Outside the Vacuum -- Marketing Pool

jason

jason

Unprofessional everything
Silver Member
After reading a post in another thread, it was stated by macguy that "pool exists in a vacuum". He also said, "Heck, they don't even send out tournament results that can be picked up by a new wire."

That got me thinking AZ and AZ forum members.

Let's develop a mailing list of sports writers across the country and send them a monthly press release of the months top pool tournament results as well as the current BCA points leaders/Mosconi Cup leaders, etc. It should be short, professional and informative and in know way make them feel like they are being spammed. A nice polite request with an option to be remove it they decide.

I know what a lot of you will be saying, they won't publish it. Who cares at this point. If they know there is another active sports world out there, someone, someday may decide to do a story or start publishing a top 10 leader board. If we can showcase to the public great events like the Ultimate 10 Championships, Derby City, BCA...who knows what it could eventually do wonders for pool and it's image.

So here is what I propose to AZ and AZ forum members.

Everyone from AZ help build this database by finding one contact to your local newspaper, television station or media outlet and lets build a datebase of email contacts.

Please Please Please Please, submit every contact in exactly this form. It is important to be able to easily parse the text into a database format:

Company
Address
City, State, Zip
Phone
<leave a space here>
Contact
Title
e-mail address

I will start it off in the next post. Please copy and add to that post only.
 
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I applaud your efforts Jason. I have long felt that at the very least, newspapers could list the results of pro events in the sports section. That said, there is unfortunately quite a bit of resistance from sports editors to include pool in their section. I have spoken and/or emailed with several across the nation and the response has been fairly universal in that they don't view pool as a sport. Many have gone so far as to suggest I contact the editor of their entertainment section instead.

There are two significant issues at work here. The first is that sports editors and writers seem more apt to view pool as a game rather than a sport. The second is that there is a lack of a single true governing body in the United States to lend credence to the events. At this point, the BCA functions much more as a trade organization than a governing body and as a result, many of the events are seen as "independent" and not sanctioned by any governing body. These are also often seen by many journalists as local events rather than national or international events, which goes back to the belief by journalists that these should be a part of the "local scene" rather than listed with other sports.

I do believe continuing to contact sports journalists and put press releases on the news wire are important and absolutely worth doing (which is why I continue to do it for PoolDawg), but it is an uphill battle to say the least.

Sorry about the long, rambling post. :embarrassed2:
 
mikefeiman said:
I applaud your efforts Jason. I have long felt that at the very least, newspapers could list the results of pro events in the sports section. That said, there is unfortunately quite a bit of resistance from sports editors to include pool in their section. I have spoken and/or emailed with several across the nation and the response has been fairly universal in that they don't view pool as a sport. Many have gone so far as to suggest I contact the editor of their entertainment section instead.

There are two significant issues at work here. The first is that sports editors and writers seem more apt to view pool as a game rather than a sport. The second is that there is a lack of a single true governing body in the United States to lend credence to the events. At this point, the BCA functions much more as a trade organization than a governing body and as a result, many of the events are seen as "independent" and not sanctioned by any governing body. These are also often seen by many journalists as local events rather than national or international events, which goes back to the belief by journalists that these should be a part of the "local scene" rather than listed with other sports.

I do believe continuing to contact sports journalists and put press releases on the news wire are important and absolutely worth doing (which is why I continue to do it for PoolDawg), but it is an uphill battle to say the least.

Sorry about the long, rambling post. :embarrassed2:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

As of this post 69 AZer's have read this and not one is willing to take five minutes and find a local contact.

Together and with the power of the internet, extraordinary things can be achieved. With everyones help, we could build a database in a short time.
Yes, a database could be purchased. Anyone want for fork over the money to do so, go ahead. Until then, all I ask for is five minutes of your time to do a little research in your hometown. The internet is a wealth of information for those new to it.

An consistent and constant reminder to those in power of the media could eventually lead to some exposure even if that exposure is very small. Rome wasn't built in a day ya know. Would it be successful? Don't know until you try is all I am saying.

People complain that pool isn't main stream, their isn't any money in it, but are they willing to do anything about it? This is one simple suggestion. It doesn't cost anyone anything to help with research, only their time.

I'm not surprised by the lack of responses so far, but a little disappointed.
 
a better way to go would be for a site like az to pay to be on PRWEB. It would be a lot of traffic for the site, and the news would go out all over the world. no worrying about "if" it will be printed.
 
mikefeiman said:
...resistance from sports editors...they don't view pool as a sport...contact the editor of their entertainment section instead.
Click to expand...

I expect a lot resistance from editors. In marketing, it is said that if you throw so many things against the wall, eventually something will stick.

I don't care how the media views our sport. As long as we got exposure who really cares. If they chose to put it in the entertainment section, so be it. It is up to the collective pool community to try to control our image. After coming off of an extremely well done event with the Ultimate 10 Ball Championships, I think it would be a waisted opportunity not to ride and support this wave.


mikefeiman said:
At this point, the BCA functions much more as a trade organization than a governing body ... "independent" and not sanctioned by any governing body...
Click to expand...

I agree about the BCA (not the BCAPL), so to hell with them. Let's leave them behind and move on.

I understand the importance of having a stamp of approval or being sanctioned if you will. But, what does sanctioning really mean anyway? Its someones or groups opinion. At this point in all events are independent. Let's not be ashamed of that but embrace it. That's what it is.

So who is the governing body at this point in pool? Money...plain and simple. That's why the big guns show up. So, take the 52 largest pool tournaments in the world and there you have your leader board.

That's my opinion.
 
jdxprs said:
a better way to go would be for a site like az to pay to be on PRWEB. It would be a lot of traffic for the site, and the news would go out all over the world. no worrying about "if" it will be printed.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it would be a better way or not, but it would be a different way. And I'm not suggesting AZ pay for anything.

All I'm saying is AZ already compiles a lot of stats. As far as I know they have the best data on money leaders and tournament result than any other source. It would be an easy e-mail blast if they had a database.
 
jason said:
I expect a lot resistance from editors. In marketing, it is said that if you throw so many things against the wall, eventually something will stick.

I don't care how the media views our sport. As long as we got exposure who really cares. If they chose to put it in the entertainment section, so be it. It is up to the collective pool community to try to control our image. After coming off of an extremely well done event with the Ultimate 10 Ball Championships, I think it would be a waisted opportunity not to ride and support this wave.
.
Click to expand...

tap tap tap.

I think the events like the Ultimate 10 Ball Championship could be very successful to a wide ranging audience. My wife has zero interest in pool, but when I showed her some of the matches being streamed, she actually watched them and commented on how good the players were, and how professionally it was staged.

The more people are exposed to the idea that pool isn't smoky backrooms with a bunch of drunk guys getting into fights (ok maybe that's a bit over the top). But the public perception is that pool isn't a sport it is maybe a very competitive activity requiring a high degree of skill and a commitment to improvement (sounds like a sport to me). And public perception is very easily changed with familiarity with the subject. So anything that gets some positive publicity, even if it's on the Entertainment page, is a good thing, IMO.
 
The Ultimate 10 Ball Championship was held in Frisco, TX I believe. I'm not sure if this is the correct info for the local newpaper or not, but what the hell it's another source if nothing else. :help:
 
Chicago Tribune
435 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
312-222-3478

Tim Bannon
Editor, Sports
tbannon@tribune.com

Fisco Enterprise
624 Krona Drive, #170
Planto, Texas 75074
972-398-4246

Andrew May
Sports Editor
amay@acnpapers.com

The Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company dba The Times-Leader
15 N. Main Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA
570-829-7101

Sports
570-829-7143
tlsports@timesleader.com
 
I read this last night, and was too tired to look stuff up.

This morning, after re-reading your idea, it struck me. Mike Dechaine won the Ultimate 10-Ball Championship last week. Mike is originally from Maine. How did our local papers do?

I did a quick search on our local paper, nada. The Bangor Daily News is touted as the biggest paper in the state (argued by the Portland papers, natch.)

Contact:
Bangor Daily News
Joe McLaughlin
JMcLaughlin@bangordailynews.com
207.990.8229

So, on to the paper from Maines biggest city, Portland. No soup, Mike!

Contact:
Portland Press Herald
Joe Grant, Sports Editor
jgrant@mainetoday.com
(207) 791-6480

I then checked the paper from Mike's hometown, Waterville. Success!

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/sport...ines-list_2011-04-29.html?searchterm=dechaine

Contact:
Waterville Sentinel
cmnsport@centralmaine.com

Great idea, Jason.
 
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jason said:
After reading a post in another thread, it was stated by macguy that "pool exists in a vacuum". He also said, "Heck, they don't even send out tournament results that can be picked up by a new wire."

That got me thinking AZ and AZ forum members.

Let's develop a mailing list of sports writers across the country and send them a monthly press release of the months top pool tournament results as well as the current BCA points leaders/Mosconi Cup leaders, etc. It should be short, professional and informative and in know way make them feel like they are being spammed. A nice polite request with an option to be remove it they decide.

I know what a lot of you will be saying, they won't publish it. Who cares at this point. If they know there is another active sports world out there, someone, someday may decide to do a story or start publishing a top 10 leader board. If we can showcase to the public great events like the Ultimate 10 Championships, Derby City, BCA...who knows what it could eventually do wonders for pool and it's image.

So here is what I propose to AZ and AZ forum members.

Everyone from AZ help build this database by finding one contact to your local newspaper, television station or media outlet and lets build a datebase of email contacts.

Submit every contact in exactly this form:

Company
Address
City, State, Zip
Phone
<leave a space here>
Contact
Title
e-mail address

I will start it off in the next post. Please copy and add to that post only.
Click to expand...

In early 2000s, I was appalled that there was no media coverage at a pro pool tournament, the Capital City Classic, which was being held right outside of D.C. Players from around the world came, but yet there was no media coverage.

At that time, I was full of enthusiasm about pool, so much so that I immediately got on the bandwagon and called all my contacts in the press, as well as looked up phone numbers and e-mails of all the sports anchors on TV. I spent a half-a-day writing and telephoning these folks, letting them know that they need to get out there and provide a little coverage about the Capital City Classic. I wrote a strong letter about it, and one of the people I wrote to was a good friend from high school.

Some -- not all -- did respond and said that they did not have enough time to fit this happenig in their scheduled events they were reporting on, but I will never forget the words from one respondent. They still sting today: "Pool is not a sport."

Newspaper, TV, radio -- not one member of the fourth estate came to the Capital City Classic. One TV news anchor did say if I contacted him in advance the next time, he would make an effort to come out and provide coverage.

I live in a major metropolitan area, but pool was/is not even on the radar screen.

Most media today wants up-to-date happenings and do utilize the social media outlets: mobile, podcasts, apps, RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. This is also a good way to attempt to get "immediate gratification." People today, believe it or not, are utilizing this avenue, and it seems to be effective for some. :wink:

Matt Vita, Sports Editor of The Washington Post
202-334-7350
E-mail for Matt Via: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/matthew+vita/

Interestingly, when I go on the Washington Post website, and it recognizes my cookies and puts up a banner ad for "Robbie's Billiards." LOL
 
Chicago Tribune
435 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
312-222-3478

Tim Bannon
Editor, Sports
tbannon@tribune.com

Fisco Enterprise
624 Krona Drive, #170
Planto, Texas 75074
972-398-4246

Andrew May
Sports Editor
amay@acnpapers.com

The Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company dba The Times-Leader
15 N. Main Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA
570-829-7101

Sports
570-829-7143
tlsports@timesleader.com

Bangor Daily News
Joe McLaughlin
JMcLaughlin@bangordailynews.com
207.990.8229

Portland Press Herald
Joe Grant, Sports Editor
jgrant@mainetoday.com
(207) 791-6480

Waterville Sentinel
cmnsport@centralmaine.com

The Washington Post
Matt Vita, Sports Editor
202-334-7350
E-mail for Matt Vita: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/s.../matthew+vita/
 
Mainplayer said:
i sent it the my local paper. it was actually in today's article. morning sentinel Maine
Click to expand...

You had to send it to them.... sigh.

Congrats again! It was fun watching, and talking about it with some of the guys in Bangor this week.
 
justadub said:
You had to send it to them.... sigh.

Congrats again! It was fun watching, and talking about it with some of the guys in Bangor this week.
Click to expand...

If Mike had to send it to them, so be it. The whole point of this thread is about telling the world about us...the pool community. If there is any proof to what I am saying, about marketing pool that is, here it is.

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/sports...hterm=dechaine

However the word got out doesn't matter, this is worth gold.
 
Database

Jason,
How are you going to build this database? I applaud your efforts and have further comments.

336Robin

Robin Kelly
 
336Robin said:
Jason,
How are you going to build this database? I applaud your efforts and have further comments.

336Robin

Robin Kelly
Click to expand...

One contact at a time and with the help of every AZer finding a contact for his or her hometown's newspaper.
 
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