Marketing Perspective

[DCImonkey]

The corps that deserves the championship often wins, but there are times when you just scratch your head and say WTF? ....then the next year they win it all miraculously. HMM

[RBarron10]

The corps that deserves the championship often wins, but there are times when you just scratch your head and say WTF? ....then the next year they win it all miraculously. HMM

Yep - isn't this what everyone thought in 1988 and then the next year SCV won?

[jwillis35]

No offense but some of you are a little naive... the idea of "Well if so-and-so doesn't DESERVE..." Listen, fans don't care if the Troopers DESERVE to be in 12th place and in Finals, they just WANT the Troopers in Finals. Likewise a large number of fans don't care if Crown doesn't DESERVE to win, they want them to win. Yes, I know both of those corps could very will place in those positions however a majority of fans don't really care who "deserves" anything, they care about the "feel-good story" of the year. Just like in any other sport.

Some logic in this I guess, but allow me to remind you that:

Fans care about fairness! If the corps doesn't deserve the placement, then they should not get it.

• Everyone wanted 27th Lancers to win in 1980. It didn't happen.
  

• And Crown is NOT the favorite, nor are they the darlings of DCI this year. They are great, no doubt. But there show is nowhere near as entertaining as last year, and last year they WERE the darlings. This year we expected them to be good, and it is a tremendous compliment to say they are in the company of Giants! And they are!
  

• The Troopers likely are, and the Cadets and SCV have more fans in terms of popularity of their show. So if you go off of standing ovations and what the fans want, I would say they want either Cadets or SCV to win! That's not a DCP poll, but a "look at the number of standing ovations this corps has received" kind of poll.
  

[BOBSMYTH]

...

But you don't give someone a championship - or even a Finals apearance - on the basis of marketability. That would create a public perception that this organization is unfair - even fraudulent. ...If the contest were fixed, then this would undermine the marketability of the organization, not enhance it.

If the contests were rigged, and titles were given unfairly, then the conspiracy-theory freaks would be all over this board. ...

I don't know, it doesn't seem to hurt the marketability and the revenue generating potential of WWE "professional wrestling".

Just saying. As long as we are only dealing in hypotheticals.

[TerriTroop]

If neither of those corps deserve those placements, I can't see how that would be 'good for the activity.'

Sorry.

You all know I'm a true blue and gold Trooper honk. Of course I'd love to see them get a shot at Saturday. However, I do NOT want the Troopers to be perceived as being given something they do not deserve. They'll have to earn their spot, and that's the way it should be, period.

[jplattSCV]

DCI definitely needs to market itself better. I covered this ad nauseum, in the "Open Class corps should have a shot at SemiFinals" thread. In fact, that is the one aspect of this entity which needs the biggest improvement. I think they do a reasonable job at finance, enforcement, event staging, etc. Marketing is one area where DCI is sadly lagging, especially when you compare it to major league (and even minor-league) sports entities. There are single-A baseball leagues who do a better marketing job. I'm not exaggerating.

But you don't give someone a championship - or even a Finals apearance - on the basis of marketability. That would create a public perception that this organization is unfair - even fraudulent. Effectively, DCI would become little better than Pro Wrestling. In professional wrestling, the wrestlers "win" their contests based upon their marketability. If the contest were fixed, then this would undermine the marketability of the organization, not enhance it.

If the contests were rigged, and titles were given unfairly, then the conspiracy-theory freaks would be all over this board. They would be screaming for decades, how the contest was fake, and how corps X should have taken home the title, instead of the supposed winner. And if the contests were rigged, for marketing purposes, the conspiracy theorists would be right.

You never want conspiracy theory freaks to be right. You want them right where they are: wearing a bathrobe, in the basement of their mother's home, looking at frame-by-frame images of the Zagruder film.

==============================================================================

Even worse, what would it be like, to be a in corps that was a victim of this fix?

Imagine this: It is Saturday night of Finals. You are in your age-out year, and you've just given the performance of a lifetime, to a roaring ovation. To get to this point, you've busted your hump for the past 3 months, on every practice field in North America. You come out on the field for retreat, expecting to be handed your first-place medal.

But oh no - the judges have rigged the contest, for marketing purposes! They gave the contest to the "Podunkville Marching Space Cadets". (Not a real corps.) They marched and played terribly, but someone at DCI calculated that they could generate more ticket sales at the Podunkville show next June.

So sad for you! Boo hoo hoo! Now, instead of your first-place medal, here's a toaster oven. Have a nice bus trip home.

I don't work in marketting. I am a computer software achitect. My perspective on marketting is that it is vitally important, but it should never drive anything. The people doing whatever job they have should always be in control of their own job and that's it. Judges should worry about judging. Perfromers should worry about performing. Designers should worry about designing. Audiences should basically not worry about anything except their own business. The second you even give a hint that marketting is going to drive anything, you get American Idol or worse. If you don't think American Idol is rigged then you're naive.

Now, having said that...I would have worded the original poster's question differently. I would have asked. What outcome would make the marketting job easier? Given my opinions, I do think that marketting Crown as champion might be a good enough story that some of the advertising would write itself. If however, there were shenanigans and someone besdes a rightful owner (notice I said "a" rightful and not "the" rightful) was given a title, I think the opposite would be true. Marketting would have its own nightmare trying to make the whole activity seem ligimitimate. Again, I'll use American Idol as my example.

I do think its an interesting hypothetical. Its difficult keeping yourself from crossing the line from what "is" better for the activity and what "feels" better for the activity. That's why really talented advertisers make so much money. Its an art, I am sure.

[audiodb]

The Academy or The Colts. Definitely not the Troopers.

Agree and disagree, IMO. I think it's a three-for-all....I mean, a free-for-all, as all three of those corps look and sound pretty evenly matched to me in viewings over the past few days.

[do.it.up.]

Wow. The original poster was just asking us who we believe will generate additional profit for DCI by winning, or making finals. Obviously, DCI isn't going to reward a corps based on marketability. That's just ridiculous.

So to stay on topic, I think Carolina Crown would generate more profit for DCI. They would certainly spark more interest in the south.

Since Arizona seems pretty nonchalant with drum corps-if the Academy made finals, I could see some activity in that region.

[TastyWaves]

Okay... this makes ZERO sense.

Unless i read it wrong, the subject is marketing DCI and generating outside interest in the activity?

So to people who know nothing whatsoever about DCI, whats the difference if the "Marching Band" (yes, thats the what the public see's and thinks) from South Carolina, or the "Marching Band" from California" or the "Marching Band" from Illinois wins?

That has zero bearing whatsoever.

I also fail to see how any of the top tier, equally financed corps with equal talent in the membership and staff can be a "Feel good" story that will generate interest from outsiders.

I know this was a "What if" but the subject seems to be more for marketing crown than marketing DCI.

I know people take any disagreement about putting crown on a pedestal as some kind of disrespect to the corps, but trust me that is not the case. I have seen all of the contenders and i think crown has a great shot!

Troop was also phenomenal last night.

[do.it.up.]

Okay... this makes ZERO sense.

Unless i read it wrong, the subject is marketing DCI and generating outside interest in the activity?

Not completely. You're assuming that marketing DCI is completely aimed at the general, uninvolved public. While it does to some extent, it also addresses discouraged fans, alumni, and others who opt out of live events.