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Vic Firth/Zildjian no longer DCI partner


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1 minute ago, Stu said:

If the directors of corps are also board members of DCI and do something in the name of DCI, they take responsiblity, but their corps should be protected. If a director does something in the name of their own corps, then that individual takes responsibility but DCI and the other corps should be protected.

This is exactly correct in my understanding.  And, if this is the point I missed in your earlier post, I'm perfectly clarified.  They are protected - indemnified - from their actions of one role pervading their function in the other role.  

In practical terms, however, a board rep's action in the name of his/her corps does, definitely, impact the impression of the other Board reps and could affect the belief in impartiality of that Board rep.

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11 hours ago, garfield said:

Please describe: "levels".  What does AACA do again?

 

The Antique Automobile Club of America runs Concours D'Elegance, and other vintage car events (The Hershey Swap Meet... find a muffler for your 1953 DeSoto here kind of thing... and the Hershey Hillclimb for instance as well as some affiliated events across the US). They have the obvious sponsors for these events like insurance companies that specialize in insuring vintage vehicles, companies that transport said vehicles, and companies that make, for instance, tires for said vehicles as well as reproduction wheels or restore said vehicles and sell them as well. When I've been to the Hershey Elegance ( you should go, I LOVE it!), other promoters/sponsors appear such as Wineries, upscale art, clothing... things that have nothing to do with vintage vehicles but have to do with the upscale lifestyle many of the participants and people who attend the events enjoy and would likely purchase. Some of them I think may have a connection with the charity that the Elegance supports or to other charities some of the individuals present support but I'm unsure. 

 

That's the 'level' of connections DCI perhaps needs to explore beyond the ones connected directly to the marching arts. Who has a business that might be run by someone who likes the activity or participated in it before they became the owner of some successful business? I think of the Cook Foundation at one point who I believe footed a heck of a lot of the cost of the PBS broadcast. Who has something that they might think the 'typical DCI fan' might be interested in purchasing? Wine? Craft Beer?   (Just examples, please don't hold me to those, pick others if you'd prefer that may be possibilities)

 

The thing is... and I think this has been mulled over... what IS the 'typical DCI fan'? :satisfied:

 

Other than the fact (for instance) Jeff and I own VWs and marched in the same corps at one point, we're not exactly demographically identical (for which he should be very thankful). :laugh:

 

I just think this will take some deep thinking, and some kind of breakthrough/insightful discovery on DCI's part that they haven't discovered yet. I apologize for any odd wording. I finished 9+ hour shift and drank a nice craft beer now, I'm very tired. :satisfied:

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I gotta check out the Concours W. Have read in the AACA magazine and appealing to the high brow definitely. Worked Fall Meet (car parts/auto related) Flea Market (lasts couple of days) for decades and that’s the other end of the spectrum. Folks with dirt under the fingernails trying to find parts and making connections. Well they were those Jay Leno and Clive Cussler characters who showed up last year but they’re exceptions imo. Then car show Saturday. Total attendance over the few days over 200k last I saw. Traffic so bad it always gets mentioned on local Traffax. So more than a few eyeballs for advertising. 

To apply to topic. Hope DCI looks past musically inclined or 22 and under demographic when they think of potential sponsors. Wide range might help.

oh yeah the local AACA club runs Fall Meet under AACA rules (like a corps running a DCI sponsored show). Belong to the local club and what gets swapped is lotsa lotsa $$$$$$ for the parts.

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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1 hour ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Hope DCI looks past musically inclined or 22 and under demographic when they think of potential sponsors. Wide range might help

There are so many variances is what is exciting to me. Big W mentioned Cook Group and I truly wish that Bill were still around so someone could pick his brain. Off the top of my head:

Sports and Energy Drinks would be a huge target. There are literally probably at least 45 to 50 different manufacturers and who knows how many "labels" each of them has under their umbrella. At one time, I BELIEVE Coca-Cola was approached about sponsoring a corps here in Chattanooga but I don't believe anything actually came of it.

Clothing has been mentioned in it's various forms be it footwear or outerwear. I mean we had an entire debate about Under Armour. #### with 'em if they don't want the business. There are several other manufacturers who might bite if the pitch is right. 

I saw a My Pillow commercial the other night for a travel pillow and thought "That would be an interesting sponsor." They've had a few legal issues but the thought is still there.

Tire companies such as Bridgestone, Cooper and Goodyear all have a small % of budget (2-7%) devoted to sponsoring Arts and Entertainment. There's CERTAINLY a tie in for tires and Drum Corps. 

I'm sure I'm not reinventing the wheel here. These have probably all been thought of and explored. But I'm not exactly the brightest bulb in the box and it took me like 3 minutes to just think outside the box a little as several have said here. When you're knocking on doors and asking for money, you don't only knock on the doors of the houses which are painted yellow after all. 

 

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I always think of transportation companies but thats kind of the family background. And the bus company we always used always had a half page ad in the home show program. And the ad always mentioned that the corps was one of their customers. Not a sponsorship but ad revenue helps too.

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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8 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

I gotta check out the Concours W. Have read in the AACA magazine and appealing to the high brow definitely. Worked Fall Meet (car parts/auto related) Flea Market (lasts couple of days) for decades and that’s the other end of the spectrum. Folks with dirt under the fingernails trying to find parts and making connections. Well they were those Jay Leno and Clive Cussler characters who showed up last year but they’re exceptions imo. Then car show Saturday. Total attendance over the few days over 200k last I saw. Traffic so bad it always gets mentioned on local Traffax. So more than a few eyeballs for advertising. 

To apply to topic. Hope DCI looks past musically inclined or 22 and under demographic when they think of potential sponsors. Wide range might help.

oh yeah the local AACA club runs Fall Meet under AACA rules (like a corps running a DCI sponsored show). Belong to the local club and what gets swapped is lotsa lotsa $$$$$$ for the parts.

If you want to meet me here, I'll drive you to the Elegance. The Hillclimb is great to go to to see a lot of old one of a kind race cars as well.

The Elegance does have that layer of money, but by Concours standards, they're very accessible to the average person and gear-head friendly.

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14 hours ago, Weaklefthand4ever said:

There are so many variances is what is exciting to me. Big W mentioned Cook Group and I truly wish that Bill were still around so someone could pick his brain. Off the top of my head:

Sports and Energy Drinks would be a huge target. There are literally probably at least 45 to 50 different manufacturers and who knows how many "labels" each of them has under their umbrella. At one time, I BELIEVE Coca-Cola was approached about sponsoring a corps here in Chattanooga but I don't believe anything actually came of it.

Clothing has been mentioned in it's various forms be it footwear or outerwear. I mean we had an entire debate about Under Armour. #### with 'em if they don't want the business. There are several other manufacturers who might bite if the pitch is right. 

I saw a My Pillow commercial the other night for a travel pillow and thought "That would be an interesting sponsor." They've had a few legal issues but the thought is still there.

Tire companies such as Bridgestone, Cooper and Goodyear all have a small % of budget (2-7%) devoted to sponsoring Arts and Entertainment. There's CERTAINLY a tie in for tires and Drum Corps. 

I'm sure I'm not reinventing the wheel here. These have probably all been thought of and explored. But I'm not exactly the brightest bulb in the box and it took me like 3 minutes to just think outside the box a little as several have said here. When you're knocking on doors and asking for money, you don't only knock on the doors of the houses which are painted yellow after all. 

 

all of these and more are possible. fitness apps could be a thing...I am doing DDPYoga, and if this had been around 25 years ago when i was carrying a bass drum, i know my back would feel a lot better. Things like that.the possibilities are limitless

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On 3/22/2019 at 5:54 PM, garfield said:

I'd like to clarify the consensus if there is one:

Is VF/Z apparently moving its sponsorship dollars to the corps and away from DCI-central office?  And if this is a problem, how is it one?

Should DCI attempt to replace VF/Z sponsorship dollars (hard or soft, in-kind or financial), or just focus on its knitting and run the tour?

a.  Loss of a single sponsor at some point in time is inevitable.  It is not a "problem" unless DCI is doing something wrong that is alienating otherwise happy, generous sponsors.

b.  DCI should not "attempt to replace" VF/Z... they should have a continuous effort to attract and maintain sponsors (I assume they already do).  I consider that effort to be part of "running the tour".

And by the way, someone I would solicit as a DCI sponsor... Tresona.

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On 3/23/2019 at 5:05 AM, BigW said:

The thing is... and I think this has been mulled over... what IS the 'typical DCI fan'? :satisfied:

It just occurred to me that the marketing gurus of DCI, amid their own zeal to answer this question, have directed the focus of all things toward high school band kids.  After 20 years of such focus, we are now told that the typical duration of fan interest (allegedly 3.5 years) is shorter than the typical high school enrollment.  If that is true, then your "typical fan" target demographic must be the same HS/college age group that our current participants represent.

(Personally, I disagree with both the chosen pigeonhole and the data that suggests we double down on such pigeonholing, but I do not have a seat at the marketing table.)

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1 hour ago, cixelsyd said:

a.  Loss of a single sponsor at some point in time is inevitable.  It is not a "problem" unless DCI is doing something wrong that is alienating otherwise happy, generous sponsors.

b.  DCI should not "attempt to replace" VF/Z... they should have a continuous effort to attract and maintain sponsors (I assume they already do).  I consider that effort to be part of "running the tour".

And by the way, someone I would solicit as a DCI sponsor... Tresona.

Ewww...quite good.  Tasty, in fact.  So tasty that I'd bet they have "Conflict of Interest" policies that prevent such a thing.

Else everyone everywhere in the music business would be soliciting them to get some money back, right?

(And thanks for the attempted save.  Let's see if the Old (car) drivers can park long enough to stay OT)

 

Edited by garfield
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