Can I read this article without my head exploding?

[oldschooldbc]

as you point out, this is NOT a marketing plan. Gibbs and Hopkins are not marketing people. Having said that, DCI is doing a pretty poor job of marketing as well. You can apply each of the 4 Ps, and come up with much better solutions. Then again, what does a 25 year marketing vet with successful products in 5 continents know about Drum Corp? I don't like this proposal, but the current direction of DCI seems to be losing consumers and drum corps. This is not meant to attack DCI, but rather, to point out the there are considerable flaws in it today. It would be far better is DCI could be fixed from within.

Well, I would concur with most of this. Yes, marketing by the current DCI regime is grossly insufficient. It goes beyond issues with promotion and advertising - although that is perhaps the most glaring deficiency. There are issues in the other 3 P's as well. Those really need to be addressed by DCI, even if they lose the G7. Bob Jacobs is trying, but it is like trying to flatten Pike's Peak with nothing but a pick-axe.

(Sadly, Jacobs' corps would be consigned to Class A under the G7 proposal. I am sure he is not pleased by these developments. He has worked so hard to bring his corps up to WC - and now the Hopkins and Gibbs want to flush all that hard work down the toilet. I can't speak for the man, but I am sure he is under a lot of pressure, and not a happy camper.)

[ajwdad]

Well, I would concur with most of this. Yes, marketing by the current DCI regime is grossly insufficient. It goes beyond issues with promotion and advertising - although that is perhaps the most glaring deficiency. There are issues in the other 3 P's as well. Those really need to be addressed by DCI, even if they lose the G7. Bob Jacobs is trying, but it is like trying to flatten Pike's Peak with nothing but a pick-axe.

(Sadly, Jacobs' corps would be consigned to Class A under the G7 proposal. I am sure he is not pleased by these developments. He has worked so hard to bring his corps up to WC - and now the Hopkins and Gibbs want to flush all that hard work down the toilet. I can't speak for the man, but I am sure he is under a lot of pressure, and not a happy camper.)

I would state that product is not well enough defined, as witnessed by all of the hand wringing on the WC forum, placement sucks (only PBS, no decent television, good job on the theater work, finals stuck in Indy for a decade), and pricing is pretty high. In this case, the product is not just the work that the corps do on the field, but rather, the entire fan experience, both online and at various events. Pricing appeals only to true fans and the rich or relatives. ($40 + a plane ride + hotel?) Only draw is for locals.

Having said all that, it sounds very condemning to DCI. But, a lot of NPs suffer from poor marketing. After all, who is going to market for an NP when good marketing jobs pay well? The answer, lots of us might. For instance, we could definitely use a marketing round table consisting of OC directors, WC directors, and more importantly, the fan base. Not too hard to accomplish. Problem identification would be fairly easy, agreeing on the right metrics for a solution would be fairly hard. And, of course, the specific goals, strategies and tactics would take real work. But, we could have a real plan. I, for one, would volunteer time to work on this. After all, I have a couple of work-in-the-hotel days between quarters and semis.

Anyone out in DCI management listening?

[oldschooldbc]

Jacobs actually does come in here to post during the off-season. During the season, of course, he's way too busy. I wouldn't be surprised to see him return to this forum in September.

I too would volunteer to help, pro bono. I just hope that there is something left to salvage, once September rolls around.

Hopefully, we can build a coherent marketing plan for drum corps, that is coordinated with the overall business plan. Any business - for-profit or non-profit - needs an effective business plan. And the marketing plan is one part of it. It is a critical part, but certainly not the only part. The other components to the business plan - financial plan, logistics plan, human resources plan, etc. - all have to work together. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a good marketing plan - but you won't have the finance, logistics, or human capital to support it. And this is a recipie for failure.

If one of the G7 directors ever came in here, I would like for them to present their marketing plan, and explain how it coordinates with their finance and operations plans. That is a discussion I would like to have.

Edited July 29, 2010 by oldschooldbc

[Lance]

I'll grant you a "mulligan" for this one. Moving on....

The sky is falling!

Seriously, do you really believe that the G7 corps are in such dire straits? Because if so, your next sentence is off the charts with irony....

Fascinating.

[Liahona]

More and more people are / have left because it's just not entertaining.

Make it entertaining and the stands will fill thus bringing in more money, more fans, more kids, more souvi sales, more corps.

I would like to agree with this idea. My first question is HOW could this be implemented? My second is what degree of certainty do you have that entertainment value is the reason for the decline?

[ajwdad]

Jacobs actually does come in here to post during the off-season. During the season, of course, he's way too busy. I wouldn't be surprised to see him return to this forum in September.

I too would volunteer to help, pro bono. I just hope that there is something left to salvage, once September rolls around.

Hopefully, we can build a coherent marketing plan for drum corps, that is coordinated with the overall business plan. Any business - for-profit or non-profit - needs an effective business plan. And the marketing plan is one part of it. It is a critical part, but certainly not the only part. The other components to the business plan - financial plan, logistics plan, human resources plan, etc. - all have to work together. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a good marketing plan - but you won't have the finance, logistics, or human capital to support it. And this is a recipie for failure.

If one of the G7 directors ever came in here, I would like for them to present their marketing plan, and explain how it coordinates with their finance and operations plans. That is a discussion I would like to have.

Agreed 100%!

[ajwdad]

I agree its difficult to guess what is in someone's mind.But,to me,George has given a few hints about wanting a summer marching band circuit,even if its still called drum corps.

1.At the Cadets Clifton show a couple of years ago,they had,as special guests, a summer marching band.

2.While George's currrent proposal is for woodwinds,a number of previous changes he pushed, including narration,using basicly any instrument in a "preshow" and allowing "strings" moves drum corps closer to marching bands.

3.If you add woodwinds you basicly have a marching band,even if you still call it something else.

4.Although,from what I've read,at this time,the only woodwinds would be saxaphones,that "opens the door" and based George's history saxaphones would just be the next step.After all,once you allow any woodwinds why not other woodwinds like calrinets or other brass instruments like troumbones.

Again,you can still call it drum corps,but as they say "if it quacks like duck ..."

Yeah, I think you have a good point. GH did mention winds and not brass, and the history is to push the envelope hard...

[oldschooldbc]

I would like to agree with this idea. My first question is HOW could this be implemented? My second is what degree of certainty do you have that entertainment value is the reason for the decline?

To determine that, you would need market research. Has DCI ever conducted this? I know they survey the Friends of DCI donors, on occasion.

But if you want to do real market research, you interview the entire market - not just your top customers. You research the the potential customers, who aren't buying. You find out what is driving their decision not to buy. And then you find which component (or components) of the 4 P's, that are causing these customers not to buy. Is the the product, pricing, placement, or promotion - or some combination of all four? We believe that the product is a major reason for the loss of customers, but without any real research, we don't really know.

For-profit companies do this research. They have to. It is the only way to survive in a competitive marketplace. Many non-profits simply skip this task - and thus suffer the consequences.

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

If G7 implements their nefarious plans, they really must do one thing first. They wish to target HS band members as their core audience. Fine.

If you are switching to a new target audience, you had better find out what makes this target audience tick. You had better find out why they have not purchased your product in the past.

Is it a product that simply does not appeal to them? Can it be changed, to make it more appealing? Or are other alternative products more appealing?

Is the price of the product simply too high? If so, can it be brought down to price that they are willing to pay?

Is it placed improperly? Is it simply too far away, or at the wrong times, to purchase?

Is it promoted properly? Do they know about the product, and when and where it is offered?

Honestly, the G7 (and honestly DCI) should send targeted questionnaires to 5,000 potential customers. (That would be HS band students who don't already participate in drum corps.) Get back the survey results - and then decide if they really want to target this audience. No portion of the G7 plan should be implemented before this is done.

(pssst...... DCI should be doing the same thing........Are you out there, Bob?)

[ajwdad]

To determine that, you would need market research. Has DCI ever conducted this? I know they survey the Friends of DCI donors, on occasion.

But if you want to do real market research, you interview the entire market - not just your top customers. You research the the potential customers, who aren't buying. You find out what is driving their decision not to buy. And then you find which component (or components) of the 4 P's, that are causing these customers not to buy. Is the the product, pricing, placement, or promotion - or some combination of all four? We believe that the product is a major reason for the loss of customers, but without any real research, we don't really know.

For-profit companies do this research. They have to. It is the only way to survive in a competitive marketplace. Many non-profits simply skip this task - and thus suffer the consequences.

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

If G7 implements their nefarious plans, they really must do one thing first. They wish to target HS band members as their core audience. Fine.

If you are switching to a new target audience, you had better find out what makes this target audience tick. You had better find out why they have not purchased your product in the past.

Is it a product that simply does not appeal to them? Can it be changed, to make it more appealing? Or are other alternative products more appealing?

Is the price of the product simply too high? If so, can it be brought down to price that they are willing to pay?

Is it placed improperly? Is it simply too far away, or at the wrong times, to purchase?

Is it promoted properly? Do they know about the product, and when and where it is offered?

Honestly, the G7 (and honestly DCI) should send targeted questionnaires to 5,000 potential customers. (That would be HS band students who don't already participate in drum corps.) Get back the survey results - and then decide if they really want to target this audience. No portion of the G7 plan should be implemented before this is done.

(pssst...... DCI should be doing the same thing........Are you out there, Bob?)

unfair! You are both thinking and making sense. Only comment, HS Band Students may not have the means to support DCI by attending more than just a local show. Why not go after the PBS audience? Just a thought, but I would try to open the target audience beyond hs music students.

[Liahona]

Any marketing program must be designed around the 4 P's - product, pricing, placement, and promotion. This is one of the essentials of marketing, and if you took a marketing 101 class in college, you probably understand this. A marketing program must account for these 4 dynamics. Plenty of marketing programs over the years have failed, because they were deficient in one of these areas. An effecitve marketing program must be coherent - it must make sense, when the 4 P's are put together. That is what makes or breaks a marketing plan.

Let's review the G7 proposal, from the perspective of the 4P's, shall we?

1) Product. Your product must be something that the buying public wants, and wants enough to pay for. It must be designed for a specific market (be it broad or narrow). And it must be designed for the market conditions today (not in the present or future.)

Review the last half of the G7 proposal. Do the writers of this proposal really understand the market for their product (namely drum corps)? Do they understand the wants and needs of the people who pay for their product?

They aparently want to tailor their product to high-school band programs. This is their new target. I must fundamentally ask the question: are they targeting the correct market? Will the people in this market pay for this product? Do they have any market research, that will bear this out? Are you targeting a market with disposible income, and the desire to spend it on your product? High school students do not have the disposible income of other demographics.

2) Pricing. Your product must be priced properly. It cannot be underpriced (which will lead to lost revenue), or overpriced (which will drive away customers.)

What will be the price set for the AAA events? The G7 proposal has very little. I susect that the prices for these events will be steep. With shorter tours and less events, G7 corps will attempt to maximize their revenue, by charging premium prices.

Here is where the G7 proposal begins to show its flaws. If prices go up, are you targeting your product to the correct market? Will your average HS band student be willing to part with $75 to $100 for a drum corps show - even a Tour of Champions show?

3) Placement. Is your product in a place where customers can readily buy it?

See slide 43 of the G7 proposal. They want to play "tour of champion" shows in these places: Texas, Nebraska, Chicago, the Carolinas, and the NY Metro area. Some of these choices make sense, and some don't.

But here is my bigger concern: what percentage of the target market lies within a 2-hour driving radius of these shows? Again, your target market is now HS band members. Perhaps 10% of the U.S. population - and your target market - is within this radius. So how are the members of your target market going to get there? Effectively 90% of their customer base is cut off, by this placement approach.

At this point, the plan really begins to lack coherence.

4) Promotion. Your customers have to know about your product, and be motivated to buy it.

On this front, the plan becomes very, very vague. There is no specific promotion plan that is part of the G7 proposal. But here's is one key aspect of the proposal: they essentially want to cut the event promoters out of the business. (See slide 26 of the G7 proposal.) Most of the promotion of DCI events is really done by event promoters today. The G7 proposal removes these entities, so that the G7 doesn't have to pay them. If these organizations are essentially cut out of the picture, then who will do the promoting?

Supposedly, the G7 will pay DCI to market the "tour of champion" shows. And how exactly is DCI supposed to accomplish this, with no infrastructure for promotion and advertising? And who will pay to promote the rest of the DCI events, other than "tour of champions" shows?

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

So to summarize: this plan lacks cohesion, from the perspective of the 4 P's. The product and pricing, when taken together, do not combine to make sense. The placement strategy removes much of the target audience. And much of the promotion backbone of DCI will be removed, by the elimination of event promotors.

This plan looks like it was written by someone who never took a marketing course. If I were a marketing professor, and someone turned in this plan for a grade, I would give it a D. Maybe an F.

I'm going to add a few more marketing P's here that IMO the G7 has neglected:

The first is persuasion. Persuasion is not so much about convincing people how great your services are; that’s more the job of packaging and promotion. Persuasion starts when people call you in response to your marketing. Persuasion is mastering the art of listening and focusing on the needs and objectives of your customers. Then it’s finding creative ways to meet those needs and objectives in a way that’s agreeable to all parties.

G7 plan: EPIC FAIL (in terms of listening)

The second is performance. Performance is much more than getting the job done at a high level. It’s about paying attention to every single thing that impacts the customer relationship. Performance is about perception – the perception of the client and their expectations. When you understand those perceptions and expectations and can deliver what they truly want, you’ve mastered performance.

G7 plan: EPIC FAIL (in terms of perception)