Is the IPT for real or isn't it?

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macguy

macguy

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This section of the board has been unusually quiet so I think I will make a post. Nothing new about the IPT has surfaced in a while. You know, the most surprising thing to me about this whole IPT so far is, beyond this news group and their obscure web site, the whole thing is invisible. Where is the big splash they talked about with William Morris and such? They are now only about two months away from the first real tournament and still nothing.

The KOTH has not aired on TV, there is no media build up, no advertising, nothing. If you took a poll you could not find, and I am making up numbers of course but what the heck, 1 in tens of thousands of people who could tell you what the IPT is. I remember when the Movie the Shining came out. They had trailers in the theaters about a year before the movie opened, it had not even been completed yet and everybody was talking about the Shining. KT is a promoter and I really expected, regardless what ultimately happens with the IPT, a huge amount would be put into promotion.

I thought he would buy tons of TV time maybe doing something like the fake interview shows like he does with his products but it would be a pool show interviewing players, doing demonstration, staging matches and so on all the time promoting Natural cures and the IPT, that's what he does best, but now after many months still nothing, nothing at all, zero.

I thought the IPT would literally be on in the conscienceless of every person with a TV set. This lack of promotion I find to be the most curious part of this whole thing and I can't think of any way for even the most loyal IPT'ers to explain it. It is just one more thing that makes no sense. Regardless what they say, this thing seems stalled somehow with every day that goes by. If the money is in reality there and they are actually committed to spending it on this thing what is going on? How long do they plan on waiting before they spend any money beyond that web site where they haven't even completed the players section yet after like six or more months? I, just like everybody else wants to see pool jump started a little, more people playing, new people taking up the game but is the IPT for real or isn't it?

Is there something the IPT players know that is not being shared as far as any plans to actually get players on Leno or Letterman or any public exposure at all. Are players out doing interviews or appearances we don't know about? Or are all of you just sitting there in the wait mode. I remember in the first tape that was played on the web site of the players meeting there was a spot where KT said something to the effect, I won't quote because I am paraphrasing, You are going to see things happening you won't understand, don't worry about it , trust us we know what we are doing. I am beginning to wonder, do they? Even the greatest product in the world can't sell it's self, what are they waiting for?
 
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30 days

Well I'll be the first to admit that I am pretty skeptical about a lot of things concerning the IPT but if a promoter knows anything at all about the general public he doesn't start serious marketing to them until within thirty days of an event unless it is a super easy sell. Notice the politicians spend their money in the last week or two, even in the last days?

I still daydream that the IPT will put out a professional product and do pool some good. I still play the Powerball too though so I am a sucker for super long shots.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
Well I'll be the first to admit that I am pretty skeptical about a lot of things concerning the IPT but if a promoter knows anything at all about the general public he doesn't start serious marketing to them until within thirty days of an event unless it is a super easy sell. Notice the politicians spend their money in the last week or two, even in the last days?

I still daydream that the IPT will put out a professional product and do pool some good. I still play the Powerball too though so I am a sucker for super long shots.

Hu
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Yes and no, That may be true for something that is to be a one shot deal like election night or a sporting event where you do the build up right up to the event. In this case the tournaments that are coming up are not going to be aired live and there will only be a limited amount of attendance so there is no real reason to do it that way. In fact if they do air on TV it won't be for months.

I was under the impression they wanted to make pool part on the public consciousness and gain their interest so they would want to watch pool. That takes a lot of promotion over time. I really question their commitment at this point. People want to look at the KOTH as proof they are committed. "Look at all the money they gave away, look at what they paid the HOF'ers, they are for real". What that really was was a prototype or pilot so to speak. You can tell by the way they did it. They wanted a product to shop around and didn't mind spending a little money on it. Then they had to establish a tour on paper to go along with the product to try to sell. KT said it himself they were getting offers from all over the world and that was why they were putting the first tournament on hold because it was such a big success.

I like the way KT talks by the way, everything is always great, fantastic amazing, beyond our wildest dreams, he would talk the same way if he was captain of the Titanic that's how KT talks, you take all that with a grain of salt. I think they shopped it around and didn't get any interest in the tour or a reality show based on pool players at all regardless what they say. They look like the purse strings have closed up for now. Like TV show pilots that gets the plug pulled after four episodes this thing can do the same at any time. I don't see them willing to pump unlimited funds into this just to feed some pool players they have convinced are all going to be millionaires. I hate to keep using the same phase but it makes no sense and makes even less as time goes on.
 
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really depends on who you are trying to market to

I have seen no real proof as yet that the fish that KT is trying to catch are anyone but the pool players. He has long preyed on desperate people. As a group, the pool players are desperate for a way to make a real and fairly respectable living at pool. The ones that are trying out for the tour are also folks with a passing acquaintance with hustling and gambling, fairly easy marks in my opinion.

Right now the IPT is making dollars back on KT's expenditure. I expect to see a good bit of back and forth like that. Nothing wrong with wanting to make dollars on minimum investment but like you I think their is no real commitment on KT's part to this even being the two year venture if he doesn't like the cash flow and cash flow prospects or it isn't meeting some other personal goal we aren't aware of.

My tournament trail is going to have a billion dollar winner in it's fifth year. The plan is simple. I will have thousand dollar entry fees the first year. Prize money is low but the winners are guaranteed a spot the second year. The second year I will have an established tour and two thousand dollar entrance fees. The payout still stinks but I will guarantee the winners a spot on the tour for the third year. The fourth year I'll have to decide if I have enough pige, strike that I mean players, to go to four thousand dollar entry fees or settle for three thousand with of course the same low payouts but this time winners are guaranteed a spot in a billion dollar to win tournament to be held at the end of the following year after the qualifying events to finish filling the field. Should I fail to have the dollars to pay out the billion dollar first prize I will still have plenty to hire the lawyers to keep folks tied up in knots while I find a nice offshore haven to retire to and I will have lived like a king for five years. I'll be taking early memberships as soon as I find a set of initials that gives me a cute acronym, something other tours are lacking.

Hu
 
As you and many others here already know Macguy, I'm all for the success of the I.P.T. and the impact it could have on the game. But, I must agree with you on the marketing, or lack of it, that they have done. I have told at least 100 people about the I.P.T. and not one of them knew anything about it. A few of these people have been around the game for a long time too. After telling them, I got the feeling that they thought I was stretching the truth a little too. $350,000 for playing pool?:rolleyes: You know the look.
So, what needs to be done? Commercials would be a good start, right? I'm far from being the guy with the great ideas but that seems to have worked quite well in the past, lol. I know it works at 11:30 p.m. and a Taco Bell commercial comes on, plenty of times I've been at Taco Bell by 11:40.:D
What can we do? Sit back and wait for everything to fall into place? Word of mouth only goes so far. That's all I've got to say which really isn't a whole lot. Peace, John.
 
They don't seem to be doing much hiring either based on the same 'career opportuinities' listed on their site forever.


* Administrative Assistant
* Customer Service Manager
* Event Planner
* ASP Programmer
* Public Relations/Promotions
* Sales Manager
* Web Master
* Internet Marketing Expert
* Executive Secretary
* Customer Service
* Computer/Info Systems - Junior .Net Developer
* Computer/Info Systems - Systems/Network Administrator
* Computer/Info Systems - DBA

They wouldn't just be for show i hope.
 
For the good of the IPT I hope the promotions and exposure the tour gets will be amped up considerably in the coming months. Surely KT isn't going to go into the first event without any media buildup or advertising whatsoever, is he? It may be a little early yet to go out spending considerable sums of money on advertising and marketing but the first tournament of the year is sneaking up on us and the only promotion I've seen yet was the broadcast of the Sigel vs LJJ match. I'm all for the IPT becoming a successful and lucrative tour but there isn't a doubt in my mind something has to be done to improve the IPT from a marketing perspective.

Just my .02 for what it's worth.
 
Please don't exaggerate to make your points.

macguy said:
This section of the board has been unusually quiet so I think I will make a post. Nothing new about the IPT has surfaced in a while. You know, the most surprising thing to me about this whole IPT so far is, beyond this news group and their obscure web site, the whole thing is invisible. Where is the big splash they talked about with William Morris and such? They are now only about two months away from the first real tournament and still nothing.

The KOTH has not aired on TV, there is no media build up, no advertising, nothing. If you took a poll you could not find, and I am making up numbers of course but what the heck, 1 in tens of thousands of people who could tell you what the IPT is. I remember when the Movie the Shining came out. They had trailers in the theaters about a year before the movie opened, it had not even been completed yet and everybody was talking about the Shining. KT is a promoter and I really expected, regardless what ultimately happens with the IPT, a huge amount would be put into promotion.

I thought he would buy tons of TV time maybe doing something like the fake interview shows like he does with his products but it would be a pool show interviewing players, doing demonstration, staging matches and so on all the time promoting Natural cures and the IPT, that's what he does best, but now after many months still nothing, nothing at all, zero.

I thought the IPT would literally be on in the conscienceless of every person with a TV set. This lack of promotion I find to be the most curious part of this whole thing and I can't think of any way for even the most loyal IPT'ers to explain it. It is just one more thing that makes no sense. Regardless what they say, this thing seems stalled somehow with every day that goes by. If the money is in reality there and they are actually committed to spending it on this thing what is going on? How long do they plan on waiting before they spend any money beyond that web site where they haven't even completed the players section yet after like six or more months? I, just like everybody else wants to see pool jump started a little, more people playing, new people taking up the game but is the IPT for real or isn't it?

Is there something the IPT players know that is not being shared as far as any plans to actually get players on Leno or Letterman or any public exposure at all. Are players out doing interviews or appearances we don't know about? Or are all of you just sitting there in the wait mode. I remember in the first tape that was played on the web site of the players meeting there was a spot where KT said something to the effect, I won't quote because I am paraphrasing, You are going to see things happening you won't understand, don't worry about it , trust us we know what we are doing. I am beginning to wonder, do they? Even the greatest product in the world can't sell it's self, what are they waiting for?
Click to expand...

They are now only about 3 months away not 2. So maybe be patient for 30 more days and repost.
 
I'm pretty tired, so forgive me if I'm overlooking something obvious... but right now, what exactly do you want them to be advertising?

"In three months, there will be a pocket billiards tournament paying out giant sums of cash. There will be seating for 500 people. Other than that, you won't be able to watch the tournament, or read about it in any sports section in the country."

I suppose if they get a TV contract, things would be different. And I agree it's a little disconcerting they don't have one yet. But, granting that they don't have a contract, I'll say it again - what exactly do you want them to be advertising or promoting?

As for a pool player on Leno, it's the same deal... what would they be promoting? A tournament that no one can watch?

And I also have spoken about the IPT with pool players (albeit casual) from my home room, and no joke, it's hit or miss if they have heard about the IPT. So I agree that there has been no exposure, but I'm just trying to supply what I think to be the reason for that: quite literally, the as-yet absence of a product.

- Steve
 
The qualifiers were announced yesterday.

There are 91 days left before the first tournament.

They have to run 25 qualifiers before then. That should be enough to keep anyone busy.

Quite a few people know about the IPT from all the complaining I have heard in the pool rooms about how they are doing everything all wrong.

Today in the pool room nobody knew that the WPBA was having a tournament in San Diego.

Only one person watched the Pro Championship on ESPN yesterday.

I didn't bother to enter a $10 tournament this afternoon with only 10 people because I felt the guy running it was rigging it. And the funny part is he is 3 balls better than anyone there. he decided to just place the people in the brackets instead of having a blind draw. I guess everyone figures it is the only game in town.

Jake
 
I didn't hear any advertising for the Masters tournament for Golf, outside of TSN and the Golf Channel before it occured. Same deal for the US Open, Wimbledon, the French Open. If Tennis and Golf aren't getting loads of advertising leading up to the event, then a non televised pool tournament won't get any either.

In regards to players on Letterman or Leno. We have to wait for the tour to become established and players to make a name for themselves. Other than that the best we can hope for is the Kevin Trudeau making an appearance bringing his guest Mika Immonen.
 
I think the tide of opinion is turning

Three months ago this post would have brought out a flame war so hot I would need to ice down my laptop. I suggest that many people have either realised the truth or have begun to hedge their bets.

This is going to be sad when the bubble bursts.

Nick:cool:
 
Nick B said:
Three months ago this post would have brought out a flame war so hot I would need to ice down my laptop. I suggest that many people have either realised the truth or have begun to hedge their bets.

This is going to be sad when the bubble bursts.

Nick:cool:
Click to expand...

No, it's because we have all said the things we wanted to say. Now it's mostly waiting to see what happens next.

By the way, do we a bet or not?

John
 
Do we have a bet

Like I said in my last e-mail.


KT must be there in 2 years and my employer has nothing to do with it and hell yes. Post Up.

Nick
 
Steve Lipsky said:
I'm pretty tired, so forgive me if I'm overlooking something obvious... but right now, what exactly do you want them to be advertising?

"In three months, there will be a pocket billiards tournament paying out giant sums of cash. There will be seating for 500 people. Other than that, you won't be able to watch the tournament, or read about it in any sports section in the country."

I suppose if they get a TV contract, things would be different. And I agree it's a little disconcerting they don't have one yet. But, granting that they don't have a contract, I'll say it again - what exactly do you want them to be advertising or promoting?

As for a pool player on Leno, it's the same deal... what would they be promoting? A tournament that no one can watch?

And I also have spoken about the IPT with pool players (albeit casual) from my home room, and no joke, it's hit or miss if they have heard about the IPT. So I agree that there has been no exposure, but I'm just trying to supply what I think to be the reason for that: quite literally, the as-yet absence of a product.

- Steve
Click to expand...


The fact that they exist, a subtle awareness, a presence's, visibility and certainly a buzz about the money. Introduce the players to the public at large. I'm not in the advertising business or personalty development trade but this is what KT promised the players, they would become household names. The public needs to know who the players are even before the tournaments start. According to KT this won't be about just a few tournaments but a whole revitalization of the sport. That can be started at anytime with a powerful PR campaign and the sooner the better.
 
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Responsibility

Making a committment to an entire sport is a huge responsibility.

I am a huge supporter of our sport's players from the amateurs to the pros, and to any promoter that is willing to take on this responsibility.

But with the kind of money that the IPT is TALKING about, they really need to know that the pool community at large are very bright people.

I for one have been appauled at how the IPT wants their tour to be the Tell-All-Tale for our sport but have gouged all non-IPT cardholders.

I am truly hoping that KT does know what he is doing but I believe he is in way over his head when it comes to understanding the obstacles he has encountered.

In any case, I agree we all need to just wait and see but so far the track record for this tour shows few differences from our history of reaching the big time.
 
Im still in a wait and see mode. Every new tour has a potential for failiure and we have to realize that. Also there are certain things that do not happen overnight. When you pitch a show idea to networks, you don't sign the contract on wednesday and then air it next month. Contracts need to be drawn up, if there are a number of networks that interested there are offers that need to be considered.

That being said I did not expect getting a network interested in the show to be easy. Essentially KT is looking for someone who is willing to take a chance.

If you are all expecting front page news stories, road side billboards, advertisments on every station and an endorsement by God, its not going to happen. Not yet anyways. I still don't see poker tournaments in the Sports section, and advertising for poker on tv is sparse (at least in Canada).

The only way everyone would have been happy is if, KT announced the tour in August and had the first tournament in September, and had the second in October with live coverage. All somewhat unrealistic.
 
macguy said:
The fact that they exist, a subtle awareness, a presence's, visibility and certainly a buzz about the money. Introduce the players to the public at large. I'm not in the advertising business or personalty development trade but this is what KT promised the players, they would become household names. The public needs to know who the players are even before the tournaments start. According to KT this won't be about just a few tournaments but a whole revitalization of the sport. That can be started at anytime with a powerful PR campaign and the sooner the better.
Click to expand...

The public doesn't care yet. If you put Earl Strickland on talk shows people aren't going to care who he is. If you say that this tour will be paying a million in prize money that won't impress anyone, simply because a lot of people think that pro pool tournaments are already playing for this. You need to have the show on television first.

This is just like any television show. If before the first season of survivor, they had the entire cast on a talk show nobody would have cared. They would all be just a bunch people taking part in some strange reality show.

Wait for it to fail before you bury it. And don't take the IPT as a slight to your very existence.
 
good point

Nostroke said:
They don't seem to be doing much hiring either based on the same 'career opportuinities' listed on their site forever.


* Administrative Assistant
* Customer Service Manager
* Event Planner
* ASP Programmer
* Public Relations/Promotions
* Sales Manager
* Web Master
* Internet Marketing Expert
* Executive Secretary
* Customer Service
* Computer/Info Systems - Junior .Net Developer
* Computer/Info Systems - Systems/Network Administrator
* Computer/Info Systems - DBA

They wouldn't just be for show i hope.
Click to expand...

It's pretty hard to find people foolish enough to stop their lives just so they can hop a plane within 24 hrs of notice to be interviewed in some obscure part of the country.
 
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