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Just A Thought!


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1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

oh a post count shot. I'm so hurt.

Perchance if you actually read those posts, you'll see I have offered up probably hundreds of ideas. Usually all focusing back to one topic especially....marketing....or the general lack thereof you see. Do you know who the DCA PR person is? I finally met him last weekend. I wasn't sure he existed because everything thats put out comes from the Preident...social media, press releases, tv interviews...you name it. I saw no marketing for finals living 2 hours away from the show site. Zero. I asked friends in Scanton about 90 minutes away....zero, same with State College. band circuits have approached about strategic partnerships....nothing. ignored. Once you get strong marketing and get more eyes on the product, lots of smaller things fall into place. Judging by the attendance last week, the DCA fan base is getting older, and the movement to bring n youth isn't visible. DCI suffered the same issue 10 years ago. You need to grab the kids, and try to retain the older crowd as best you can. 

Well... so much for cultural sensitivities!!!  :tongue:

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59 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

oh a post count shot. I'm so hurt.

Perchance if you actually read those posts, you'll see I have offered up probably hundreds of ideas. Usually all focusing back to one topic especially....marketing....or the general lack thereof you see. Do you know who the DCA PR person is? I finally met him last weekend. I wasn't sure he existed because everything thats put out comes from the Preident...social media, press releases, tv interviews...you name it. I saw no marketing for finals living 2 hours away from the show site. Zero. I asked friends in Scanton about 90 minutes away....zero, same with State College. band circuits have approached about strategic partnerships....nothing. ignored. Once you get strong marketing and get more eyes on the product, lots of smaller things fall into place. Judging by the attendance last week, the DCA fan base is getting older, and the movement to bring n youth isn't visible. DCI suffered the same issue 10 years ago. You need to grab the kids, and try to retain the older crowd as best you can. 

Jeff, the post shot was low hanging fruit. Too easy to be sure. Sometimes you just got to have a little. Happy you got back in the conversation as you do have something to say. Your marketing comments are not to be argued with as DCA's ability to promote itself is beyond sad. It is nothing new. Can't help but wonder if DCI should be approached to handle this segment of DCA's operational activities. It takes money to make money and whether DCA would open its wallet for this venture is an unknown. Considering DCA's track record it would seem worth the risk. 

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4 hours ago, leanlion said:

Jeff, the post shot was low hanging fruit. Too easy to be sure. Sometimes you just got to have a little. Happy you got back in the conversation as you do have something to say. Your marketing comments are not to be argued with as DCA's ability to promote itself is beyond sad. It is nothing new. Can't help but wonder if DCI should be approached to handle this segment of DCA's operational activities. It takes money to make money and whether DCA would open its wallet for this venture is an unknown. Considering DCA's track record it would seem worth the risk. 

Easy doesn’t equate good. 

 

Now: dci isn’t perfect, but they realized after 09-10 that it had to be kids. Older fans drifted away or passed on. Trying to balance marketing that appealed to kids vs appeasing die hards wasn’t working. Outside of BOA and Yea, I’ve only ever seen two band circuits having a banner at Indy.... both based on PA. Costs nothing.

 

now knowing how many kids and staff of DCA corps are in those circuits: why not reach out! Hell we had a booth at dca( host school is a member band). That I know of no one went out to say hi. There’s lots of ways to market that costs very little and get a wider reach. 

 

And i think part of the problem is  is how DCA is structured. Too much all for me, not enough one for all

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For marketing, DCA might start by getting a video montage on Youtube like the ones that DCI creates each year. The music can either be stuff played this year that's in the public domain (as long as they get the corps' and/or arrangers' permission) or some easily licensed mood music (which seems to be what DCI uses). Last year's has 31,000 views. Not a huge number on Youtube, but several times the number of people in Williamsport this year.

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11 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

I will however agree that the communication part of GE is pure extra GE hogwash

I've never got a straight, cogent answer from anyone about what it constitutes other than another 10 point added weight for each effect caption.

It seems this past season the adjudicators are trying to make it move more independently from the performer sub-caption of the average of the top and bottom numbers...how, personal voodoo from each judge?

 

I do believe it was added as some kind of way to try and hamstring one of the corps, as if they don't design to the sheets.

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19 hours ago, N.E. Brigand said:

For marketing, DCA might start by getting a video montage on Youtube like the ones that DCI creates each year. The music can either be stuff played this year that's in the public domain (as long as they get the corps' and/or arrangers' permission) or some easily licensed mood music (which seems to be what DCI uses). Last year's has 31,000 views. Not a huge number on Youtube, but several times the number of people in Williamsport this year.

you mean like "THIS IS DCA" on youtube?

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11 minutes ago, brigscadm said:

you mean like "THIS IS DCA" on youtube?

Huh... <searches, searches> ... Yes!

Except the most recent "This is DCA!" video is seven years old, and DCA doesn't seem to have posted anything at all in three years.

DCI posts about four videos per week, it appears.

I don't expect DCA to keep up with that pace!

But just one per month would go a ways toward improving the league's exposure.

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3 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

What do we know... we’re internet trolls

Note to self: don’t read dcp while eating a French dip sandwich. Messy is so many ways on a spit take. And I don’t want to be banned from West Shore Plaza restaurant 

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On 9/7/2018 at 3:37 PM, BigW said:

3: I know it's been tried, I know when it's been done it's been a positive thing... it's a question of time, setting up the whole situation- Outreach to the scholastic end. Clinics... teaching materials...there's a wealth of fantastic instructors and groups who  could really sell the brand in such a positive way if this was done. I know, I know, no time. There has to be a way to make this time. Someone on staff that functions mostly or totally as some sort of educational liaison? Build that bridge, students and directors will cross, at least those who understand.

 

 

And that is the part that I guess I never truly understood. I was one of the lucky ones I guess in the early to mid 80's. My father took to me my first DCI finals in 1984. His sister was involved with the Bridgemen and at one point, he was approached to be involved in some way with Suncoast Sound (he was a food service director at the time,)but I don't believe it ever came to fruition. My band directors were all highly involved in DCI at one point or another (Jim Gladson, Perry Vandergriff, Joel Denton and Preston Gunter.) We were encouraged to go to DCI shows. We went to Spirits camps in mid 80's at West Georgia or Merryville. They shaped my love and involvement in Drum and Bugle Corps for both DCI and later DCA.

I understand the importance of summer band camps, the attitude that some of the kids come back to their HS programs with regarding quality and work ethic. My HS directors always sat down with any of those who were marching corps before HS band camp and clearly defined the dynamic differences between the two. 

Why exactly is there such "bad blood" between some HS Band Directors and Drum Corps 30 years later? THAT's what I would like to know. DCI (and DCA) should be encouraging kids and directors to come out to shows with significant discounts if they aren't doing so already. That would be one way to get some younger blood in the audience it would seem.

In my real life, I'm an instructional designer. I spend 60 hours a week at call centers all over the world. I interact with a LOT of proud parents who's kids are in their local HS marching band. What's shocking is that almost NONE of them know what drum corps is...at all. Their very vocal about their kids "amazing marching band" and many of them have a real chip on their shoulder that something else exists. 

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