DZ web site marketing - how far do you go?

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I started a new thread to remove this from a number of not so nice things being said about specific entities. So create your own example entities and fire away.

We know that "marketing" has become aggressive sometimes in this day and age so I guess it should not surprise us when we see exaggerated claims and misleading statements on the web sites of some drop zones.

That's just business, right? And the purpose of business is to make as much money as possible, even at the expense of some other aspects of the sport, right?

My question to skydivers is, "How far do you go?"

Do you put up a picture of a flag jump and imply that after your initial training that one may soon be doing that?

Do you put up a picture of a head-down jump and imply that after your initial training that one may soon be doing that?

Do you say that you recommend a particular training method and imply (state in some cases I have seen!) that this is a safer method than some other?

Do you say that the gear that you use is safer than someone elses? Who says? Some industry organization or consumer advocacy group?

Do you say that the aircraft you use is safer? (How? Because it has a turbine engine?)

Do you say that you are located only [xx] miles from [city] when you are actually located [xx] miles from the furthest outskirts? Or only [xx] minutes away (if you drive 90MPH?)

Do you say that you have the "highest quality" instructors (when there is no objective way of determining that)? (No there isn't! You may claim their experience, but not their "quality".)


Any other examples? How far do you go?

[WatchYourStep 0]

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My question to skydivers is, "How far do you go?"

Do you mean DZOs instead of skydivers? I don't think most skydivers would put something up on the company website without DZO approval. Then again I'm young in the sport and haven't seen as much as many of you.

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

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Do you mean DZOs instead of skydivers?

It was a somewhat rhetorical question I suppose. How about, "How far would you go if you were to make the decision about what to put on your DZ's web site." or "To what extent would you agree with what your DZO puts on their web site?"

[DSE 5]

Your question is too individualistic, IMO. You might as well ask "If you saw a 100.00 bill on the street, would you keep it or attempt to find the owner?"?

The website(s) I manage? If it's not true or reasonable, it doesn't go up.
ie; no pix of head down, CRW, sit, skysurfing, raft dives, with "You can do this as soon as you're off student status!" written underneath. No bigway pix suggesting we have bigways.

[billvon 3,116]

>Any other examples? How far do you go?

In terms of marketing - you go as far as you can without making yourself liable for false-advertising charges. From a business perspective, it costs the same to advertise "we have pretty good instructors most of the time" vs "we have the best instructors USPA can produce" - but one will get you more business.

>Do you put up a picture of a head-down jump and imply that after your
>initial training that one may soon be doing that?

I know people who HAVE done that shortly after their first jump! Three weeks to be exact. (Of course, they made 50-60 jumps during that time and a few hours of tunnel.)