Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Willson 3050 vs. B&S PT6


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on May 30, 2000 at 16:11:32:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Willson 3050 vs. B&S PT6 posted by Alex on May 30, 2000 at 14:22:02:

You make exactly the point I was trying to make. Instrument manufacturers don't seek endorsements from players because they are nice guys. They do it to generate interest in their product. That was why I posted that I was skeptical about such a procedure actually occuring. Our instruments are so expensive to produce that the profit margin isn't really all that large. And when you factor in that the market for any quality tuba is somewhat limited (let's be honest here, we aren't talking about a pair of sneakers that just about anybody could use and afford), it seems unlikely that endorsements of any reasonable size would help profits in any way. Like I posted earlier, I bet it would even be difficult to recoup the original investment, let alone use such a tactic to increase profits.

I know that Jim Self has endorsed Yamaha tubas for quite some time, just as Sam Pilafian and Warren Deck have endorsed Meinl-Weston, etc. I didn't know that they were making complimentary instruments for Jim. If he got such a deal that's great and more power to him. But I've spoken with other professional players who have had endorsements from various manufacturers and none have told me that the company simply comped them a tuba for the endorsement. Believe you me, that is a deal I would readily take if the company was one that I already use their product. I think therein lies the catch-22. I use a tuba because it really works for me. So it doesn't really help me to lend my name in an endorsement to that company's product because I already have one of their tubas and I use it. Further, it doesn't really help the company much to pay me for an endorsement because whether they do or not, I still use their product. The only thing they lose is the public advertisement but we work in such a small community that word always gets around who's using what. And that small community that keeps up with what the top players are using also happens to be the manufacturer's target audience for advertisement. It always seemed to me that the best advertising a manufacturer can do in this business is to make a really high quality product. You do that and word gets around pretty quickly.

Great topic!

My opinion for what its worth...


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