Making SPL competition popular again - Your Thoughts
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 799
Great Topic Yuli!!!
My input on the Big Boxes.
I have had the support in Eastern Canada with my shows and Big Boxes. LCS and Total Sport Compact Ottawa were both sponsored by a Big Box. Last fall, we also had a Battle of the Boxes show that both Big Boxes supported. Big Boxes are broken down in many areas. All areas have budgets so I started at the bottom. Store Level, District Level, Eastern Level, CHQ. I have had Big Box employees ask me how they can get a show at their store.
What is in it for me/us? This is a question that everyone asks. Competitor - what do I get out of this, Promoter- what do I get out of this, Judge - what do I get out of this, Org- what do I get out of this? And so on. Why would the big boxes be any different? Why should a Big Box spend a lot of money without a return? I wanted to find what it would take and after many months, I was successful.
I had the opportunity to meet the guy who started House of Boom. I learned the reason why he stopped it and now being at CHQ, he wasnt interested in supporting anymore car audio events. After a couple of days of chat, I had his support. I was fortunate to have a store, district and regional rep present that helped him see what I was trying to do. It was all about the Industry as a whole. The biggest struggle of Big Box Car Audio Support - How much of their business do you really think Car Audio is? Car Audio became Car Electronics and GPS/Sat Radio became High Demand.
The struggles and politics are no different than any other sponsor or show. The cost, property laws and insurance and reputation. Which org should they use? What are the costs of the sanctioning, judge and trophies? What are the costs of permit and insurance? What if the police come and end the show or what if we irritate retailers around us? These are the same questions that any promoter asks themselves.
The return - When we did the battle of the boxes event, the biggest request that they had was low entry fees. They paid for all expenses, brought in vendors, demo cars, trophies and giveaways and all entries went to the United Way. This shows that it wasnt about making money, if anything, they had no problem giving it away. They were happy with it and asked me to do the same in Ottawa, Montreal and Nova Scotia. If it goes well with these locations, it could across Canada.
The Orgs - which org to choose? Who is to determine which org to use? LCS, I had multi orgs to make it fair. The cost to have multi orgs is huge! I didnt expect Big Boxes to cover all of the fees so I had to get multi sponsors and rely on entry fees to break even. After a loss, we continued with the shows anyways. We didnt cry about it nor did we go tell our sponsors that we needed more money, we told ourselves that we needed more sponsors.
Politics - We had a mag at our show. They would only take pics of certain parts to the show due to their own rep. Our biggest Sponsors werent allowed to be published as they werent paying customers. What got me, one Big Box was allowed and the other wasnt due to customer base. Does this mag not understand that both Big Boxes are owned by the one who forks the bill? This is how the industry is killing itself.
To end this post, here is what I want you to think about. Look at the comments on this site, the smack talk towards big boxes. How can you say that the Big Boxes should support with the support that they get in return.
My input on the Big Boxes.
I have had the support in Eastern Canada with my shows and Big Boxes. LCS and Total Sport Compact Ottawa were both sponsored by a Big Box. Last fall, we also had a Battle of the Boxes show that both Big Boxes supported. Big Boxes are broken down in many areas. All areas have budgets so I started at the bottom. Store Level, District Level, Eastern Level, CHQ. I have had Big Box employees ask me how they can get a show at their store.
What is in it for me/us? This is a question that everyone asks. Competitor - what do I get out of this, Promoter- what do I get out of this, Judge - what do I get out of this, Org- what do I get out of this? And so on. Why would the big boxes be any different? Why should a Big Box spend a lot of money without a return? I wanted to find what it would take and after many months, I was successful.
I had the opportunity to meet the guy who started House of Boom. I learned the reason why he stopped it and now being at CHQ, he wasnt interested in supporting anymore car audio events. After a couple of days of chat, I had his support. I was fortunate to have a store, district and regional rep present that helped him see what I was trying to do. It was all about the Industry as a whole. The biggest struggle of Big Box Car Audio Support - How much of their business do you really think Car Audio is? Car Audio became Car Electronics and GPS/Sat Radio became High Demand.
The struggles and politics are no different than any other sponsor or show. The cost, property laws and insurance and reputation. Which org should they use? What are the costs of the sanctioning, judge and trophies? What are the costs of permit and insurance? What if the police come and end the show or what if we irritate retailers around us? These are the same questions that any promoter asks themselves.
The return - When we did the battle of the boxes event, the biggest request that they had was low entry fees. They paid for all expenses, brought in vendors, demo cars, trophies and giveaways and all entries went to the United Way. This shows that it wasnt about making money, if anything, they had no problem giving it away. They were happy with it and asked me to do the same in Ottawa, Montreal and Nova Scotia. If it goes well with these locations, it could across Canada.
The Orgs - which org to choose? Who is to determine which org to use? LCS, I had multi orgs to make it fair. The cost to have multi orgs is huge! I didnt expect Big Boxes to cover all of the fees so I had to get multi sponsors and rely on entry fees to break even. After a loss, we continued with the shows anyways. We didnt cry about it nor did we go tell our sponsors that we needed more money, we told ourselves that we needed more sponsors.
Politics - We had a mag at our show. They would only take pics of certain parts to the show due to their own rep. Our biggest Sponsors werent allowed to be published as they werent paying customers. What got me, one Big Box was allowed and the other wasnt due to customer base. Does this mag not understand that both Big Boxes are owned by the one who forks the bill? This is how the industry is killing itself.
To end this post, here is what I want you to think about. Look at the comments on this site, the smack talk towards big boxes. How can you say that the Big Boxes should support with the support that they get in return.
Great Topic Yuli!!!
My input on the Big Boxes.
I have had the support in Eastern Canada with my shows and Big Boxes. LCS and Total Sport Compact Ottawa were both sponsored by a Big Box. Last fall, we also had a Battle of the Boxes show that both Big Boxes supported. Big Boxes are broken down in many areas. All areas have budgets so I started at the bottom. Store Level, District Level, Eastern Level, CHQ. I have had Big Box employees ask me how they can get a show at their store.
What is in it for me/us? This is a question that everyone asks. Competitor - what do I get out of this, Promoter- what do I get out of this, Judge - what do I get out of this, Org- what do I get out of this? And so on. Why would the big boxes be any different? Why should a Big Box spend a lot of money without a return? I wanted to find what it would take and after many months, I was successful.
I had the opportunity to meet the guy who started House of Boom. I learned the reason why he stopped it and now being at CHQ, he wasnt interested in supporting anymore car audio events. After a couple of days of chat, I had his support. I was fortunate to have a store, district and regional rep present that helped him see what I was trying to do. It was all about the Industry as a whole. The biggest struggle of Big Box Car Audio Support - How much of their business do you really think Car Audio is? Car Audio became Car Electronics and GPS/Sat Radio became High Demand.
The struggles and politics are no different than any other sponsor or show. The cost, property laws and insurance and reputation. Which org should they use? What are the costs of the sanctioning, judge and trophies? What are the costs of permit and insurance? What if the police come and end the show or what if we irritate retailers around us? These are the same questions that any promoter asks themselves.
The return - When we did the battle of the boxes event, the biggest request that they had was low entry fees. They paid for all expenses, brought in vendors, demo cars, trophies and giveaways and all entries went to the United Way. This shows that it wasnt about making money, if anything, they had no problem giving it away. They were happy with it and asked me to do the same in Ottawa, Montreal and Nova Scotia. If it goes well with these locations, it could across Canada.
The Orgs - which org to choose? Who is to determine which org to use? LCS, I had multi orgs to make it fair. The cost to have multi orgs is huge! I didnt expect Big Boxes to cover all of the fees so I had to get multi sponsors and rely on entry fees to break even. After a loss, we continued with the shows anyways. We didnt cry about it nor did we go tell our sponsors that we needed more money, we told ourselves that we needed more sponsors.
Politics - We had a mag at our show. They would only take pics of certain parts to the show due to their own rep. Our biggest Sponsors werent allowed to be published as they werent paying customers. What got me, one Big Box was allowed and the other wasnt due to customer base. Does this mag not understand that both Big Boxes are owned by the one who forks the bill? This is how the industry is killing itself.
To end this post, here is what I want you to think about. Look at the comments on this site, the smack talk towards big boxes. How can you say that the Big Boxes should support with the support that they get in return.
My input on the Big Boxes.
I have had the support in Eastern Canada with my shows and Big Boxes. LCS and Total Sport Compact Ottawa were both sponsored by a Big Box. Last fall, we also had a Battle of the Boxes show that both Big Boxes supported. Big Boxes are broken down in many areas. All areas have budgets so I started at the bottom. Store Level, District Level, Eastern Level, CHQ. I have had Big Box employees ask me how they can get a show at their store.
What is in it for me/us? This is a question that everyone asks. Competitor - what do I get out of this, Promoter- what do I get out of this, Judge - what do I get out of this, Org- what do I get out of this? And so on. Why would the big boxes be any different? Why should a Big Box spend a lot of money without a return? I wanted to find what it would take and after many months, I was successful.
I had the opportunity to meet the guy who started House of Boom. I learned the reason why he stopped it and now being at CHQ, he wasnt interested in supporting anymore car audio events. After a couple of days of chat, I had his support. I was fortunate to have a store, district and regional rep present that helped him see what I was trying to do. It was all about the Industry as a whole. The biggest struggle of Big Box Car Audio Support - How much of their business do you really think Car Audio is? Car Audio became Car Electronics and GPS/Sat Radio became High Demand.
The struggles and politics are no different than any other sponsor or show. The cost, property laws and insurance and reputation. Which org should they use? What are the costs of the sanctioning, judge and trophies? What are the costs of permit and insurance? What if the police come and end the show or what if we irritate retailers around us? These are the same questions that any promoter asks themselves.
The return - When we did the battle of the boxes event, the biggest request that they had was low entry fees. They paid for all expenses, brought in vendors, demo cars, trophies and giveaways and all entries went to the United Way. This shows that it wasnt about making money, if anything, they had no problem giving it away. They were happy with it and asked me to do the same in Ottawa, Montreal and Nova Scotia. If it goes well with these locations, it could across Canada.
The Orgs - which org to choose? Who is to determine which org to use? LCS, I had multi orgs to make it fair. The cost to have multi orgs is huge! I didnt expect Big Boxes to cover all of the fees so I had to get multi sponsors and rely on entry fees to break even. After a loss, we continued with the shows anyways. We didnt cry about it nor did we go tell our sponsors that we needed more money, we told ourselves that we needed more sponsors.
Politics - We had a mag at our show. They would only take pics of certain parts to the show due to their own rep. Our biggest Sponsors werent allowed to be published as they werent paying customers. What got me, one Big Box was allowed and the other wasnt due to customer base. Does this mag not understand that both Big Boxes are owned by the one who forks the bill? This is how the industry is killing itself.
To end this post, here is what I want you to think about. Look at the comments on this site, the smack talk towards big boxes. How can you say that the Big Boxes should support with the support that they get in return.
alot of people say "what's in it for the big box" the answer is, it can be anything, all depends on how they spin it. Sure a car audio comp at your store wont bring people rushing in wanting to buy 60 inch plasma tv's. But that is the wrong logic to begin with.
a variety of Public Relation or Publicity spins can be put on an event like a car audio comp. like Jeff said, donate to United Way - not only that's good PR and Publicity but possibly a tax write off for the event expenses as well.
a BigBox can benefit if a show is done for a good cause/reason. trying to grab money is not a good reason, and is poor marketing as well.
and if a car audio event isnt good enough on it's own it doesnt take much effort to round up a show and shine or a tunner show at the same time.
an event with a number of reasons or purposes (educational, support, recreation, awaraness, good will, etc) can definately be beneficial to a big name store.
Bingo
This is one of the major reasons, in my opinion, why the competitions are turning to crap. (btw, sorry for taking quoting yuo specifically Jesse but it fit in with what I wanted to say... you certainly aren't the only person I'm addressing this to though)
I hate to say it guys but you're ********. Not all of you.. there are a few of you that manage to be nice, but in general you're ******.
We talk about promoting shows through CCA and getting awareness out there (radio ads are expensive.. and one of the most common ways to get the word out is by the Internet)
Do you honestly think that a new person who comes to CCA will see all of the beif you guys start and will say to themselves "holy sweet-, I want to hang out with those guys!"
I KNOW that in general it's meant as a joke or you guys get bored during the winter so you start crap to entertain yourselves. I see past it and think you're all cool but a new person would almost certainly see the way you act towards each other and would be turned away.
You don't help each other.... you talk about how someones build sucks.
You don't compliment someones install... you talk about how what they did is a -show and you could do so much better. (and how everything is a fire hazard)
You don't offer help... you laugh at them and talk about how you can't wait to see them blow stuff up.
If you see someone doing something different from what you're used to you talk about them behind their backs and call them an idiot rather than finding out why they're doing it that way. (this is directed at the guy who doesn't understand why I was burping my car so much before going in to the lanes at a show... there is a REASON I do it.. I'm not a moron, my team found something that works for us and we use that technique.. instead of talking about me why not ask?)
Sure... once you're a regular at shows and survive the initiation everyone is cool but to get to that point you have to deal with a LOT of BS. For most people it isn't worth the hassle.
Also, as Jeff mentioned, you guys bash the hell out of big box stores but they have put on some of the BEST shows I've been to in the last few years.
The larger shows I've been to for the past few years were nothing compared to how good/big Limestone and TCS were and both of these events were sponsored by Best Buy.
Even the "Battle of the Boxes" last year that SO many people talked about when we were trying to get set up (yet none of you came to) was a great show despite being put together very quickly.
Believe this folks... Jeff/Mar and all the people in Kingston who put on these shows KNOW what the hell they're doing. Make it a point to get out to LCS4.
This is one of the major reasons, in my opinion, why the competitions are turning to crap. (btw, sorry for taking quoting yuo specifically Jesse but it fit in with what I wanted to say... you certainly aren't the only person I'm addressing this to though)
I hate to say it guys but you're ********. Not all of you.. there are a few of you that manage to be nice, but in general you're ******.
We talk about promoting shows through CCA and getting awareness out there (radio ads are expensive.. and one of the most common ways to get the word out is by the Internet)
Do you honestly think that a new person who comes to CCA will see all of the beif you guys start and will say to themselves "holy sweet-, I want to hang out with those guys!"
I KNOW that in general it's meant as a joke or you guys get bored during the winter so you start crap to entertain yourselves. I see past it and think you're all cool but a new person would almost certainly see the way you act towards each other and would be turned away.
You don't help each other.... you talk about how someones build sucks.
You don't compliment someones install... you talk about how what they did is a -show and you could do so much better. (and how everything is a fire hazard)
You don't offer help... you laugh at them and talk about how you can't wait to see them blow stuff up.
If you see someone doing something different from what you're used to you talk about them behind their backs and call them an idiot rather than finding out why they're doing it that way. (this is directed at the guy who doesn't understand why I was burping my car so much before going in to the lanes at a show... there is a REASON I do it.. I'm not a moron, my team found something that works for us and we use that technique.. instead of talking about me why not ask?)
Sure... once you're a regular at shows and survive the initiation everyone is cool but to get to that point you have to deal with a LOT of BS. For most people it isn't worth the hassle.
Also, as Jeff mentioned, you guys bash the hell out of big box stores but they have put on some of the BEST shows I've been to in the last few years.
The larger shows I've been to for the past few years were nothing compared to how good/big Limestone and TCS were and both of these events were sponsored by Best Buy.
Even the "Battle of the Boxes" last year that SO many people talked about when we were trying to get set up (yet none of you came to) was a great show despite being put together very quickly.
Believe this folks... Jeff/Mar and all the people in Kingston who put on these shows KNOW what the hell they're doing. Make it a point to get out to LCS4.
lol Jordy you make spl guys out to be much worse than they are. like 99.9% of the forums in Canada are just like CCA where people get called names, get called out or otherwise get picked on. It's really not that bad. I dont think a new person reading what we post gets scared and says "oh man, F that!" i really dont think majority of people are really that easily influenced by a topic on a forum.
if you think THIS is bad, go check out the canadian gun nutz forum or the redflagdeals forum. those are million times worse than CCA ever has been, yet those forums produce HUGE and frequent meets (in person) in a number of shapes and forms.
when at a show, majority of people will actually help you as opposed to tell you that your build sucks.
if you think THIS is bad, go check out the canadian gun nutz forum or the redflagdeals forum. those are million times worse than CCA ever has been, yet those forums produce HUGE and frequent meets (in person) in a number of shapes and forms.
when at a show, majority of people will actually help you as opposed to tell you that your build sucks.
500 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 799
I have had many noobs join over the years that havent returned to the site due to the keyboard warriors. Many noobs would be intimidated by those who trash others or tell people that they're not loud cuz they dont break a 150.
Yeah I can see that happening but people need to use these key board warriors to their advantage. They should take the bashing and use it as motivation to get louder and proven them wrong. Thats what I would do but thats just me lol
Yes, the forum is a bit scary when you first read it, and yes, when you go to a show all gets better.
The best would be having lots and lots of small shows, the ones you can have on your garage. This encourage the kids and newbies. Actually having very loud competition cars at shows doesn't help much, this will scare newcomers, and having only few big shows will make them wonder if is worth to compete against those loud nuts. A bunch of shows with 138-140dB average is the key to make this big again.
I used to have my own shows in Brazil back in days, we were helped by a big radio that advertised and to get their money to pay the ad they would search for show sponsors among the car stereo shops, etc, and share the cost. I'm sure it can be done here if a "show crew" try to do so.
The best would be having lots and lots of small shows, the ones you can have on your garage. This encourage the kids and newbies. Actually having very loud competition cars at shows doesn't help much, this will scare newcomers, and having only few big shows will make them wonder if is worth to compete against those loud nuts. A bunch of shows with 138-140dB average is the key to make this big again.
I used to have my own shows in Brazil back in days, we were helped by a big radio that advertised and to get their money to pay the ad they would search for show sponsors among the car stereo shops, etc, and share the cost. I'm sure it can be done here if a "show crew" try to do so.
Bingo
This is one of the major reasons, in my opinion, why the competitions are turning to crap. (btw, sorry for taking quoting yuo specifically Jesse but it fit in with what I wanted to say... you certainly aren't the only person I'm addressing this to though)
I hate to say it guys but you're ********. Not all of you.. there are a few of you that manage to be nice, but in general you're ******.
We talk about promoting shows through CCA and getting awareness out there (radio ads are expensive.. and one of the most common ways to get the word out is by the Internet)
Do you honestly think that a new person who comes to CCA will see all of the beif you guys start and will say to themselves "holy sweet-, I want to hang out with those guys!"
I KNOW that in general it's meant as a joke or you guys get bored during the winter so you start crap to entertain yourselves. I see past it and think you're all cool but a new person would almost certainly see the way you act towards each other and would be turned away.
You don't help each other.... you talk about how someones build sucks.
You don't compliment someones install... you talk about how what they did is a -show and you could do so much better. (and how everything is a fire hazard)
You don't offer help... you laugh at them and talk about how you can't wait to see them blow stuff up.
If you see someone doing something different from what you're used to you talk about them behind their backs and call them an idiot rather than finding out why they're doing it that way. (this is directed at the guy who doesn't understand why I was burping my car so much before going in to the lanes at a show... there is a REASON I do it.. I'm not a moron, my team found something that works for us and we use that technique.. instead of talking about me why not ask?)
Sure... once you're a regular at shows and survive the initiation everyone is cool but to get to that point you have to deal with a LOT of BS. For most people it isn't worth the hassle.
Also, as Jeff mentioned, you guys bash the hell out of big box stores but they have put on some of the BEST shows I've been to in the last few years.
The larger shows I've been to for the past few years were nothing compared to how good/big Limestone and TCS were and both of these events were sponsored by Best Buy.
Even the "Battle of the Boxes" last year that SO many people talked about when we were trying to get set up (yet none of you came to) was a great show despite being put together very quickly.
Believe this folks... Jeff/Mar and all the people in Kingston who put on these shows KNOW what the hell they're doing. Make it a point to get out to LCS4.
This is one of the major reasons, in my opinion, why the competitions are turning to crap. (btw, sorry for taking quoting yuo specifically Jesse but it fit in with what I wanted to say... you certainly aren't the only person I'm addressing this to though)
I hate to say it guys but you're ********. Not all of you.. there are a few of you that manage to be nice, but in general you're ******.
We talk about promoting shows through CCA and getting awareness out there (radio ads are expensive.. and one of the most common ways to get the word out is by the Internet)
Do you honestly think that a new person who comes to CCA will see all of the beif you guys start and will say to themselves "holy sweet-, I want to hang out with those guys!"
I KNOW that in general it's meant as a joke or you guys get bored during the winter so you start crap to entertain yourselves. I see past it and think you're all cool but a new person would almost certainly see the way you act towards each other and would be turned away.
You don't help each other.... you talk about how someones build sucks.
You don't compliment someones install... you talk about how what they did is a -show and you could do so much better. (and how everything is a fire hazard)
You don't offer help... you laugh at them and talk about how you can't wait to see them blow stuff up.
If you see someone doing something different from what you're used to you talk about them behind their backs and call them an idiot rather than finding out why they're doing it that way. (this is directed at the guy who doesn't understand why I was burping my car so much before going in to the lanes at a show... there is a REASON I do it.. I'm not a moron, my team found something that works for us and we use that technique.. instead of talking about me why not ask?)
Sure... once you're a regular at shows and survive the initiation everyone is cool but to get to that point you have to deal with a LOT of BS. For most people it isn't worth the hassle.
Also, as Jeff mentioned, you guys bash the hell out of big box stores but they have put on some of the BEST shows I've been to in the last few years.
The larger shows I've been to for the past few years were nothing compared to how good/big Limestone and TCS were and both of these events were sponsored by Best Buy.
Even the "Battle of the Boxes" last year that SO many people talked about when we were trying to get set up (yet none of you came to) was a great show despite being put together very quickly.
Believe this folks... Jeff/Mar and all the people in Kingston who put on these shows KNOW what the hell they're doing. Make it a point to get out to LCS4.
