Why doesnt DCI allow fans to vote?

[perc2100]

I've attended a Film Festival(Tribeca) and the Audience Award is given out like this. You are given a piece of paper as you enter the theater and you give a grade for the film after you've seen it. The paper is usually a 5-point scale. They collect the papers as you exit and tally them up at the end of the festival. I've seen the movies that get the critics award and the movies that get the audience awards and I usually prefer the audience award films.

I think it would be an interesting way to engage the audience. However, because the tallying can take a while, it wouldn't work for a single show.

But, if you collected a lot of votes during the season and tallied them up as you go along, they could do an Audience Award at the Championships that were based on the entire season as opposed to a specific show. I think it would be fun and interesting.

The only people who could vote would be paying attendees who physically fill out the ballot and hand it in

That's a pretty interesting idea, however with DCI REALLY making a big deal over Fan Network, Big Bad & Loud/Quarter Finals theater stuff, & Finals pay per view service it seems like they'd lose on not including those folks. DCI trumps those numbers when publicly reporting attendance, and seemingly includes those audience members as integral paid attendance so why exclude them (besides the obvious fact that it would make things easier to "rig").

I do like your idea, though, regarding the season-long fan favorite. I would think if they did paper ballots at all the shows, and then maybe a one-time internet 'survey'/poll maybe during the Semifinals FN broadcast, they could maybe eliminate a lot of the shenanigans of non-attendees/subscribers watching the broadcast while including as many fans involved with the season as possible. Heck, they could send out a link just to FN subscribers, as part of the Semis log-in page so ONLY FN subscribers (or Semis pay-per-viewers) could log in with their password/vote.

[cixelsyd]

Hmm...just thinkin'. But I'm not thinking that a fan vote system is anywhere close in our future, and surely not one limited to just the US audience.

Actually, DCI is already using fan voting (Drumline Battle).

By the way, you raise some interesting thoughts. What if DCI develops a singular focus on making money, as you suggest they should? Well, one obvious way to make more money would be to increase the popularity of your product. But right now, the scoring system has 0% incentive to design shows that achieve popularity among the paying public.

Is that a problem?

From a fan viewpoint, no - fans of the current drum corps activity must like what they see, or they would be gone.

From a business standpoint, yes. Business seeks growth. The business mindset sees those 400,000 annual ticket sales and asks why the other 7 billion people on Earth are not buying yet. The possibility that show design has something to do with that must already be weighing on DCI leadership, if they felt it necessary to spend so much time haggling over tweaking the judging system, trying to define "effect" and "entertainment", and even hiring an "Artistic Director" in the process.

But those efforts were all directed inward, toward the community of judges and designers. Now, input is being sought from the customers themselves. First such step was that surveying taking place at all the shows this summer. What comes next?

[Everyfan]

if that were the case Cadets or BD might be in 10th or lower and there's some lower corps that would be in 1st.

Ha ha! You don't think that if a vote like this really mattered, the BD staff could find a way to max out these "sheets" also?

[Everyfan]

Its not the audience appeal that's the concern. I think it goes back to giving up control or finding ways to balance out the masses then.

They should NOT give up control of scoring? Should MLB let the home fans call balls and strikes? Good GOD!!!!!

If you are so concerned about the "fans" having some input, then get their input when deciding HOW the scoring will be done in future season. Don't give up all control, but at least take some input. That should be enough. they should NEVER allow a home crowd to decide a show, and a few points (or even tenths of a point) given to an "applause-o-meter" could do that. I remember one of these shows in the 80's that VK always won. It didn't matter who else was there (BD, Vanguard, etc.), the VK "laughs" always won them the show. This is NOT how shows should be adjudicated.

[Everyfan]

But right now, the scoring system has 0% incentive to design shows that achieve popularity among the paying public.

But right now, the scoring system has 0% incentive to design shows that achieve popularity among the paying public.

I disagree. The corps have EVERY reason to design shows to "acheive the popularity among the paying public." Who do you think pays their bills? The corps need to make fans out of these people so they will buy their merchanidise, donate in future seasons, etc. Winning can help this in some ways, but based on the animosity toward the Blue Devils lately, winning too much can hurt also.

[cixelsyd]

I disagree. The corps have EVERY reason to design shows to "acheive the popularity among the paying public." Who do you think pays their bills?

To a large extent, students (either marching members, or other camp/clinic attendees).

The corps need to make fans out of these people so they will buy their merchanidise, donate in future seasons, etc. Winning can help this in some ways, but based on the animosity toward the Blue Devils lately, winning too much can hurt also.

From what I hear, the amounts of those income streams are basically a function of competitive rank. In fact, even the portion of income corps receive from DCI is scaled on current and historical competitive results. So there are HUGE incentives for corps to do what the competitive system condones, and they tend to dominate when individual corps make their design decisions.

[Tim K]

For me the advantage of a "fan favorite" is crowd engagement, but the results would be predictable since it would be a popularity contest.

One poster mentioned that in Cheyenne the Troopers would always win. BAC at CYO Nationals. I'm not sure about the CYO, at least this past year. While there is no question BAC should have felt lots of love at that show, Troopers have not traveled to New England in et past few years and Madison is a long time favorite, so it would have been interesting had there been a vote. In the end they could have won the popular vote, but it would have been close.

Today the only retreat I know of is at DCI Finals. I went to one show where the drum majors did not even acknowledge the scores at the end, though this may have been due to weather since a severe thunderstorm was headed in the stadium's direction. We want fans to stay to at least hear the scores, but since they appear online sometimes prior to their being announced, people do leave and who can blame them? Parking jams are no fun. Audience favorites could be a reason for fans to stay and could make things interesting. Yes sometimes we'd know the results: Crown, Cavies, and Bloo would probably have their fair share of favorites awards and Troopers, Madison, and BAC could easily win hearts. Some might have a harder time, but with the season we just had, no corps would be out of contention.

Finally, we don't need to be afraid of what the people have to say. People understand that a corps may not be an audience favorite but still deserves first place competitively. Depending on my day and mood, SCV, Bloo, or Crown won first in my heart this past year, but I was objective enough to know why until finals Cadets did not place below 2nd and BD was undefeated. Perhaps also liking Cadets and BD did not hurt. In the opera world, Parsifal is a superior work when compared with La Boheme, but Puccini outsells Wagner year after year. PBS will air a play by Shakespeare and Downton Abbey and my guess is the trails and travails of the Crawley family will beat the bard in ratings even of the script of Downton will never be in the same category as Shakespeare.. The Red Sox are not having a great year but Fenway Park is still filled. People liking a drum corps as a favorite that may not be the winner competitively will not be the end of the world.

[GUARDLING]

You think the Blue Devils very often would not have won this year if fans had input to 5% of the score?

wow I'm impressed...lol...well at least we know the subject has been gone over and over and over again. YES I still feel the same way. I do not think you put the outcome in an audience. As I have said. 5% can change alot of positions. There also are alot more positions to consider than 1st.

[GUARDLING]

My response wasn't about the corps at all. My response was about the presenting organization. DCI. Since DCI is the one scheduling programming, organizing marketing, presenting workshops...etc etc etc. It doesn't make sense for them to give up control of their programming and product. And giving the fans a part of the judging system gives up some control over the product presented.

I agree

[garfield]

There is another opportunity with this that may not seem to make financial sense initially.

If you could get fans to vote and capture their demo information in the process, that resulting database is a gold mine for DCI's sponsors to market.

That alone could attract a non-traditional marketer that wants to sell into the demographic of the activity.