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Vic Firth/Zildjian no longer DCI partner


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1 hour ago, garfield said:

Yes

It is their belief.  Now, granted, I got it directly from the person to whom it was said, so there's surely room for interpretation of semantics or emphasis.

Yes, it makes them idiots for the presumption that "band is not athletic" if it were that simple.  It makes them idiots for not investigating how their facts are wrong and the evidence supports it.  IMO, they're idiots for discounting the potential of entry into the 26,000 marching band programs representing several million kids that would wear branded "band" gear with The Major League on them.

OK, I'm glad they've done good things for your town - the more tax base you can get from them, the better, IMO.  But I'm not enamored by the local influence of a $4.7B company (was over $10B not long ago), and I'd be more enamored with them if they'd have said that drum corps was not big enough for them, or that they didn't like Dan A personally, or something else entirely.  To take the shot walking out the door that drum corps is not "sports" enough for them sealed their fate with me.

Now, as Stu says, there are lots of fish in the ocean.  My example is but one that examples one of any number of reasons why most of those fish don't want to swim in our pond.

 

That bolded part... they were never in the door in the first place, right? They dismissed marching music's potential out of hand, from what you've said. It wasn't like they had a meeting with DCI/BOA/DCA reps, listened, then said, "band is a joke, there's no athleticism involved"... or anything like that. If they had done that, then I'd be more fully with you. But perhaps their marketing research has indicated to them that marching band is not a good enough, big enough, lucrative enough,  "sports" enough, target audience. Like the articles I posted above indicate... they are highly data-driven.

Me having been around drum corps for more than 50 years,  I wish they (among other companies) would at least listen, to see what the reach of the entire marching-music scene might be... that "band geeks" can qualify as athletes, too. But "idiots" is solely your opinion. And the company's influence here goes far beyond the tax base, believe me.

Just seems you've singled out one company, out of dozens who also have probably dismissed 1) DCI 2) DCA, or 3) the entire marching-music activity.

Edited by Fran Haring
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14 hours ago, garfield said:

Well, and I think this is what Stu was saying: Major music and related companies might be saturated, but smaller "Bob's Burgers" sponsors - or maybe Sysco foods contracts to deliver all food to all corps at 1/2 what they're paying now as an activity (spit-balling).  Or a new upstart California surfer-dude who turned his surfboard business into a thriving sunscreen company and has a budget that's smaller than Hawaiian Tropic, for example.

I get what he's saying, I just don't think drum corps has enough eyeballs to attract a sizable contract.  I think the begging for sponsorship dollars is mostly dead until there are more eyeballs to make it worth, even, Punkin-Chunkin size.

Much to my chagrin, Break Dancing is making it to the Olympics before drum corps (if drum corps ever does).  I'd love to know the eyeballs on Punkin-Chunkin or the National BreakDancing finals...

 

Punkin Chunkin was able to draw major names to advertise on it's programs.

 

IMO where the companies miss out on how DCI is viewed is what DCI fought with internally for decades......youth. Does every band kid follow drum corps? No. Does every band kid see the cool stuff other band kids wear and want mom and dad to buy it? Sure. Yeah there's only say 65 drum corps nationwide between DCI and DCA. There's millions of high school bands that keep getting new kids every year

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14 hours ago, garfield said:

Because UA didn't say that drum corps is too small, they said that the drum corps image is not the image they want for their "athletic" wear.

And UA is a lot less "major" than they were.  Hahahahahaha!

 

so I take it Nike wasn't approached? Cause the WGI member jacket I got a few years ago...was a Nike jacket with WGI stuff put on it

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13 hours ago, Fran Haring said:

Still a big deal here in Baltimore. Without them, the city would be in more trouble than it is. They are a great corporate citizen. So your putdowns strike a chord with me.

Don't other companies basically ignore DCI for their own reasons that have nothing to do with it being "too small" for them?  Doesn't fit a company's image, whatever? Still not getting the "Under Armour are idiots" thing, at all. Especially since they're not. It's your opinion... but IMO, it's an unfair characterization.

Not trying to belabor the point. That's Stu's job... he's better at it than anyone. :laughing:

honestly to me....it all boils down to the approach by DCI. Which takes me back to the fact you try to do this kind of marketing on the cheap, you get what you don't pay for. Kinda like hosting DCA finals

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I’m looking at it as if I know nothing about mb/dc watching a UA commercial. See a  sports figures wearing the stuff, see people working out at home, then see someone carrying a musical instrument. As Sesame Street would say “one of these things is not like the other”. I don’t see the problem as UA being idiots and not thinking DC fits in their image. I see the problem as someone not explaining to UA how dc could fit.

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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25 minutes ago, Stu said:

Jeff is right y'all. Just sayin'.

Wow. It just might snow here in July. :tongue:

Seriously.... I agree, with him and you, on this. 

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30 minutes ago, Stu said:

Jeff is right y'all. Just sayin'.

look, if I am going to target an approach to say a Coldwell banker office in my area, am I going to send the admin at the front desk, or am I going to load with materials, bring my manager and area manager along, and maybe even another loan officer?

 

I know which one works.

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2 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

look, if I am going to target an approach to say a Coldwell banker office in my area, am I going to send the admin at the front desk, or am I going to load with materials, bring my manager and area manager along, and maybe even another loan officer?

 

I know which one works.

Just tell them if they don’t take you as a client they are idiots. Doesn’t matter how well you present your case.🙄

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58 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

so I take it Nike wasn't approached? Cause the WGI member jacket I got a few years ago...was a Nike jacket with WGI stuff put on it

Nike... Russell Athletic... Adidas... Champion, etc.

Perhaps all of them have their reasons for not doing business with marching music.  Hopefully we can add a "yet" here. 

Unless they're all idiots. :innocent:

 

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