GUARDLING Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 (edited) There's 3 key areas to focus marketing: kids. they are the future. recent age outs: keep them involved. legacy fans: the people with the serious cash to dispose of, the die hards that keep coming back the goal of kids is to make thm recent age outs, who eventually become the legacy fans. focusing on only 1/3 or 2/3 of these groups is a mistake, and has been practiced too often. I see DCI taking steps to alleviate that, but it's going to take time for years of neglect to be undone Interesting.....I agree...1 possible problem....who is the and how do we please the legacy fan....I've heard a problem recently amoung alumni corps...Seems as time goes by what one likes will change drastically ( or could ) a person from the 80s could have very different likes from a legacy fan from the 60s or 90s to now. Giving it some thought and talking to a friend of mine who is involved with a very popular Alumni corp, they said hey we dont mind playing the stuff from the 60s but my past is the 80s..." who deems what decade is the right one " Interesting thought..as time goes on the legacy fan will shift and change and what the likes are will for sure change. I think some of that has already happend for sure wheather some of us want to believe it or not. so the big question is..who is the legacy fan...thats a hard call I think...could span many decades and to please all that is virtually impossible.............cant please everyone........so who is the legacy fan..ive asked this of several people i know and never get the same answer...lol....a hard thing to define when trying to please all. Edited May 9, 2012 by GUARDLING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Interesting.....I agree...1 possible problem....who is the and how do we please the legacy fan....I've heard a problem recently amoung alumni corps...Seems as time goes by what one likes will change drastically ( or could ) a person from the 80s could have very different likes from a legacy fan from the 60s or 90s to now. Giving it some thought and talking to a friend of mine who is involved with a very popular Alumni corp, they said hey we dont mind playing the stuff from the 60s but my past is the 80s..." who deems what decade is the right one " Interesting thought..as time goes on the legacy fan will shift and change and what the likes are will for sure change. I think some of that has already happend for sure wheather some of us want to believe it or not. so the big question is..who is the legacy fan...thats a hard call I think...could span many decades and to please all that is virtually impossible.............cant please everyone........so who is the legacy fan..ive asked this of several people i know and never get the same answer...lol....a hard thing to define when trying to please all. Those are great points. I still think that the budgetary limitations of an organization like DCI play a huge factor in just where they spend their marketing dollars. Once a person is no longer part of a 'captive potential audience' like a HS or college band, where DCI can focus their efforts to a lot of hopefully-interested people already "in the know", it becomes more difficult...and expensive...to corral those who are now out in the 'real world', so to speak....the legacy fans, be they recent members, distant past or somewhere along the spectrum. DCI is doing what it can along those lines, and I bet if people had marketing ideas that don't break the bank they'd be receptive to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Those are great points. I still think that the budgetary limitations of an organization like DCI play a huge factor in just where they spend their marketing dollars. Once a person is no longer part of a 'captive potential audience' like a HS or college band, where DCI can focus their efforts to a lot of hopefully-interested people already "in the know", it becomes more difficult...and expensive...to corral those who are now out in the 'real world', so to speak....the legacy fans, be they recent members, distant past or somewhere along the spectrum. DCI is doing what it can along those lines, and I bet if people had marketing ideas that don't break the bank they'd be receptive to them. Oh..I agree. I think it really is an impossible task to please all the generations and there will always be one decade not happy ..Thats life I suppose. One cant say...just be entertaing either because what entertains me may not be what entertains the next person......So I think corps will just do as they have done over the years...move forward ..sometimes move back...and just realise that there will ALWAYS be those who feel slighted or left behind or out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 You really think that touring in and of itself has anything to do with 'making finals'???? Last year's Glassmen, Troopers, Academy and Colts...13-14-15 and 16th at semis all have more shows this year than the BD have on their schedule. IMO that assertion is just plain false...they were wll below Spirit, Scouts and Blue Stars last year....3 to 4 points from 12th. There are legacy fans...and DCI is doing what they can to keep them interested, esp recently, as has been noted. Yup...the alumni fan base shrinks as the number of corps shrinks, but the number of potential audience with band kids is pretty constant, as kids move through HS and more take their place. If some remain fans after HS and college, even better. Uh...no. I see lots of oldtimers at shows from a wide range of years. And parents too, of course, but that number is not a very large percentage of the total audience at a given show. touring can definitely help. more chances to perform, more rehearsal time, more feedback from the judges. the number of potential band kids should be a concern. schools keep cutting arts funding....as time goes on, fewer places will have bands. Ergo, your pretty constant will shrink. And yes, DCI has been doing more for legacy fans, but they waited far too long....too much damage may be done there, because it will ###### hard to get many of them back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Interesting.....I agree...1 possible problem....who is the and how do we please the legacy fan....I've heard a problem recently amoung alumni corps...Seems as time goes by what one likes will change drastically ( or could ) a person from the 80s could have very different likes from a legacy fan from the 60s or 90s to now. Giving it some thought and talking to a friend of mine who is involved with a very popular Alumni corp, they said hey we dont mind playing the stuff from the 60s but my past is the 80s..." who deems what decade is the right one " Interesting thought..as time goes on the legacy fan will shift and change and what the likes are will for sure change. I think some of that has already happend for sure wheather some of us want to believe it or not. so the big question is..who is the legacy fan...thats a hard call I think...could span many decades and to please all that is virtually impossible.............cant please everyone........so who is the legacy fan..ive asked this of several people i know and never get the same answer...lol....a hard thing to define when trying to please all. yes legacy fan shifts will happen. But DCI for years ignored going after age outs, who many now are in that category. You can't please everyone, but as last year showed, you can please many. I would say a legacy fan is someone at least 5 years removed from marching. But I've never really seen DCI formally declare what they are. it used to be one of Hops favorite insults for people who didnt like where corps programming was going, and kind of hung on and morphed from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 yes legacy fan shifts will happen. But DCI for years ignored going after age outs, who many now are in that category. You can't please everyone, but as last year showed, you can please many. I would say a legacy fan is someone at least 5 years removed from marching. But I've never really seen DCI formally declare what they are. it used to be one of Hops favorite insults for people who didnt like where corps programming was going, and kind of hung on and morphed from there I would think a legacy fan is also 5 years removed BUT thats thousands and thousands to please from many many decades and pleaseing that will never happen. So just depends on who you talk to from what generation youre going to get a total different view on the activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I would think a legacy fan is also 5 years removed BUT thats thousands and thousands to please from many many decades and pleaseing that will never happen. So just depends on who you talk to from what generation youre going to get a total different view on the activity. yes but..... look at last year. Even some of the grumpiest ######## on here liked it better than any year since probably 04. if that's a result of Cesario's public proclamation, bonus. Mike can bathe himself in chocolate for that one. if it continues the trend this year, then by jove, he's swashed some buckles. because if you look around......some of the hardest to please are the more recent age outs, and they seem to be more vocal about shows being entertaining and not ground breaking than the serious dinos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Been watching this thread from the road for the last couple of weeks, and I chuckle at the conversations. There are some hard-line, and disparate, positions on the subject. These most recent thoughts about who, actually, IS a legacy fan spur some thoughts that haven't come up. It's well-documented that one's peak earning years are between age 45 and 55. Let's call it 50. Today's 50 year-old (I am one) were teenagers in the early 1970's. "Legacy", for us, meant "before us", so we were listening to 1960's and early 1970's drum corps. It makes sense to me that, if DCI really wanted to appeal to the wealthiest consumer group, they should today attempt to reach the fan for whome "Legacy" has the most potential financial backers. To call "Legacy" as 5 years ago means you're targeting fans who are 25 or 26 or 27 - not the "peak earners" that could have a substantial impact on the activity. And to that group, another thought comes to mind. I've spoken with many ex-Friends members who've said they felt only as a financial contributor and who became disgruntled when DCI took a "new" direction. Instead of committing dollars in greater numbers, now many are taking a more active part and, when DCI comes knocking for more money, many politely decline because they want to make a real impact on, at least, a smaller but meaningul part of the activity. If they havent' walked away entirely. To ignore these "legacy" fans is, it seems rational, a grave mistake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 What happened to my spell checker and how do I turn it on again? Aargh. Details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Been watching this thread from the road for the last couple of weeks, and I chuckle at the conversations. There are some hard-line, and disparate, positions on the subject. These most recent thoughts about who, actually, IS a legacy fan spur some thoughts that haven't come up. It's well-documented that one's peak earning years are between age 45 and 55. Let's call it 50. Today's 50 year-old (I am one) were teenagers in the early 1970's. "Legacy", for us, meant "before us", so we were listening to 1960's and early 1970's drum corps. It makes sense to me that, if DCI really wanted to appeal to the wealthiest consumer group, they should today attempt to reach the fan for whome "Legacy" has the most potential financial backers. To call "Legacy" as 5 years ago means you're targeting fans who are 25 or 26 or 27 - not the "peak earners" that could have a substantial impact on the activity. And to that group, another thought comes to mind. I've spoken with many ex-Friends members who've said they felt only as a financial contributor and who became disgruntled when DCI took a "new" direction. Instead of committing dollars in greater numbers, now many are taking a more active part and, when DCI comes knocking for more money, many politely decline because they want to make a real impact on, at least, a smaller but meaningul part of the activity. If they havent' walked away entirely. To ignore these "legacy" fans is, it seems rational, a grave mistake. so what happens to todays 50 year old in a few years...forget them? I think you're trying to target a specific age group as a legacy fan and that can't be done. Depending on who you talk to, I've heard so many different versions of WHO IS THE LEGACY FAN. There will also always be those who don't like the direction of the activity. I remember that being said back in the 70s also. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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