How do we increase public awareness of crawling and events?

[SkaldidDog]

Hey y'all,

I think that we've had sufficient discourse on the apparent decrease in interest in crawling (comp and otherwise). Why don't we brainstorm and come up with as many ideas as possible to increase public awareness of crawling and competitions (advertise). Please no comments on how to run comps better or prevent elitist attitudes. That's been covered. Let's go for some concrete ideas and then see if we can work to implement some of them.

Let's see all of that positive creative energy flow"thumbsup"!

J

 

[ROWDY RACING]

Event coverage.

 

[Erik D_lux]

I ran a couple of 801 events this year. Both times I posted on our local "Craigslist" sort of website here and I was able to pull probably 4 or so new people each time. Compare that to the previous 1.5yrs where we had maybe 2 fresh faces the entire time. Its a big deal just doing that.

 

[tapped-out]

Like Erik said, I've seen local guys post their GTG on Craigs list, not sure how that worked out for them. + flyers @ local hobby stores, post events on other rc websites/Facebook, word of mouth. I always have guys ask me what's WCRCC (when I'm wearing my club shirt) so I tell them about WCRCC club/Westcoastcrawlers.com local comps/events & rccrawler.com.

Shoot more videos of our hobbies and post them on other websites.

 

[SkaldidDog]

Event coverage.

Specifics please"thumbsup".

As this thread progresses I'll summarize the key suggestions in the first post in the form of a How to Market Crawling instructional.

J

 

[Constant Threat]

How bout fund raiser raffles to go toward a marketing budget for let's say RC magazines adds, And or website development.

 

[Dostradamas]

Event coverage.

"thumbsup"

Show people what we do.

Public displays of crawling.

Crossing genre, like driving a crawler around a Comicon.

School events, boys & girls clubs, little league, etc. Get em young & spending mom & dads money.

 

[Jslick]

We joined up with a national charity for the Northeast National Qualifier to improve promotion and do something nice for others. We contacted RC mags and local news outlets, put flyers up in local hobby shops. We have used FB but have not tried Craigs list yet. Doing a demo locally would be an awesome thing to do.

 

[TURBOFEST]

^^^^Promotional Machine^^^^

 

[Curcal]

Following Jslick's lead the group or individual putting on a qualifier should look into a having a greater media presence. The presence doesn't have to be professional because the way news travels these days is much different than it has in the past.
1. We need to promote better on this site. Unless you're looking for it the qualifiers can be easily missed. Not sure what kind of extra cost that may incur but something needs to be tweaked a little bit.
2. Comp promoters and organizers should keep their threads active
3. Comp coverage is always nice. Score updates quick
4. Comp coverage with pictures could be submitted to Rc publishers. Which they can post to their websites. I would imagine if the work is quality and they don't have to pay for it. They're more likely to share and publish. If they know in advance that make chances even better.

 

[ROWDY RACING]

Need an active leader.

Someone dedicated and passionate about crawling themselves, that passion is what it takes to be successful.

 

[TEDROCKZ]

1-Someone motivated to oversee the events as a whole(entire sanctioning body)

2-Dedicated people who will work with #1 to take care of regional/local stuff. Spot procurement, facilities, amenities, permits, general stuff. It,s hard for any one or two people budget and time wise to travel the country to organize events. KEEP the current economy in mind when doing so. BIG factor!!!

3-Common event standards. As in same formats, rules, agendas, scheduling etc.

4-Community involvement. As in local and regional drivers willing to help #s 1, 2&3

5-More section and local events with entry level classes. Make it easier for new people to get their foot in the door. If they like it as much as we all do then they will put in time, money and effort to step up to more "pro" class stuff. If they don't like it they can back out without investing a bunch in it. Pretty much what the basic idea of the trail class was.

6- More positive attitudes and more comrade like behavior. Sponsors and vendors see what's going on the the crawling world and it reflects on their input. Discontent and backbiting hurts us all....

7-Advertising. No advertising will do any good until 1-6 is addressed. Fix basic issues and then hit forums, social medias, magazines, newspapers, word of mouth, etc with a well planned event and location. Always have a back up plan in case of unseen circumstances. I saw what was a really good event with lots of signed up drivers screwed up last year because of some BS. Then it was a last minute dash to recover from it. Hurt the attendance badly.

8-Most importantly have FUN. It is a hobby, a pass time meant to get us out of the house and have a good time. Leave all work and stress at the GD house. If you don't win or don't even do well at all just take it with a grain of salt and thrive to do better next time. I see a lot of people have one bad day and their scarred for life.

9&10- Again have FUN"thumbsup"

EDIT: After going back and reading Joel's og post and getting it my head what the topic was, public awareness only! I'm gonna go with my #7' "fix the house before you invite company over".
Getting new people in would involve getting into more public places. Like public parks, campgrounds, maybe some 1:1 events(all where terrain allows). Lots of times I've seen people who never knew this genre existed walk up and take interest. That's how I got here, went to LRC on a camping trip and met Austin Dunn(now friend for life) and it intrigued me .
You gotta take time to explain to people what is all involved and the sources to info. The number 1 source is here, RCC. That goes back to number 7 again. New guys/gals see the division of mentalities and attitudes and that's a quick turn off.

 

[ROWDY RACING]

^ Nailed it. "thumbsup"

 

[TEDROCKZ]

^ Nailed it. "thumbsup"

Probably not completely but some highlights."thumbsup". This is what I've only seen with my eyes. I have never publicly promoted a comp but have been behind the scenes in many of them on this side of the country. Mostly financial but I was kept in the loop of what was going on some. Even before Jeff Gill dubbed that silly "team Tedrockz" crap(so silly but it stuck). Not so much the last year or so.

Comp Crawling is not dead, may need a shot of Cialis though. I think why some say its dead is because you don't see the usual suspects out as much. He'll I did not know half the new guys at ECC and that is "home".

 

[Curcal]

If you didn't know half does that equate to fresh blood?

 

[TEDROCKZ]

If you didn't know half does that equate to fresh blood?

Pretty much, after taking a few minutes to talk to them and them saying that was their first time out. Most were friends of the usual guys but still new. I know it was probably not the best analogy but a general direction to the topic and I see what you are saying.

 

[EeePee]

7-Advertising.

Two words. Superbowl commercial. Air the old Mudcow videos. A flexing Clodbuster is all it takes.

But really, think about this. What if the generation that should be getting into toy trucks, just aren't into toy trucks because they're glued to their computers and iPads, etc. We 30 somethings didn't have those things so much as kids so we played with toy trucks because you can Excitebike for only so long. Then we got growed up and and got bored and something rekindled the toy truck torch now that we could afford the cool stuff.

But then got bored, and stopped playing. I think I played Excitebike more recently than toy trucked.



I live in the very populated Columbus, Ohio. Plenty of off roaders here. Millions of kids to fifty year olds that could be into it. I think the comps here get no more than 6-8 people. Years ago it was about double that on a good day.

And that would lead me to say the exposure is not there. 7 - Advertising.

Huge posters on the front windows of grocery stores. And beer stores.

 

[TEDROCKZ]

4. Comp coverage with pictures could be submitted to Rc publishers. Which they can post to their websites. I would imagine if the work is quality and they don't have to pay for it. They're more likely to share and publish. If they know in advance that make chances even better.

Also I like this. With declining attendance and notoriety magazines probably don't have the budget to send pr guys to comps but like you say here with quality photos, captioning, and good writing may be a welcomed gift to a magazine. May lead to sparked interest and growth enough for them to come out and cover events again"thumbsup"

 

[TEDROCKZ]

But really, think about this. What if the generation that should be getting into toy trucks, just aren't into toy trucks because they're glued to their computers and iPads, etc. We 30 somethings didn't have those things so much as kids so we played with toy trucks because you can Excitebike for only so long. Then we got growed up and and got bored and something rekindled the toy truck torch now that we could afford the cool stuff..

This is a good portion of it also. People, mostly young adults in general don't get out as much as before. Our generation is one of the biggest transitional generations ever.

Sorry Joel to thread jack here. There is many answers to the topic. Just gotta find the right combinations"thumbsup"

 

[Szczerba]

Check out what the Jesse "J Walker Designs" and the East Texas Club put on last weekend. Several RCC vendors participated with the event. Held in conjunction with a hobby shop event. Great way to showcase crawlers!