What must happen for IPT to stay?

[PoolBum]

Like so many others, I think it's great to finally see some real money on the pool scene. I'm hoping that the IPT is not a passing fancy, but is here to stay, so that the game can finally be recognized and appreciated by a wider audience, and so that the talented people who play this game well enough to be professionals can make a decent and comfortable living at it. I am, as they say, cautiously optimistic.

To that end, since I am entirely ignorant about these things, I would like to ask --just what has to happen now for the IPT to thrive and continue to grow? Is a tv contract an absolute necessity? Serious corporate sponsorship outside of the pool industry? Mainstream and steady media coverage? All of the above?

 

[Colin Colenso]

Like so many others, I think it's great to finally see some real money on the pool scene. I'm hoping that the IPT is not a passing fancy, but is here to stay, so that the game can finally be recognized and appreciated by a wider audience, and so that the talented people who play this game well enough to be professionals can make a decent and comfortable living at it. I am, as they say, cautiously optimistic.

To that end, since I am entirely ignorant about these things, I would like to ask --just what has to happen now for the IPT to thrive and continue to grow? Is a tv contract an absolute necessity? Serious corporate sponsorship outside of the pool industry? Mainstream and steady media coverage? All of the above?

While the IPT business strategy has many branches, the roots that feed them all will be 'RATINGS'. That is why the quality of the content is crucial.

As to what is the critical mass of rating's required to allow the IPT to keep plugging away, we will have to wait and see.

But if the content can rate very well within the next 12 months, the sky is the limit. We could see a worldwide $100 million a year in tour events within 5 years. *finger's crossed*

I suspect the content from this event is going to be groundbreaking and entertaining even to the purists.

One thing I realized from this event is that KT has worked extremely hard to put this tour together. It is not just something he is throwing money at. He has spent many hundreds of hours reading, talking and thinking about how this whole thing comes together.

It's that hard work with continuing adjustments in the future that give the IPT a good chance of success I believe.

I talked with many industry people and pro-players this week and the excitement and optimistic expectations are universal. KT has introduced them, not only to flashy surroundings, but to an insight into the world of marketing. And th great majority have a great thirst to learn and an eagerness to cooperate.

The naysayers may take their seats in the mumbling room, seated around generous servings of humble pie.

 

[chefjeff]

(snip)

I talked with many industry people and pro-players this week and the excitement and optimistic expectations are universal. KT has introduced them, not only to flashy surroundings, but to an insight into the world of marketing. And th great majority have a great thirst to learn and an eagerness to cooperate.

(snip)

Man, that tickles my heart!!!

Relentless, value-driven, cost-effective, marketing is what it has always taken and will always take for continued success of any business venture.

This is business, folks....the business of entertainment via pool. Learn how and why it works so well, for so many, so much of the time, then it becomes crystal clear as to what it will take for the IPT to continue successfully.

Here's just a couple of cost-effective ideas that each of us can use to help in this venture:

Tell your friends!!!!!!

Tell some more people as you meet them.

Talk about pool and the IPT at the coffee shop.

Talk about the IPT at the Pool Hall.

Talk about the IPT in your emails to whomever.

Talk about the IPT with your dentist, doctor, lawyer, accountant.

Talk about the IPT with your spouse.

Attend an IPT tournament and buy stuff.

Talk about the IPT with your car mechanic, furnace repair guy, roofer.

Talk about the IPT with your golf and poker buddies.

Buy IPT muerchandise and wear it.

Mention the IPT to sports reporters and ASK THEM to report about it.

Ask your local paper to include IPT scores and coverage.

Email ESPN and ask them for more coverage.

Tell your league team about it and ask them to watch it.

Ask the bartender to switch the TV to IPT when it is on.

Ask others to do the same.

Ask others to spread the word.

Support the sponsors.

A lot of us, each doing just a lttle bit, can make the difference.

Jeff Livingston

 

[Jaden]

Something that Colin just said.

Something that Colin just said got me thinking.

I'd be willing to bet that one of the Reasons, beyond the obvious marketing strategy, to bring in the hall of famers is to give them a chance to shine. If the IPT is really going to make pool players house hold names, it's only right that the pool wonders of yester year get their due for the hard work they put in, even when the payouts weren't there.

 

[ShootingArts]

Think you covered it all in the first two lines

While the IPT business strategy has many branches, the roots that feed them all will be 'RATINGS'. That is why the quality of the content is crucial.

Ratings will tell the story. It would be nice to see a real pro tour with some staying power however KT's first production leaves me wondering what he is really trying to do with this tour. Is he really trying to create a pool tour or is this just to thumb his nose at the FCC? Time will tell but putting on the best events ever seen doesn't mean diddly unless a quality product reaches the viewing audience. His first production that the IPT professed to be pleased with definitely wasn't the way to reach a mass audience.

One stinker of a production isn't a good sign. If another stinker is produced we will be told that this still isn't the real tour. Problem is that outsiders don't really care. They watch "the IPT" on television, it is boring, they don't watch "the IPT" again.

Hu

 

[Donovan]

Pay per-view would be great if...

Pay per-view would have been great, if there would have been enough interested. I would have shelled out some money to watch a lot of this via webcast, especialy the final 2 days.

 

[macguy]

Like so many others, I think it's great to finally see some real money on the pool scene. I'm hoping that the IPT is not a passing fancy, but is here to stay, so that the game can finally be recognized and appreciated by a wider audience, and so that the talented people who play this game well enough to be professionals can make a decent and comfortable living at it. I am, as they say, cautiously optimistic.

To that end, since I am entirely ignorant about these things, I would like to ask --just what has to happen now for the IPT to thrive and continue to grow? Is a tv contract an absolute necessity? Serious corporate sponsorship outside of the pool industry? Mainstream and steady media coverage? All of the above?

Just putting a tournament on TV won't do it. The girls are on all the time and still beyond players and fans no one has a clue who they are. You don't see them doing Coke commercials or cosmetic commercials or anything for that matter. There needs to be a real marketing plan to put them in front of the public every time you turn around. Here is my real problem with KT. I don't think, except for his own personal use he can do this. His connection is too negative and he will want them to be constantly promoting him and his products. This will create a little exposure but it has to go beyond him and he may turn out to be a road block for anything beyond his own desires. No matter how you look at it he is perceived by the public in general as a crook and that is that. It is nice he may put some money in the pockets of a few players but that may turn out to be the only place they get it from. Other sponsors will stay away. Remember when Oprah used to always say she was having a "Martha moment", and every holiday Martha Stewart would be on her show doing something? You never hear her even mention Mrs. Stewart any more, it is as if they were never friends. Media people and advertisers are scared to death of anything that can be even in the least considered as negative and rub off on them. That is not to say if the IPT thing takes off someone else may not mimic it, in fact that would be the best thing that may come out of this. Multiple tours and tournaments, match play, exhibitions, and so on. The IPT may be a catalyst for other good things but I don't see it at all as the end all to pool becoming a major sport. It is just a means to an end for KT to sell his crap. I am sorry there is no other way to see it. The winner of today's tournament will probably not make the nightly news or sports broadcasts anywhere unless KT pays for it. Just his name alone would have it toss in the trash by most news or sports producers.

 

[rackmsuckr]

Just putting a tournament on TV won't do it. The girls are on all the time and still beyond players and fans no one has a clue who they are. You don't see them doing Coke commercials or cosmetic commercials or anything for that matter. There needs to be a real marketing plan to put them in front of the public every time you turn around. Here is my real problem with KT. I don't think, except for his own personal use he can do this. His connection is too negative and he will want them to be constantly promoting him and his products. This will create a little exposure but it has to go beyond him and he may turn out to be a road block for anything beyond his own desires. No matter how you look at it he is perceived by the public in general as a crook and that is that. It is nice he may put some money in the pockets of a few players but that may turn out to be the only place they get it from. Other sponsors will stay away. Remember when Oprah used to always say she was having a "Martha moment", and every holiday Martha Stewart would be on her show doing something? You never hear her even mention Mrs. Stewart any more, it is as if they were never friends. Media people and advertisers are scared to death of anything that can be even in the least considered as negative and rub off on them. ...Just his name alone would have it toss in the trash by most news or sports producers.

Well, I see it differently. He has spent over 100 Million dollars in advertising since 1989. He knows how to get on tv, WITHOUT the networks. As far as no one wanting to be associated with him...in a meeting with Gorbachev, Iococca, Trump, and Schwartzkopf, they were all asking HIM his advice. Kevin is asked to advise businesses to the tune of $25-$40M on how to make money. He lives in a place that is the most expensive on the planet, Fisher Island. (Fisher won the island from Rockefeller in a card game.)

Sigel spent 5 days with KT at his place on Fisher Island. In that time he met Andy Garcia, Andre Agassi, among others, and was asked to play volleyball with the Kennedys and Shrivers in KT's own back yard.

KT was the one who told Trump how to structure 'The Apprentice' because Trump thought it should be another way. KT told him to use the model he has used for 20 years and that is why he has the best and why there is such low turnover in his organization.

Also, every 15 minutes, he has 10 people come in shifts with meetings with the boss, and then he is on the phone, "No, not 30 million, $40 million", and so on, that is how he spends his day. He thinks it's funny that people without a dime are thinking they know a better way to run things.

The man just had to get rid of $140 million in 1 day for tax purposes, so he bought another yacht and another plane and I'm not sure where the other $80M went. He just does not circle in our orbit.

 

[ShootingArts]

truer words were probaby never typed

He just does not circle in our orbit.

You are right there, and that may be precisely the problem. He doesn't circle in the same orbit as the masses in general and there is no indication that he can reach more than a tiny percentage of them as of yet. I truly hope to see an exciting production aired for the general public from the king of the hill however I'm not counting any chickens before they are hatched.

His whole methodology seems strange and more than a little bogus. The PR spin was that the first match was needed to have an existing king of the hill to play the top contender at the Orlando tournament. Well yeah, that seems a little odd but whatever cranks his tractor. Now he has a King of the Hill(who in theory could have been a woman!) freshly crowned to defend next year. Well no, apparently Efren's title will fade from sight and this year's point leader will become the king of the hill making both the first match and this tournament seem to be based on bogus premises. He could have simply billed the first match as a battle of the sexes and the second as the IPT Invitational or whatever tickled his fancy but he felt the need to create this whole essentially phony king of the hill hype.

The orbit he is circling in does appear to be out in space somewhere and it is going to be a very hard sell to get the public to buy it I suspect. No sale to the public, no ratings. No ratings and the IPT will only last until KT gets bored with it.

Hu

 

[Gabber]

You are right there, and that may be precisely the problem. He doesn't circle in the same orbit as the masses in general and there is no indication that he can reach more than a tiny percentage of them as of yet. I truly hope to see an exciting production aired for the general public from the king of the hill however I'm not counting any chickens before they are hatched.

His whole methodology seems strange and more than a little bogus. The PR spin was that the first match was needed to have an existing king of the hill to play the top contender at the Orlando tournament. Well yeah, that seems a little odd but whatever cranks his tractor. Now he has a King of the Hill(who in theory could have been a woman!) freshly crowned to defend next year. Well no, apparently Efren's title will fade from sight and this year's point leader will become the king of the hill making both the first match and this tournament seem to be based on bogus premises. He could have simply billed the first match as a battle of the sexes and the second as the IPT Invitational or whatever tickled his fancy but he felt the need to create this whole essentially phony king of the hill hype.

The orbit he is circling in does appear to be out in space somewhere and it is going to be a very hard sell to get the public to buy it I suspect. No sale to the public, no ratings. No ratings and the IPT will only last until KT gets bored with it.

Hu

I would say contradictory rather than 'bogus'. ie, I cant imagine Joe Public buying the Battle of the Sexes dvd to watch 2 people who they have probably never even heard of.
I cant even imagine any pool players buying that dvd either!
Why would anyone want to buy IPT chalk?
What worries me is that the numbers keep going up! First they anounce that only the top 75 players would recieve a pay check [ when I,m pretty sure the impression was given that even first round losers would get something! ]and now everyone is going to earn $100,000 for just turning up?
Did you see the clip where the cameraman was walking around the table obstructing the view of the spectators? How iritating is that?

It seems to me that the people who actually care if the IPT is a success or not are NOT the target audience!
Gabber

 

[Gabber]

Well, I see it differently. He has spent over 100 Million dollars in advertising since 1989. He knows how to get on tv, WITHOUT the networks. As far as no one wanting to be associated with him...in a meeting with Gorbachev, Iococca, Trump, and Schwartzkopf, they were all asking HIM his advice. Kevin is asked to advise businesses to the tune of $25-$40M on how to make money. He lives in a place that is the most expensive on the planet, Fisher Island. (Fisher won the island from Rockefeller in a card game.)

Sigel spent 5 days with KT at his place on Fisher Island. In that time he met Andy Garcia, Andre Agassi, among others, and was asked to play volleyball with the Kennedys and Shrivers in KT's own back yard.

KT was the one who told Trump how to structure 'The Apprentice' because Trump thought it should be another way. KT told him to use the model he has used for 20 years and that is why he has the best and why there is such low turnover in his organization.

Also, every 15 minutes, he has 10 people come in shifts with meetings with the boss, and then he is on the phone, "No, not 30 million, $40 million", and so on, that is how he spends his day. He thinks it's funny that people without a dime are thinking they know a better way to run things.

The man just had to get rid of $140 million in 1 day for tax purposes, so he bought another yacht and another plane and I'm not sure where the other $80M went. He just does not circle in our orbit.

Hallelujah! Dont ja lust love m.
Seems like the US would come to a stop if KT took a vacation!
Why dont you just post a pic of KT's posterior an we can ALL KHA.

Gabber......LOL

 

[catscradle]

Like so many others, I think it's great to finally see some real money on the pool scene. I'm hoping that the IPT is not a passing fancy, but is here to stay, so that the game can finally be recognized and appreciated by a wider audience, and so that the talented people who play this game well enough to be professionals can make a decent and comfortable living at it. I am, as they say, cautiously optimistic.

To that end, since I am entirely ignorant about these things, I would like to ask --just what has to happen now for the IPT to thrive and continue to grow? Is a tv contract an absolute necessity? Serious corporate sponsorship outside of the pool industry? Mainstream and steady media coverage? All of the above?

Me, I'm cautiously pessimestic. I don't think KT's hyper-salesman style will make people any more excited about pool. I hope I'm wrong, but ....

 

[macguy]

Well, I see it differently. He has spent over 100 Million dollars in advertising since 1989. He knows how to get on tv, WITHOUT the networks. As far as no one wanting to be associated with him...in a meeting with Gorbachev, Iococca, Trump, and Schwartzkopf, they were all asking HIM his advice. Kevin is asked to advise businesses to the tune of $25-$40M on how to make money. He lives in a place that is the most expensive on the planet, Fisher Island. (Fisher won the island from Rockefeller in a card game.)

Sigel spent 5 days with KT at his place on Fisher Island. In that time he met Andy Garcia, Andre Agassi, among others, and was asked to play volleyball with the Kennedys and Shrivers in KT's own back yard.

KT was the one who told Trump how to structure 'The Apprentice' because Trump thought it should be another way. KT told him to use the model he has used for 20 years and that is why he has the best and why there is such low turnover in his organization.

Also, every 15 minutes, he has 10 people come in shifts with meetings with the boss, and then he is on the phone, "No, not 30 million, $40 million", and so on, that is how he spends his day. He thinks it's funny that people without a dime are thinking they know a better way to run things.

The man just had to get rid of $140 million in 1 day for tax purposes, so he bought another yacht and another plane and I'm not sure where the other $80M went. He just does not circle in our orbit.

Boy, have you been drinking the cool aid. Mean time I haven't seen any mention about the tournament on any news or sports broadcast in my area or on cable.

 

[Jaden]

crook?

Just putting a tournament on TV won't do it. The girls are on all the time and still beyond players and fans no one has a clue who they are. You don't see them doing Coke commercials or cosmetic commercials or anything for that matter. There needs to be a real marketing plan to put them in front of the public every time you turn around. Here is my real problem with KT. I don't think, except for his own personal use he can do this. His connection is too negative and he will want them to be constantly promoting him and his products. This will create a little exposure but it has to go beyond him and he may turn out to be a road block for anything beyond his own desires. No matter how you look at it he is perceived by the public in general as a crook and that is that. It is nice he may put some money in the pockets of a few players but that may turn out to be the only place they get it from. Other sponsors will stay away. Remember when Oprah used to always say she was having a "Martha moment", and every holiday Martha Stewart would be on her show doing something? You never hear her even mention Mrs. Stewart any more, it is as if they were never friends. Media people and advertisers are scared to death of anything that can be even in the least considered as negative and rub off on them. That is not to say if the IPT thing takes off someone else may not mimic it, in fact that would be the best thing that may come out of this. Multiple tours and tournaments, match play, exhibitions, and so on. The IPT may be a catalyst for other good things but I don't see it at all as the end all to pool becoming a major sport. It is just a means to an end for KT to sell his crap. I am sorry there is no other way to see it. The winner of today's tournament will probably not make the nightly news or sports broadcasts anywhere unless KT pays for it. Just his name alone would have it toss in the trash by most news or sports producers.

I'm sure the millions of people who bought his book all think he is a crook right? Most news or sports producers are interested in making money. If the IPT gets the ratings, they're not going to care if it's David Berkowitz running it.

 

[macguy]

I'm sure the millions of people who bought his book all think he is a crook right? Most news or sports producers are interested in making money. If the IPT gets the ratings, they're not going to care if it's David Berkowitz running it.

What ratings, it wasn't on TV, they don't report a results of a three or six month old sports event. They apparently ignored it and have not done any reporting on the tournament and it lasted 5 days, I can only go by what I see. There may be some articles but they will probably be editorialized advertising where you pay for an ad that appears to look like a news article. Of the millions who bought his book, most, say it is a rip off, read the reviews. I doubt press releases by a known informerical con man will get much attention by news organizations unless he pays for it. Except for his money, he is a negative no matter how you look at it.

 

[macguy]

Well, I see it differently. He has spent over 100 Million dollars in advertising since 1989. He knows how to get on tv, WITHOUT the networks. As far as no one wanting to be associated with him...in a meeting with Gorbachev, Iococca, Trump, and Schwartzkopf, they were all asking HIM his advice. Kevin is asked to advise businesses to the tune of $25-$40M on how to make money. He lives in a place that is the most expensive on the planet, Fisher Island. (Fisher won the island from Rockefeller in a card game.)

Sigel spent 5 days with KT at his place on Fisher Island. In that time he met Andy Garcia, Andre Agassi, among others, and was asked to play volleyball with the Kennedys and Shrivers in KT's own back yard.

KT was the one who told Trump how to structure 'The Apprentice' because Trump thought it should be another way. KT told him to use the model he has used for 20 years and that is why he has the best and why there is such low turnover in his organization.

Also, every 15 minutes, he has 10 people come in shifts with meetings with the boss, and then he is on the phone, "No, not 30 million, $40 million", and so on, that is how he spends his day. He thinks it's funny that people without a dime are thinking they know a better way to run things.

The man just had to get rid of $140 million in 1 day for tax purposes, so he bought another yacht and another plane and I'm not sure where the other $80M went. He just does not circle in our orbit.

With all due respect, if any of those people you mentioned who are so buddy buddy with him lent their names and support to the IPT it would go a long way to get it attention, far more so then KT himself could ever do. Was Donald Trump there? After all he owes all his success to KT and should have shown up? I guess he couldn't make it. Were there any celebrities there? Maybe next time.

 

[Jaden]

I have read the reviews.

What ratings, it wasn't on TV, they don't report a results of a three or six month old sports event. They apparently ignored it and have not done any reporting on the tournament and it lasted 5 days, I can only go by what I see. There may be some articles but they will probably be editorialized advertising where you pay for an ad that appears to look like a news article. Of the millions who bought his book, most, say it is a rip off, read the reviews. I doubt press releases by a known informerical con man will get much attention by news organizations unless he pays for it. Except for his money, he is a negative no matter how you look at it.

In fact, I bought the book. This issue has been argued to death. I wish you people would get off of it already. RAtings? yeah, it's still airing on many channels. Why don't any of you people that have a hard on against KT give it a chance. I mean I really don't understand your thought processes?

Even if and when the IPT becomes an International success, you'll still be saying something to the tune of, "Well, if he hadn't thrown all that money he made from gullible desperate people, it wouldn't have been successful....."

Get over it. He's a marketing success and in all liklihood he knows what he's doing and it WILL be good for pool. He's not going to sink millions of his money into something he thinks is going to fail, and I think he has all of us beat on the credibility of marketing skills department.

 

[macguy]

In fact, I bought the book. This issue has been argued to death. I wish you people would get off of it already. RAtings? yeah, it's still airing on many channels. Why don't any of you people that have a hard on against KT give it a chance. I mean I really don't understand your thought processes?

Even if and when the IPT becomes an International success, you'll still be saying something to the tune of, "Well, if he hadn't thrown all that money he made from gullible desperate people, it wouldn't have been successful....."

Get over it. He's a marketing success and in all liklihood he knows what he's doing and it WILL be good for pool. He's not going to sink millions of his money into something he thinks is going to fail, and I think he has all of us beat on the credibility of marketing skills department.

Give me a break. People like Popeil, Tony Little, Chuck Norse, Body by Jake, Jack LaLane and a zillion more have made fortunes in TV marketing, he didn't invent it, he is however the only one ever banned. Support the IPT but stop embarrassing yourself defending the guy. You are sounding like one of those nuts outside the court room yelling "I love Michael".

 

[Jaden]

I'm not defending him.

I'm stating the obvious. I know I don't have any marketing credibility, although it's distinctly possible and even plausible that I could put something together that pool fans would enjoy more.

I'm just stating that you or I don't have the credibility to say that what he's doing isn;t going to work, and I get tired of hearing people on here constantly bashing his methods without giving them a chance and without any marketing credibility of their own. I am not nor will I say that what he's doing will elevate pool to a new level, but I am saying that what he's doing has a much better chance than what's been done thus far and I for one am willing to let it play out and see just what comes of it and in the mean time, I'll work on my eightball game, (something that I haven't done for a while)

 

[Rude Dog]

Except for his money

Isn't that what this whole thing is about, more money? What is the problem with players making money? When was the last time the HOF players made $30k for showing up? Or any player making $6,200 for losing? What is your real problem MacGuy? Plenty of people are excited about this, and some aren't, including you. But what's the problem? Did you purchase a book from K.T. and not happy with it? I've purchased plenty of books that I wasn't happy with the end result but the Author of those books never repaid me or put millions of dollars into a game that I love to play. I just don't understand all of the negativity over this tour? It is what the pool playing community wanted for the players, MORE MONEY! If someone else had stepped up to the plate and did what K.T. has done, would that make it any better for those that don't like it the way it is right now? What is it that you and the others want from a tour? Sanctioning? I just don't get it, I guess. There must be something going on that the rest of us don't know about. BlackJack knows, but I haven't called him yet. His opinions are respectable because he does have past knowledge about the ins and outs of tours and what makes them click, and for some reason, he sees this as a failure too. I'm just an outsider looking in and seeing good things happen right now for the players. If there's more to it than that, please explain. Peace, John.