Marketing the IPT, Where are the ads?

[Celtic]

These are two VERY important posts from another thread that I totally agree with.

The gen. population needs to be informed of an event to care. We can sit here all day and play for millions of doallars a rack, in tuxedos, at an advanced payed tie and coat event and it won't do jack for pool if the masses don't care. Next time you guys are at the PH or at leauge night ask the everyday people what they think of the IPT and see what they say. I got five that says they respond to something along the lines of, "what??"

Totally true, most people dont have a clue about this new pool tour, even amature pool players who really enjoy the sport dont have a clue. I ask alot of people what they think about the IPT and most dont have a clue about its very existence.

They spend 20 million making a movie and another 20 million publicizing it. This thing seems to have no PR at all so far beyond a web site and free Internet boards. I know no one who knows a thing about it but me around here. The WMA sounds good, I think that is why they picked them their name is a buzz word, but what are they getting paid to do? Just signing with them to impress people will not get the job done. Why aren't their stable of players hitting the TV circuit from Letterman to Regis? They talk about a 7 to 10 million dollar annual budget , it will take that and more just to publicize it right much less have money to give away as prize money. It seems like all the money talked about is in the prize funds where is the promotion money that is required to make this thing go. I know they are answering questions but it still looks like there is something wrong here. You still have phone numbers where all you get is an answering machine with an old message. Can't they even afford a secretary, and the convention center still say they have no contract for a tournament in November/December. What are all these great people they have hired doing?

This is most definately a problem. The Regis and Letterman thing is a great question, there is always room on the tail end of the shows for the filler star, sure a pool player is not going to headline the show with Tom Cruise closing the show, but there is a opportunity for a pool player to get onto the show, shoot afew trick shots, and promote this tour and the fact that pool is now to be played for million dollar purses and is becomming a big sport.

Where are the TV ads? Get someone to make a great TV ad campaign. Make it really promote the excitment of the event, capture the excitement of the game. Make character spots, show a young guy on the golf course getting beat by some square snobby golfers and paying off $100 on 18. Then show them in the clubhouse draining beers and glancing over at the pool table there. A few shots of some seriously great shots ala old Miz commercials, a shot of the snobby golfer paying off a few $100 bills all choked, and as the young pool hustler walks out of the clubhouse the commerical announcer says "See Cory Deuel and the other top pool players in the world compete for $1,000,000 in cash at the first annual IPT King of the Hill Event, Novermber blah blah blah..." You can do different spots with different small storylines showing 5 or 10 players on the tour and basically introducing them and garnering interest while giving the public a small glance at their personality. This is just an example, but for the love of pete do something.

Plus what about magazine ads. Poker magazines would be cheap to advertise in. Newspaper ads could be hugely useful, they could also advertise the possiblity of sponsering future events for big business. There are probably even some key movies that they could advertise on at the start. Geico does ads there, so does a computer game called World of Warcraft, the possiblity of making great ads for showing before movies is huge. You then put them in the key movies that may have alot of the type of people that would be interested in pool, like for instance the new Al Pacino movie about sports betting which would be a good target audience to hit with a great ad about a new pool tour to be showen on Fox or whatever.

While I am highly hopeful for this tour I do have to agree with the above two quotes. Without marketing and getting the word out there how is this to succeed? How are we going to get millions of people interested in pool when they dont even know this tour exists? We are not THAT far off from the second tournament going ahead and there is NO word out there but for the free marketing of AZB, CCB, the IPT website, and word of mouth.

 

[onepocketchump]

These are two VERY important posts from another thread that I totally agree with.



Totally true, most people dont have a clue about this new pool tour, even amature pool players who really enjoy the sport dont have a clue. I ask alot of people what they think about the IPT and most dont have a clue about its very existence.



This is most definately a problem. The Regis and Letterman thing is a great question, there is always room on the tail end of the shows for the filler star, sure a pool player is not going to headline the show with Tom Cruise closing the show, but there is a opportunity for a pool player to get onto the show, shoot afew trick shots, and promote this tour and the fact that pool is now to be played for million dollar purses and is becomming a big sport.

Where are the TV ads? Get someone to make a great TV ad campaign. Make it really promote the excitment of the event, capture the excitement of the game. Make character spots, show a young guy on the golf course getting beat by some square snobby golfers and paying off $100 on 18. Then show them in the clubhouse draining beers and glancing over at the pool table there. A few shots of some seriously great shots ala old Miz commercials, a shot of the snobby golfer paying off a few $100 bills all choked, and as the young pool hustler walks out of the clubhouse the commerical announcer says "See Cory Deuel and the other top pool players in the world compete for $1,000,000 in cash at the first annual IPT King of the Hill Event, Novermber blah blah blah..." You can do different spots with different small storylines showing 5 or 10 players on the tour and basically introducing them and garnering interest while giving the public a small glance at their personality. This is just an example, but for the love of pete do something.

Plus what about magazine ads. Poker magazines would be cheap to advertise in. Newspaper ads could be hugely useful, they could also advertise the possiblity of sponsering future events for big business. There are probably even some key movies that they could advertise on at the start. Geico does ads there, so does a computer game called World of Warcraft, the possiblity of making great ads for showing before movies is huge. You then put them in the key movies that may have alot of the type of people that would be interested in pool, like for instance the new Al Pacino movie about sports betting which would be a good target audience to hit with a great ad about a new pool tour to be showen on Fox or whatever.

While I am highly hopeful for this tour I do have to agree with the above two quotes. Without marketing and getting the word out there how is this to succeed? How are we going to get millions of people interested in pool when they dont even know this tour exists? We are not THAT far off from the second tournament going ahead and there is NO word out there but for the free marketing of AZB, CCB, the IPT website, and word of mouth.

Have any of you ever seen an ad for a pro volleyball tournament? How about a fishing tournament? I haven't. Yet both of these activities appear to be well attended and watched on television. I guarantee you that if the production is anything like what was done in LAs Vegas then the "show" will come off just fine and the viewers will be there.

John

 

[macguy]

Have any of you ever seen an ad for a pro volleyball tournament? How about a fishing tournament? I haven't. Yet both of these activities appear to be well attended and watched on television. I guarantee you that if the production is anything like what was done in LAs Vegas then the "show" will come off just fine and the viewers will be there.

John

You don't invest millions of dollars and then just cast your fate to the wind as you suggest. He is filling the heads of these pool players with the vision of making millions in indorsements and becoming house hold names. Olympic gold metalists for the most part don't make a nickel the idea that any of these pool players are going to become millionaires from this is as remote as it gets, but at least they should be given their best shot.

 

[Celtic]

Have any of you ever seen an ad for a pro volleyball tournament? How about a fishing tournament? I haven't.

John

There is pro volleyball?

 

[Snapshot9]

Advertising ...

I am sure this is probably a goal of the William Morris agency.
Most advertising is effective when it is 3-4 weeks in advance
of the event. I would say that by November 1st, we should
see advertising for the event in more than 1 source.

Magazines have to have 30 days prior to when it is going to
be in the magazine, so I do not see a need to be overly excited
about advertising at this point in time.

 

[landshark77]

These are two VERY important posts from another thread that I totally agree with.

The gen. population needs to be informed of an event to care. We can sit here all day and play for millions of doallars a rack, in tuxedos, at an advanced payed tie and coat event and it won't do jack for pool if the masses don't care. Next time you guys are at the PH or at leauge night ask the everyday people what they think of the IPT and see what they say. I got five that says they respond to something along the lines of, "what??"

Celtic...FWIW, I said that not Lasttwo....I'd hate to see a guy get credit for a girls ramblings.

 

[SlimShafty]

I am sure this is probably a goal of the William Morris agency.
Most advertising is effective when it is 3-4 weeks in advance
of the event. I would say that by November 1st, we should
see advertising for the event in more than 1 source.

Magazines have to have 30 days prior to when it is going to
be in the magazine, so I do not see a need to be overly excited
about advertising at this point in time.

I agree, no way you blow money 2 or 3 months before said event, and If the Sigel/LJJ match is to be aired, I'm betting Kevin may have wanted it to air in September, and just maybe the PR firm said wait, the publics attention span is like 2 weeks, better to put it out a month or a few weeks before your first tournament to get maximum push into the first event.

I personally think the money would be better spent on promoting the first tournament and not the Sigel/LJJ match, maybe if the match was close, but it was a blow out and maybe it lacks the close excitement the PR firm is looking for. So I would have to go out on a limb and say a firm like WMA has said to make a distinctive launch and don't go all willy nilly and hit and miss, or throw good money after bad, but concentrate on a window of opportunity.

Sure it would be all cool and amazing to shoot off like a rocket, but that approach may crash faster then taking a slow deliberate and concentrated launch that will be slowly unveil throughout the year. I really think he is trying to maximize the potential, remember media, be it print or TV cost a TON! you have to time things you have to gage your market and slowly move toward what works. That's why I would love to see promotional itmes be printed and made by the IPT for the tour and have the loccal IPT members have exhibitions at local rooms, this is very inexpensive and the players have to start promoting themselves with the tour. Still almost all the local players of many rooms have absolutely no idea about this tour.


I guess what I'm saying is, I feel your going to need a product before you start advertising a lot, evven if you did put an Earl or a Keith on a talk show, it's going to be wasted at this point, you need the first tournament off the ground. You need a guy that made xx dollars his whole career come in and make 200,000 in one tour stop, a women like Fisher to place in the top 20 beating men and make more then she has all year, you need something thats a story that may sound halfway interesting for a Letterman.

 

[Celtic]

Celtic...FWIW, I said that not Lasttwo....I'd hate to see a guy get credit for a girls ramblings.

Woops! Will fix that....

 

[onepocketchump]

You don't invest millions of dollars and then just cast your fate to the wind as you suggest. He is filling the heads of these pool players with the vision of making millions in indorsements and becoming house hold names. Olympic gold metalists for the most part don't make a nickel the idea that any of these pool players are going to become millionaires from this is as remote as it gets, but at least they should be given their best shot.

Who said anything about casting fate to the wind? You have been following this the same as I have. I can see a definite plan and it doesn't include ineffective advertising.

Every endeavor starts with a vision. To enlist others you have to be able communicate that vision. How can you say that it is remote to think that some of the IPT players can become millionaires from this? The prize money alone guarantees a shot at being a millionaire the first year.

If you study the history of most professional sports in this country you will see that most of them evolved either through a strong organization OR through a shrewd promoter. Either way, at some point there was generally a key individual with the vision to imagine what could be and the wherewithal to make it happen.

If you want to criticize anyone, try the BCA, APA, VNEA, TAP, WPBA, MPBT, WPA, and the UPA. You would think that between all these acronyms and all these smart people that they could have figured out how to PROMOTE to mainstream America. Hell, we can't even watch the World Championships while all of Asia gets it LIVE and uncut. We aren't even allowed to watch a race to ****ing 7 without half the set being cut out. When I watch the lumberjack competitions I get to see EVERY piece of the action. So start with the ones who have NOT been able to make it happen before you jump all the ones who are doing something.

John

 

[Gabber]

KT has told the pool world what they want to hear and is now offering a miracle cure. You know what they say and things that are 'too good to be true'?
Gabber

 

[bobroberts]

Have any of you ever seen an ad for a pro volleyball tournament? How about a fishing tournament? I haven't. Yet both of these activities appear to be well attended and watched on television. I guarantee you that if the production is anything like what was done in LAs Vegas then the "show" will come off just fine and the viewers will be there.

John

I see fishing tournaments advertised.Look at the bassmaster classic.Big money event with magazine ads and complete T.V. coverage.There should be commercials every day for the next month promoting this event.There should be news stories and mag ads.I really hope this happens or we will be talking about whatever happened to the ipt.I do know thye sold out the expensive seats in 5 hours so maybe they are doing somthing right.