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Vic Firth/Zildjian no longer DCI partner


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On 3/12/2019 at 4:36 PM, Jeff Ream said:

apparently it's BOA too. they're just cutting back

They own the band and drum corps world. No use spending more money there than necessary when the drum set market (much MUCH bigger) is seeing increased competition and they have to fight harder to maintain their position. Smart business move.

Besides, I believe DCI has someone they're paying to generate corporate sponsorships, and he'll no doubt have someone lined up that can fill the gap soon. :music:

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6 hours ago, SFZFAN said:

So the net effect is that we won't see any Zildjian or Vic Firth banners surrounding the field but there will still be lots of stuff from both used on the field. 

Concerning Zildjian - I suppose it is how one defines 'on the field'.  Few Corps march cymbals in the battery - one definition of 'on the field'.  The some may consider the front ensemble to not be 'on the field'. 

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1 hour ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Concerning Zildjian - I suppose it is how one defines 'on the field'.  Few Corps march cymbals in the battery - one definition of 'on the field'.  The some may consider the front ensemble to not be 'on the field'. 

 

1 hour ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Concerning Zildjian - I suppose it is how one defines 'on the field'.  Few Corps march cymbals in the battery - one definition of 'on the field'.  The some may consider the front ensemble to not be 'on the field'. 

I miss Cymbal lines. The funniest & most entertaining section in the Scouts when I marched was by far the Cymbal line. Just hilarious.

Always loved the Scouts & SCV lines.

Edited by FlamMan
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6 hours ago, dbg said:

What does Vic Firth/Zildjian really get by sponsoring DCI or BOA?....they get to place a banner up at a show.  When the same companies sponsor and support individual corps they get there logos on the corps trucks the logos are on the stick bags etc...  All those groups get recognition through social media ( Like the Vic Firth learn the music youtube vids).  All the stick/cymbal companies are getting most of their recognition from that.......Spending money for DCI to pot a banner is a waste of money in my opinion.

 

there's pros and cons....yes they get their logo out there with the corps, but they get their logo out there to a wider audience by DCI, as not everyone follows every corps. I'm sure there are reasons no one here mentioned, and they aren't dummies. Given their recent exposure on Flo, maybe that's where the future lies

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15 hours ago, dbg said:

What does Vic Firth/Zildjian really get by sponsoring DCI or BOA?....they get to place a banner up at a show.  When the same companies sponsor and support individual corps they get there logos on the corps trucks the logos are on the stick bags etc...  All those groups get recognition through social media ( Like the Vic Firth learn the music youtube vids).  All the stick/cymbal companies are getting most of their recognition from that.......Spending money for DCI to pot a banner is a waste of money in my opinion.

 

I think the better question is What can DCI do to better the investment dollars these companies put into their coffers.  OK, times are changing and sponsorship and support dollars are going in different directions into the same activity.  It's fine to say you think DCI doesn't provide a marketing platform that's worth VF/Z's dollars, but yours is only an opinion among many who would disagree.  So, if you were VF/Z, what would you want DCI to do to get those marketing placement dollars?

And, now stepping back into your Drum Corps fan shoes, what does DCI do now to replace WHATEVER dollars (soft, hard, visible, hidden) it gets from having VF/Z's support?  After all, DCI has the right to control who and what groups and entities are allowed in and around their show venues.  What if DCI wanted SystemBlue to do all of their public videos?  They don't have to let VF/Z in to do those great vids if VF/Z insists on sticking a poker in DCI's eye.  It's not like the DCI brand is worthless, is it?

Just random thoughts, not meant to be anything other than query and conversation.

Edited by garfield
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9 hours ago, garfield said:

I think the better question is What can DCI do to better the investment dollars these companies put into their coffers.  OK, times are changing and sponsorship and support dollars are going in different directions into the same activity.  It's fine to say you think DCI doesn't provide a marketing platform that's worth VF/Z's dollars, but yours is only an opinion among many who would disagree.  So, if you were VF/Z, what would you want DCI to do to get those marketing placement dollars?

And, now stepping back into your Drum Corps fan shoes, what does DCI do now to replace WHATEVER dollars (soft, hard, visible, hidden) it gets from having VF/Z's support?  After all, DCI has the right to control who and what groups and entities are allowed in and around their show venues.  What if DCI wanted SystemBlue to do all of their public videos?  They don't have to let VF/Z in to do those great vids if VF/Z insists on sticking a poker in DCI's eye.  It's not like the DCI brand is worthless, is it?

Just random thoughts, not meant to be anything other than query and conversation.

Q: Why does Honda sponsor the Battle of the Bands when it has nothing to do with marching band?

A: Because pretty darn near everyone on the field and in the stands 16 years of age and older drives a vehicle; (and it was marketed to Honda in that manner).

While securing sponsorship is downright difficult, and an avalanche of No's will be heard over and over, DCI appears to not yet grasp the mentality of marketing their organizations to corporations outside of music which appeal to the thousands of non musicians in the stadiums as opposed to only a few miusicians within their niche.

Edited by Stu
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2 hours ago, Stu said:

Q: Why does Honda sponsor the Battle of the Bands when it has nothing to do with marching band?

A: Because pretty darn near everyone on the field and in the stands 16 years of age and older drives a vehicle; (and it was marketed to Honda in that manner).

While securing sponsorship is downright difficult, and an avalanche of No's will be heard over and over, DCI appears to not yet grasp the mentality of marketing their organizations to corporations outside of music which appeal to the thousands of non musicians in the stadiums as opposed to only a few miusicians within their niche.

Why I'll never wear, or own the stock of, Under Armour, from their people directly to DCI's marketing team (many years ago now):  "The [dc/mb] activity is just not the image we want for the UA brand."  I ran a show for over a decade and saw more than 75 drum corps.  I was, and am, astounded at the number of dc mm's who wear the UA brand all over the place.

There's that.

And when, in 2017, I said so HERE, I was personally gratified to watch the company struggle and the stock get cut in half from where it was when I posted it.

You're right Stu, maybe now is the time to be magnanimous and see if UA might now be interested in talking about the class of kids dc/mb brings to UA's business model. 

UA may have been, and may still be, idiots (IMO) but I'm pretty sure they'll listen to a savvy marketing plan if DCI has one.

 

 

Edited by garfield
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6 minutes ago, garfield said:

Why I'll never wear, or own the stock of, Under Armour, from their people directly to DCI's marketing team (many years ago now):  "The [dc/mb] activity is just not the image we want for the UA brand."  I ran a show for over a decade and saw more than 75 drum corps.  I was, and am, astounded at the number of dc mm's who wear the UA brand all over the place.

There's that.

 

So one No from one company and the best response is to stop buying Under Armor!! One Yes from seeking sponsorships only materializes after hearing thousands of No's!! And I can think of hundreds of non athletic non musical corporations off the top of my head which may also say no; but at least their products could be shown as relevant to the overwhelming majority of people attending the events! What has Lucas Oil in common with the Indianapolis Colts Football team and a football stadium? Millions of people who follow football put oil in their cars!!!

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27 minutes ago, Stu said:

So one No from one company and the best response is to stop buying Under Armor!! One Yes from seeking sponsorships only materializes after hearing thousands of No's!! And I can think of hundreds of non athletic non musical corporations off the top of my head which may also say no; but at least their products could be shown as relevant to the overwhelming majority of people attending the events! What has Lucas Oil in common with the Indianapolis Colts Football team and a football stadium? Millions of people who follow football put oil in their cars!!!

Of course you're right on the ratio of "No" answers to "Maybe" or "Yes".  My example was for a seeming "perfect" non-musical match that wasn't.  What improvements in the "pitch" would it take to overcome that objection?

Paraphrasing only slightly from DCI's website, and if I remember correctly, "...more than 400,000 [or 700m or 600m, I don't remember exactly, but 100 shows with avg attendance of, what, 4500?] enthusiastic fans attend DCI events each year...". 

Unfortunately that's not much more than a rounding error for most companies that come to mind.  (USSteel for all the square tubing that goes into equipment trailers, pit equipment trailers and percussion racks, not to mention props!)

 

Edited by garfield
clarity
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Does this loss of sponsors relate to  DCI"s decision on moving from downtown to the low rent district of Indy?

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