Jeff Ream Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Good Morning, Mr. Mortgage! Sorry, these days I'm more about 'talking,' less about doing. But, if an exploratory committee forms, I'm happy to provide a few thoughts. Allentown should be in DCA's future plans, however. That's Sir Ratesareup to you lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Glen Paisley still around? ... he ran the last one in Allentown in 99 ... was with the Chieftains at the time ... now you've got Sky and C2 operating out of there ... like others have said ... too much competition for hotel rooms going on that weekend ... and hotel givebacks are a BIG (did I say BIG?) part of the bid ... start with the Chamber of Commerce to see when the last bid was put in ... and check with DCI East show folks for local political contacts ... :-) Good Morning, Mr. Mortgage! Sorry, these days I'm more about 'talking,' less about doing. But, if an exploratory committee forms, I'm happy to provide a few thoughts. Allentown should be in DCA's future plans, however. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 IMO...one thing not discussed in this thread... reaching out to the next generation. More web and social media presence. partnerships with band circuits like DCI does. it's not my generation or the one before me driving DCI attendance up. it's definitely not my generation or the one before me out there on the field. the future of DCA isn't in turning the clock backwards or even keeping it static. It's in the next generation. Many corps have embraced this for membership. No it needs to be embraced for marketing 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 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). Actually, given the late date of Labor Day this year, a lot of districts (including mine) started last Wednesday, befor Labor Day, but in most years you are correct. TCNJ has had both band competitions (YEA! Central Jersey Regional for years) and I've been to at least one drum corps show there, a YEA! show actually sponsored by Surf a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 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. This is a really fantastic idea. I mentioned in another thread how much of a difference I saw in the audience that attended the Grand Prix in July, versus the Championship Preview show in August...both held at Clifton Stadium. Grand Prix, while absolutely having it's share of "legacy fans", had a large number of youth. The Championship Preview did not...I was hard pressed to see many under 18 at all. A few, certainly, but far fewer than Grand Prix. Some sort of outreach to youth and high school bands is absolutely paramount for DCA's long-term survival, and an internship or similar program could go a long way towards attacking the problem. With the addition of Cadets2 to the circuit, DCA would do well to work with YEA on this...a marketing partnership with an existing corps with it's own wildly popular band circuit is a no-brainer. Sure, the legacy fan might howl about Hopkins' involvement, but there's no question he and YEA know how to market to youth. DCA should take advantage of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Actually, given the late date of Labor Day this year, a lot of districts (including mine) started last Wednesday, befor Labor Day, but in most years you are correct. . Had the start of HS and college football this past weekend too..... Imagine asking the BD off the first game to be in a DC show.... LOL not a fan of Div I FB but forgot Penn State game was Saturday. After watching Prelims on FN I went to the local papers website...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Had the start of HS and college football this past weekend too..... Imagine asking the BD off the first game to be in a DC show.... LOL not a fan of Div I FB but forgot Penn State game was Saturday. After watching Prelims on FN I went to the local papers website...... The DCA season running into Labor Day, really all through August, makes HS MB and college student participation on a large scale an issue that has to be worked through, even just as audience members, at least in the Northeast; it might be worse actually in other geographic areas. HS MBs have band camps around my area sometime in August, mid to late, depending on the school year start. A lot of college kids leave for school in August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 (edited) The DCA season running into Labor Day, really all through August, makes HS MB and college student participation on a large scale an issue that has to be worked through, even just as audience members, at least in the Northeast; it might be worse actually in other geographic areas. HS MBs have band camps around my area sometime in August, mid to late, depending on the school year start. A lot of college kids leave for school in August. College I went to had band camp (on blacktop) week before Labor Day Weekend. Man was I dragging butt that DCA..... And schools in Central PA have pretty much slid into a Pre-Labor Day start. IMO just too many snow days in the past and earlier start is less painful than school too much into June. But...my surprise was being in Finger Lakes , NY area in the middle of June for vacation and finding out they still had public school in session. Not a snow day problem (we asked) just the way they do things.... Edited September 9, 2015 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNCGQ Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 As the average corps member age trends significantly downward, the audience age must follow. Every year we trend closer to a 'WGI-age' demographic in membership, but we keep the same average fan age (or possibly even increase it). To look at those two things on a 15-year graph would be startling. To be at WGI Championships and looking at a rocking, packed arena where even back side seating is highly utilized and then coming to DCA Championships, it's quite a disconnect even though all we've done is re-arrange the parts and put it on a field. Some of it of course is the 'boutique/specialized' nature of the activity, the fact that there are 100+ performing groups at Champs who aren't in Finals but still go to watch, but at the end of the day, the 'marching arts' as a whole seem to be trending upward with general interest and butts in seats. It's easier than ever to put something in front of somebody to try and get their interest. In less than five years WGI Winds will have a higher paid attendance at it's Championships than DCA does and that's a disturbing trend given the huge costs needed to keep a drum corps circus 'on the road'. We logged somewhere around 7,000 miles this summer and we're by far not a corps with the longest tour schedule and this is 'weekend corps'. For that we performed in (4) DCA sanctioned shows (one of which was our home show) and Championships. We likely performed in front of more eyeballs at the 2:00 pm slot at DCI Atlanta than we did the rest of the DCA season, combined. I don't have any of the answers to any of the problems, but the solution begins with making the audience look like the membership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camel lips Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 one key reason why the word isn't out locally like it used to be: No Empire. The city knew them. They advertised well. Yep" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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