very nature, is not supposed to be secretive. All I know, is that if this were my company looking for marketing partners, I wouldn't wait a year to show some splashy results. I assume the Orlando or NY office is the one handling the account...I emailed them and asked about DCI and what kinds of "bullet points" they could offer to the general public about what they're doing. I dunno if I'll get a response, though. Perhaps his child is no longer a member of Jesrey Surf, or something else happened to prevent things from going forward...although I'd imagine that's not the case, seeing as they are still the sponsor for this years Atlanta regional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2CoolVK Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I agree. But the missing piece, IMO, is the marketing side of this. Just putting a show on ESPN or putting some tunes on some Sirius channel is not enough if no one knows it's there. Taking neilsen ratings when you haven't done your absolute best to promote the event/channel does you no good in determining its ultimate benefit. IMO, the marketing efforts to date have been preaching to the choir. Coltrin was brought in specifically to EXPAND the drum corps audience through professional marketing. All this (Satellite, tv productions, etc) should be part of an overall marketing strategy/overhaul to increase DCI's standing in the marketplace. Again, I'm sure they're working on stuff -- but it's been a year and I haven't seen anything that justifies that kind of time so far. They're supposed to be the professionals and marketing, by it's very nature, is not supposed to be secretive. All I know, is that if this were my company looking for marketing partners, I wouldn't wait a year to show some splashy results. How do you know the details of the Coltrin relationship? Can you share since you seem to be an insider. what is the exact agreement between Coltrin and DCI? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I assume the Orlando or NY office is the one handling the account...I emailed them and asked about DCI and what kinds of "bullet points" they could offer to the general public about what they're doing.I dunno if I'll get a response, though. Perhaps his child is no longer a member of Jesrey Surf, or something else happened to prevent things from going forward...although I'd imagine that's not the case, seeing as they are still the sponsor for this years Atlanta regional. Let us know what kind of a response you get ... But, really, you shouldn't even have to do this. Half of marketing is creating buzz with big, splashy announcements of the stuff you're GONNA do. Actually DOING the stuff is kinda secondary from a marketing perspective. Marketing in secret kinda defeats the purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigCPApi Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Marketing and advertising are different things. Closely related, but different. I'm sure Coltrin had a hand in the redesign of DCI.org, or at the very least, gave DCI a list of bullet points that included the site. Partnership is also not the same as "DCI becomes Coltrin's #1 client". It's probably closer to "DCI puts up banners all over the place, and in return, we'll offer them some tips." Of course, until we get a DCI exec on here to spill the exact details (which will never happen), we'll never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 How do you know the details of the Coltrin relationship? Can you share since you seem to be an insider. what is the exact agreement between Coltrin and DCI? I DON'T know -- and that's kinda my point. DCI made a big, splashy announcement last year (Atlanta show?) about this great partnership and about how Coltrin was being brought in as marketing professionals to work with DCI. No announcement since. So either they're working on stuff that we don't know about, or they're not and the announcement was overblown. Either way, (and I admit that I don't have any special knowledge on this) my point is made: Marketing, by it's very nature, is not supposed to be secretive. It's supposed to be loud and splashy and exciting and I don't see it so far. Could all just be my cynical nature. I hope so .... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captncontra Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 (edited) Nothing beats listening to my Indianapolis Colts games on Sirius when I'm called into work on sundays. Driving coast to coast listening to the same stations, never having to hunt through stations for news or entertainment. Being able to PAUSE the radio if I have to get out of my truck during something cool...being able to REWIND and listen the the song I just heard again. Imagine DCI having a channel... Oh what a cool lick, let me rewind that and listen again. It wouldn't be that difficult to get set up, they already have seasonal programing so why not drum corps. All you need is a small recording studio and a satellite uplink. Imagine listening to a live feed from the show as you drive there. Announcers talking about the upcoming show, feedback about the corps, the history of the shows/area in relation to dc... perhaps a live feed of some shows? And for those of you concerned about the cost, is $8/month really too much? $200 for 2 years of service = $8.33 per month. I get that much entertainment out of just the NFL feeds, let alone the jazz stations, classical stations, comedy stations, and news and weather. Oh yeah, and traffic details for most major cities. I take my radio everywhere with me. The last few years traveling with Esperanza I would set my radio to broadcast (extends about 40 feet or so) and the other vehicles in our caravan could tune their radios to my satellite radio and enjoy it with me, even calling me to request new stations! I am a lifelong supporter of satellite radio now... coupled with my iPod for podcasts = haven't listened to a local station in years. Edited July 11, 2007 by Captncontra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Marketing and advertising are different things. Closely related, but different.I'm sure Coltrin had a hand in the redesign of DCI.org, or at the very least, gave DCI a list of bullet points that included the site. Partnership is also not the same as "DCI becomes Coltrin's #1 client". It's probably closer to "DCI puts up banners all over the place, and in return, we'll offer them some tips." Of course, until we get a DCI exec on here to spill the exact details (which will never happen), we'll never know. All true. And probably my fault for reading too much into the excitement of the announcement last year. I was pleased with the announcement, because I have long talked about DCI's need for a professional approach to marketing (including, but not limited to, advertising, as you note). I felt they were finally starting to "get it" by turning over things not in their core competancy (running drum corps shows) to third-party professionals. But maybe I read more into it than there was. If so, then I repeat what I've been saying for years -- DCI needs help to deal with things outside their core competancy. Things like marketing, business oversight, etc. To put this back on topic -- a satellite radio channel, while maybe or maybe not a good idea in and of itself, is something that needs to be considered as one piece of an overall marketing/business growth strategy. To view it as a stand alone thing will sell its potential benefits (or shortfalls!) short. I hoped that this marketing 'partnership' would be taking this kind of thing into account as they create that strategy. If not, then I encourage DCI to find some other method to do so. End of Rant :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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