DCA '15, 35 corps, great performances, not-so-great attendance

[Jeff Ream]

Jeff Ream figured this out, even without being there. It dawned on me during prelims, looking around at the audience, that the comments I so often see about the alumni crowd now apply equally well to the fanbase at the contest. I would estimate average age at 65. Other than corps members who already performed, I saw one person under the age of 35.

Some DCA corps have succeeded in recruiting youth, but DCA the organization has a very long way to go in marketing to youth.

DCA needs help in public relations, website, event staffing. An internship outreach like DCI uses would be a great way to get affordable manpower, as well as a fresher perspective on how to connect with younger audiences.

in terms of on field programming, I think DCA will do fine with kids/younger people...what's really all that different from what they see design wise in DCI?

true fact....when finals were headed to Annapolis, I offered to help establish contact with TOB, which has several members bands in that area to help spread the word.

from inside sources, I was told that the local contacts that were desired to be used were from the Yankee Rebels Alumni, which had just previous to finals heding to MD had announced they were disbanding.

so in an area where most schools that have competitive programs participate in either TOB or with YEA/USBands, the desired choice was an alumni corps that had announced it was going out of business. And this is not meant to disrespect YR, as my father marched there in 70's and when the alumni corps first got up and running. I have much love for that group.

let that sink in for a bit.

[Jeff Ream]

Not sure the group gets it. It isnt about the bid city or the hotel rooms when the event can be held in Rochester, NY and the people in Rochester, NY are unaware that it is being held.

Substitute the name of the city and the same problem exists. Does anyone outside the ever shrinking niche of an audience know (or care) that the event is being held?

There is no excuse for the lack of contact with the Statesmen, Crusaders, St Joes, Brigadier, Patriots, Greece, Upstate, etc etc organizations especially when DCA leadership in some cases hails from these organizations. The people within a 50 mile radius of the show are the ones MOST likely to buy a ticket. Are they contacted? If they were taken for granted, they did not deliver.

Entertainment is a contact sport. An organizational phone or email list is not that hard to come by.

Getting the word out is the first and most major step. Once that happens, people in our drum corps community are smart enough to figure out what to do (if you arent sure that's true, just ask the Bushwackers who saved their corps by getting the word out).

PS I suggest that DCA will remain a largely older audience. Summers are for kids...you take em to the DCI show. Labor Days are for famlies...to go boating, grilling and watch football.

DCA might be best for corps alumni and parents who have sent their kids off to college and are looking for something to do with people like them.

I am absolutely sure there are 4,032 of them within 100 miles of that stadium.

There are now 357 days left to find them.

actually you aren't getting it. regardless of city, attendance isn't what it could be. hence many of the ideas listed, like in the posts about attracting youth.

at todays finals prices, you are not going to get John and Mary off the street who may have seen a show in 1973. Remember Barnum tried to go the route of seriously discounted ticket prices, and even with an increase in attendance, almost lost their ###. DCA weekend and maybe Scranton are the only two shows DCA runs and makes cash off of. So you can't just drop prices. While local marketing is great, you need to market PERIOD!!! if more people know about the product, you get more people coming in that fill up restaurants and hotels. And when it comes to securing good bids from potential hosts, it's all about the people coming in from OUT OF TOWN that help sweeten the bid, not the locals.

think back 9 years. We were promised great things about Winston Salem. 3300 people ( they say) showed up in a 50+ thousand seat football stadium. I knew probably 100 people there that travelled myself. We were told the local population would be out in droves...um yeah. Sure people still use the rain that hit 2 hours or so before the show as the cause for low attendance, and to this day I still call ########. $40 ticket prices for a show in an area with NO DCA history wasn't going to sell 7/8000 tickets.

marketing local is great. but DCA needs to market nationally, and to a younger audience cause guess what....all of us, myself included, 45 and older, are going to get to a point where we stop going due to health, costs, etc. Kinda like you see now in DCA.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Jeff Ream

[Kamarag]

true fact....when finals were headed to Annapolis, I offered to help establish contact with TOB, which has several members bands in that area to help spread the word.

from inside sources, I was told that the local contacts that were desired to be used were from the Yankee Rebels Alumni, which had just previous to finals heding to MD had announced they were disbanding.

so in an area where most schools that have competitive programs participate in either TOB or with YEA/USBands, the desired choice was an alumni corps that had announced it was going out of business. And this is not meant to disrespect YR, as my father marched there in 70's and when the alumni corps first got up and running. I have much love for that group.

let that sink in for a bit.

That...is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I believe you 100%, and I wish I could say I was surprised.

Good lord.

[Jeff Ream]

When have you seen a DCI ad locally? Ever. Or a DCI ad on a bus? Ever. You saw one when you got to the event. Great. You were already there.

There is a media savvy that the younger gen "gets" and they are hyped and enthusiastic or they generate the hype and enthusiasm. They know how to create get-togethers. 24,000 went to DCI. That's a get together. 1,200 watched a Cavaliers practice...that's a big crowd that kept growing as the kids kept texting each other..."yo, come to the high school, dude....the Cavaliers are here."

How many people ever went to DCA because of an ad in the times? Three?

People go because of word of mouth....(MOUTH! Trust me, we have PLENTY of those!).....and a direct invitation...and buzz.

It's not about radio and tv. Its about making it a good enough prospect that your people tell my people.

The band kids trade videos and hype items all summer long. They know dci is coming to town because they HEARD it, then went to DCI.org and FOUND OUT THE DETAILS....easy.

I rooted for the Sunrisers to make finals this year. Why? Because Dave Hobart made sure I did. He was non-stop with the updates and enthusiasm and pretty soon, I felt like part of the team. I didnt make it to DCA but sure as hell knew about the fundraiser contest between Bush and Sun.

Just ike I knew about the SAVE THE BUSHWACKERS campaign a few years ago. Word of mouth started it, word of mouth kept it going....goals were met and people are now on the list as PART OF THE TEAM. Do they get me for a donation now every year? OF COURSE!!! They reach out with a thank you and an "oh by the way" which is WELCOMED...and I get invited to steak dinners and people's houses and and and...all because I sent out an envelope and a few emails.

Organic is the way. Freakin strangers see an ad on the side of a bus and go, "what's drum corps?".

Our family is bigger than 4000 people! Our family needs to know they are invited! CALL SOMEONE!!!! POST SOMETHING! BE POSITIVE AND ENTHUSIASTIC!

"DCA" isnt the solution. Some vague comments about advertising isnt the solution. A pseudo professional, armchair balance sheet analysis isnt the solution.

WE ARE THE SOLUTION!

Allentown does a lot of local media. In fact in the greater PA/NJ area where YEA runs the shows for DCI, you see them do a lot...print, radio, etc.

the problem isn't just a Rochester issue. It's DCA wide issue.

[Jeff Ream]

3500?

Not too shabby for a 6 corps show . Just sayin.

they claim. being there live, it looked nowhere that big.

[frachel]

I would like to remind people that New Jersey SCHOOL does not start school till the day after Labor Day.

Need to find Sponsor to submit a Bid. Places like Rutgers and Princeton are good but then the College football problem kicks in. Maybe rotate between them. Clifton maybe?

But there again it takes a GOOD BID to beat out Rochester (Rchacha is not my favorite. But they sure know how to win this Bid. AND. Know how to run things well).

Not all of them. My town (Springfield, and plenty surrounding ones) started on Thursday this year before the holiday weekend.

[LegalEagle50]

in terms of on field programming, I think DCA will do fine with kids/younger people...what's really all that different from what they see design wise in DCI?

true fact....when finals were headed to Annapolis, I offered to help establish contact with TOB, which has several members bands in that area to help spread the word.

from inside sources, I was told that the local contacts that were desired to be used were from the Yankee Rebels Alumni, which had just previous to finals heding to MD had announced they were disbanding.

so in an area where most schools that have competitive programs participate in either TOB or with YEA/USBands, the desired choice was an alumni corps that had announced it was going out of business. And this is not meant to disrespect YR, as my father marched there in 70's and when the alumni corps first got up and running. I have much love for that group.

let that sink in for a bit.

This is something that I do not grasp. A way to involve them, yes. To leave it to them as the go to people? Why??!!??

But that may be the shining example of the disconnect that is happening. Without revamping the entire thing from top to bottom DCA will fall out of any sort of actual relevance. If the numbers given have any type of truth to them, they have lost more than half their audience in less than 10 years. They need to find out (very quickly) as to why, and even more quickly take major steps to fix the problems. While I do think a part of it is location, that cannot be the only answer. I am not sure the powers that be are ready to hear what some of the possible reasons are though.

[CHRISP]

they claim. being there live, it looked nowhere that big.

I was there too as a spectator and I don't think there were anywhere near 3500 in attendance

Edited September 9, 2015 by CHRISP

[camel lips]

This is something that I do not grasp. A way to involve them, yes. To leave it to them as the go to people? Why??!!??

But that may be the shining example of the disconnect that is happening. Without revamping the entire thing from top to bottom DCA will fall out of any sort of actual relevance. If the numbers given have any type of truth to them, they have lost more than half their audience in less than 10 years. They need to find out (very quickly) as to why, and even more quickly take major steps to fix the problems. While I do think a part of it is location, that cannot be the only answer. I am not sure the powers that be are ready to hear what some of the possible reasons are though.

This is EXACTLY what Gil Silva laid out in 2006 and NO ONE was listening.

[drumlaw80]

Simply put - If you want fans to attend a drum corps show to see a competition, DCA needs to become competitive again.

Here's the explanation.