I just got home from the last NEPRA launch of the season. We had one spectator that saw the Rocket Challenge on TDC, saw the commercial, went to the flyrockets.com web site, then found the NEPRA web page and came to today's launch. He said: "I can't believe the hobby has grown this much. I used to do this when I was a kid!"
He left the launch with a brand new LOC Graduator in hand that he bought from a vendor at the launch.
I was looking forward to seeing who showed up, but unfortunately today's LUNAR launch was cancelled because the field is torn up and the parks department wants to re-seed it. anyways it's cloudy & windy & not just a little wet out. darn!
Several new faces and first-time flyers at the CRASH section launch today. Most were parents with their kids (Wah hoo!). Some, but not all, talked about Rocket Challenge and asked about HPR launches in our area. They DID get to see some E/F/G composites and one H powered LMR, but the ooohs and ahhhs continued no matter what was being flown.
And, yes, they got to see a couple launch and recovery failures. But they weren't disappointed, they were asking questions about what went wrong and how to fix it for NEXT time. :)
Most of our club members were at the COSROCS contest launch down south so I wound up answering a lot of questions from excited kids (and adults), helping with several field repairs, and having six successful flights, including two prototypes I've been working on. And we all got to see an H242 powered LMR go up off of a HUGE custom made piston launcher; it was amazing.
Kudos to Bob and Ian for picking up the slack and RSO/LCOing a safe and enjoyable launch. An awesome rocket day, IMNSHO.
I am as excited at flyrockets.com as the next guy, but this is actually a great point.
The cost to attract new blood to a club is fairly minimal on a LOCAL level. Do LOCAL things to attract LOCAL people and the cost per impression is more like $5-15.
A couple hours ago, I returned from the NOVAAR launch in The Plains, Virginia, the site of last year & this year's Team America Fly-Offs & the next NARAM. I guy was admiring my fleet & asking questions. There were several Team America groups doing test flights & I asked if he was with one of them. He said no, but they he'd seen the Discovery Channel show, came out because of that, & that he'd flown 'em when he was younger. When asked stuff didn't know for sure about reload propellant, he & I quizzed the knowledable rocketeer parked next to us. He stayed for hours at the field. He very well may become born again. There may have been many curious at launches today that stayed more on the sidelines or kept a lower profile. -- Richard "glad I didn't go to Tom Ha's new field" Hickok
In my case the answer is an unequivocal NO......I watched the last big show about 'ameteur' rocketry (I don't even know what year it was) and didn't look on a local level for a year or so. One night when the opportunity afforded itself I did a search and found a local launch. I really don't know if I would have done that had I not seen the big show, that made me reallize that rocketry was more than an Estes show. So it's quite possible that local launches will not feel the full impact of the commercial for a year. Local stuff attracts no one around here. I don't know why, but we can't even get the local paper involved in a little ink on the hobby. With winter coming in the east (for you's in SoCal that means if you have a glass of water on the picnic table it will freeze solid and break the glass just like it was in your freezer :-) ) a lot of interested people will undoubtedly make an appearance next spring.........make them feel welcome.
IMO.....wait until May, it will take some folks some time and when the warm weather hits again (would be nice if Rocket Challenge would be aired a couple time in April) the real fruits of the campaign will become obvious
The ads will only run 18 times, and that will be over in the next week or so as the shows are re-aired. If it's rebroadcast after that (like in the spring), no ads for "flyrockets.com" will be included. If there's not an impact over the next few weeks, it won't happen! The show itself might attract people, but the ad campaign will be long gone......
Hi all, We had our pack Cub Scout launch last Sunday, just before the show aired. We also got a nice 1/4 page picture on the front of the B section of the local newspaper. Since then I've given a talk to a group of Tiger cubs in another pack and had 2 calls from other cub leaders. Don't know if any of them saw the show (heck, I have it on tape and haven't watched yet), but it looks good. We also got this on the Louisiana Farm Bureaux web site.
The pessimism shown by some of you is truly sad. Lots of people bust their butts to bring this hobby to light and bring in additional people. Everyone needs to keep things in perspective.
For one, the show has just today, aired for the second time. Secondly, expecting to see huge results right away is not even feasible. Put yourself in the new prospectives shoes. For a new hobby, are you going to go out and drop a couple hundred bucks before you know anything about it? It takes time to see results. How many launches have transpired for people to attend since the first airing of the show?
Give it some time people and stop being so damn pessimistic. This is no different then starting a new business, and even new businesses take a couple years to really see payback. Yes, there will be some instant results bringing members and money into the hobby, but the real payoff will be word of mouth from the initial ones that get involved. Nothing sells better than word of mouth.
Give it some time, sit back and see how things pan out in the next six months...and for heavens sakes, use your head when you post these comments. Nothing like making the ones that stood up to help this hobby feel unappreciated.
I greatly appreciate the job they've done, & one last thought to keep in mind...not every success in life is measured by money.
On the other hand, how many may have gone to a vendor site and bought something, or even stopped by a local place and picked up something as simple as an Estes Starter Set? How many will be wandering around doing some holiday shopping and see a rocket in a store over the next few months and buy it for themselves or for someone else?
The immediate response by the interested viewers was the traffic to the web site. A lot of the action will be a little more delayed...everyone isn't going to immediately seek out a local club. I'd look for a lot more new faces on the fields come next spring and summer's flying season.
I haven't seen anyone talk about spending money. It's about attendance at launches that are now occurring since the first airing. There was a large jump on the club's site, and I hope that translates into new faces.
I was thinking it would be nice if clubs got fliers into the places rockets are sold. Then if someone saw the show and thought "hobby store" they might get club information without needing internet access.
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