DCI membership votes overwhelmingly to allow ALL brass instruments in

[CrownLeadSop]

On the first point, how many youth activities have evolved from something that was community-based that you could join, drive to practices, and only take a few overnight trips a year to one where even practicing required overnight trips and you had to be on the road for months at a time?

On the point of market research, I've conducted marketing research. It doesn't have to be expensive. I've conducted studies that cost my company less than $20,000. It would be even less if you used existing email and mailing lists that the corps and DCI have. I know someone who maintains the mailing list of a major corps and it contains both current DCI attendees and lapsed attendees. I'm sure all the corps have similar.

As for the labor to analyze the results of a study, I'd happily volunteer to do it for free.

I've gotten research studies from DCI in the past, by the way. So, doing research is not alien to them.

To your first point - I don't think it much matters. I would say scouting is largely categorized by your first description than your second, but it has been on the decline as well. On top of that, who is to say that DCI is to blame for the death of community groups in the first place? I think it's pretty simple: Various things caused interest in local drum corps to wane, and with fewer corps, tours had to be broader to fill out the numerous shows across the country.

Most current market research is extremely expensive - we (agency side) have a baseline that is very competitive but still very high. Using existing mailing lists doesn't really do much when you're trying to do market research and learn about your position as an organization against your competitors (other youth activities with a spectator angle), identify opportunities, barrier to entry, etc. My guess is DCI would want quant/qual on potential members of the community, and that'd take a good amount of money. Market research is not "hey guys how do you feel about this rule change." I could be wrong, or they may already be doing it.

Not saying it's impossible, but it's definitely not cheap.

Edited February 14, 2014 by CrownLeadSop

[Jeff Ream]

George is also responsible for the current storm heading up the eastern seaboard. I thought he would have learned his lesson about that debacle with the Great Chicago Fire.

for the record, he blame Chicago on The Old Man, since he was around for it

[Jeff Ream]

The final vote was 17-3 in favor.

Cavies, Pioneer, and Racine voted "no" in the instructors caucus

Cavies, Pioneer, and Colts abstained in the director's vote

well, they didn't want to be stuck competing with one arm tied behind their back

[truman]

Market research is not "hey guys how do you feel about this rule change." I could be wrong, or they may already be doing it.

Polling your current customer base about changes and current policies is the basic, or "low level" of market research, no? DCI hardly needs to use an "agency" side to do that rather inexpensively. After all, making changes to your business or product are going to have the biggest impact on your current customers, so how it affects them has got to be a primary consideration, especially if you are experiencing recent success and growth. What would be the reason that DCI is polling the Finals webcast customers?

To take it one step further, if DCI had polled their customers, the ones who are buying the products from them now, about this proposal, what do you think the results would have been? What do you think would have happened if they "tabled" the proposal, announcing that they wanted to poll last years Finals ticket and webcast buyers before making a decision?

Edited February 14, 2014 by truman

[CrownLeadSop]

Polling your current customer base about changes and current policies is the basic, or "low level" of market research, no? DCI hardly needs to use an "agency" side to do that rather inexpensively. After all, making changes to your business or product are going to have the biggest impact on your current customers, so how it affects them has got to be a primary consideration, especially if you are experiencing recent success and growth. What would be the reason that DCI is polling the Finals webcast customers?

To take it one step further, if DCI had polled their customers, the ones who are buying the products from them now, about this proposal, what do you think the results would have been? What do you think would have happened if they "tabled" the proposal, announcing that they wanted to poll last years Finals ticket and webcast buyers before making a decision?

That's not really "market research" to me as much as it is just polling. You could try and pull qual/quant from it, I guess, but my point is they are two separate things - thought not mutually exclusive at all.

I don't think polling the consumer makes much sense before the consumer has even seen the product. :)

[HockeyDad]

That's not really "market research" to me as much as it is just polling. You could try and pull qual/quant from it, I guess, but my point is they are two separate things - thought not mutually exclusive at all.

I don't think polling the consumer makes much sense before the consumer has even seen the product. :)

The consumer has seen the product every autumn Friday night and Saturday afternoon for decades.

[charlie1223]

The consumer has seen the product every autumn Friday night and Saturday afternoon for decades.

That's like saying that you know what to expect at a Broadway show because you went to your daughter's high school rendition of "Anything Goes" last year. The products are very very very different.

Edited February 14, 2014 by charlie1223

[truman]

How does the recent vote for added brass instruments make YOU feel?

1. I love it, and it makes me want to see a DCI Drum Corps now more than ever (9 votes [8.82%])

2. I think I will like it, and that it may make me like the activity even more (15 votes [14.71%])

3. It really doesn't have any effect on me at all (36 votes [35.29%])

4. I think I won't like it, and that it may make me want to see DCI Drum Corps less than I do now (28 votes [27.45%])

5. It makes me want to not even see a DCI corps anymore, now more than ever (14 votes [13.73%])

I am not IN ANY WAY saying that the results above are what would happen if DCI polled their current customers. I am only using the poll results to help illustrate my point.

First we eliminate the top and bottom folks. They are the extremes. It will be pretty hard to make them happy with anything if they are on the bottom, and would hard to p### off if they are on the top. The ones in the middle are bound to be the biggest single group, and we just want to keep them there, or possibly try to find something that might move them up a level. This may or may not move them up, but we have a fairly easy job keeping them from dropping if we don't do something really dumb. That takes our focus to the other two, who represent 42% of the poll. They are willing to try the change, but have pre-conceived notions about how it will make them feel.

If I was considering a change, and was looking at that 42% group, I would want to see the number of those who think they will like it be at least 3-1 over those who don't. If it wasn't, I would need to carefully consider what the benefit was to my business to make the change. Long term growth? Immediate expense reduction? Do I have to take this risk? Is my current business on the incline or the decline? How confident am I that my change can sway that lower half once they try it. Risk/benefit stuff.

Hope this makes sense in the context of what I posted above.

[CrownLeadSop]

Here's the problem: Why not go wholesale, put the entire product in the hands of the consumer for better or worse, let them dictate the rules to the corps and also determine the scores?

[CrownLeadSop]

The consumer has seen the product every autumn Friday night and Saturday afternoon for decades.

Ok.