Skydiving Publications/PR

[benny 0]

In an earlier thread someone asked about how fast the sport is growing... it seemed that most posters in that thread seemed to thinking growth was slowing. While I have no info on that, I do have a thought as to possible reasoning for a downward (no pun intended) trend: it seems to me that there are relatively few skydiving publications which are also of relatively low quality (when compared to other so-called "extreme" sports suck as rock climbing or even skateboarding). I'm new to the sport and very hungry for information, yet it took me tons of google searches before I even found this site. In addition, I have yet to see any material related to skydiving in any of several bookstores. Imagine how many people might be drawn to the sport if they could see some of the most beautiful images ever wrapped in a nice mag on a newsstand? It's a shame that the work of some very impressive camera fliers only sees a limited audience. Let me know what you think! Thanks and blue skies!

Never go to a DZ strip show.

[Airborne03 0]

shhhh...dont tell anyone...skydiving is a big cult...we like to hide ourselfs!

"Airborne all the way"
EL Cantador Rodriguez

[pilotdave 0]

It's all just a matter of money. Skydiving does have a limited audience. You'll never see a magazine like parachutist on newsstands because very few people would ever buy it. And who would take out ads in a skydiving magazine being sold to non-skydivers?

Those other "extreme sports" that get more attention are also MUCH more popular. The books and magazines exist because they're more popular, not the other way around. It surprises me you can find magazines like Flying and Plane and Pilot in some bookstores, but at least flying is something a lot more people have an interest in, and there are plenty of ads for non-pilot products like fancy watches and cars.

Dave

[benny 0]

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Those other "extreme sports" that get more attention are also MUCH more popular.

I think you have a point, however, the logic is circular. I think the past few years of "reality" tv has shown us that the public can be sold on just about anything. A few years back those other "extreme" sports weren't quite as popular. Hell, when I was in school skateboarders were laughed at, now it's the coolest thing for a kid to do. I don't think it just magically became popular... I think ESPN sold it to us with things like the x-games. Maybe the x-games should include swooping!

Never go to a DZ strip show.

[skybytch 273]

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think the past few years of "reality" tv has shown us that the public can be sold on just about anything

Ah, but at least some of us would prefer that the general public not be "sold" on skydiving. It isn't for everyone.

The XGames used to include freeflying and skysurfing. They don't anymore, primarily because the target audience for the XGames isn't old enough to jump out of airplanes yet.

[benny 0]

Quote

The XGames used to include freeflying and skysurfing. They don't anymore, primarily because the target audience for the XGames isn't old enough to jump out of airplanes yet.

damn focus groups

Never go to a DZ strip show.

[pilotdave 0]

Skateboarding, mountain biking, inline skating, skiing, snowboarding are all easy to sell compared to skydiving. Get some cool looking skateboards in a store, and you've got an instant market of new skateboarders. You can't do the same with skydiving gear.

I think you're right that skydiving could become more popular if more people were exposed to it (how many of you have friends that have made at least one jump because they know you?), but it'll never make it as a "mainstream extreme" sport. There just isn't the market.

Dave

[gremlin 0]

One of the problems is that every time there is an incident an uninformed journo writes whatever they feel would sell the story. We then end up playing hurtle, plunge, plummet bingo in the papers. If we had a proactive media spokesperson then the public could receive balanced accounts and may be more interested in what we enjoy.

I'm drunk, you're drunk, lets go back to mine....

[pilotdave 0]

I honestly don't think that reading about incidents is what stops the average person from jumping out of a plane. There are those that would and those that won't, regardless of how accidents are portrayed in the media. The "those that would" group is then split up among those that can afford it, and those that can't.

So yeah, some positive articles instead of negative ones could get some new jumpers, and a few people that read about a horrible death might choose not to jump because of it, but overall I don't think either group could be the cause or prevention of skydiving becoming a mainstream sport.

edit: no matter how balanced the account is, death is death.

Dave

[Pubwoof 0]

I'd agree that skydiving is in need of some fresh thinking in the way it promotes itself. I think it'd be cool if our sport had more of a presence in places like magazine racks, but this can only be part of the solution. I'd personally like to see another decent skydiving flick (which can make for a good bump for a few seasons), or, better yet, something more long-lived in the way of a sitcom or even a reality show. Also, I agree wholeheartedly with the post which suggested improvements to skydiving's PR apparatus (currently decentralized with USPA, DZs, and the manufacturers pretty much covering their own bases only).

However, the first step in any serious marketing effort is research (polling, focus groups, case studies, etc.). Unless we have a fairly concrete grasp as to why some people choose to skydive and why others don't, the efforts we make to promote our sport can easily miss the mark. Corporations, political campaigns, and other image-dependent organizations rightfully view research as being step number one.

We're in a unique position from a marketing point of view in that we're in the game of recruiting people every bit as much as we are in selling people. Not only are we seeking people who want to skydive, but also people who want to BE skydivers. Big difference. Because of this, the usual formulas that work for other industries just might be a little bit off for our purposes. Not only do we want to learn more about the motivations of those who skydive, we need to learn more about why people ski, snowboard, surf, and skateboard too. Just like in politics, once we've discovered what drives people's choices in these matters, coming up with a highly effective program will be incredibly simple.

Since this research doesn't exist, all we can do is to make educated guesses. As for myself, I suspect that the research would tell us to use a highly localized and targeted approach. Instead of something in the way of a 'national campaign', my guess is that the best approach would be highly dependent upon the specific market. I believe this because the reason someone does their first AFF at Perris might be entirely different than the reason someone does their first tandem in the rural midwest (like losing a bar bet).

Just as in skydiving, we don't want to jump until we know we can see where we are going.

Blue ones.

The glass isn't always half-full OR half-empty. Sometimes, the glass is just too damn big.

[msmithd8769 0]

You make a good point Benny. And there are a good deal of good books, publications, videos etc (some of you might remember for example the three volume Skies Call hardcover book set; page after page after page of beautiful photgraphs; Norm Kent's great video work is another example). But the problem is that pretty much everything that IS available is marketed back to ourselves, to the skydiving crowd through the channels where we get our gear etc. There is no marketing and publicity for these items to the general public. Therefore we remain essentially an "unknown entity."

_____________________________
"And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."