What would convince you to try a new brand?

[Kev]

One thing that everyone has so far failed to mention is Endorsements. Much as people hate to admit it, they buy stuff because they see Celebs/Sportsmen using it. How many Woodworm bats would be sold in the UK if Freddie and KP didnt use them? Not many.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Word of Mouth works very well, espcially for sporting goods. Only way you can trust if they are of good quality is if you have a few people using it assuring you it is good.
Price is very important. And it depends who you are targeting. Generally, the equipment -say a bat- shouldn't be more expensive than its competitors. If you are aiming for school-level cricketers and kids, then it has to be very affordable so that parents won't be hesistant to buy it or so that kids can realistically save up for it. If you are going for pro-level, then you can afford to raise the price up a bit but still a little less than the competitors to attract people.

Advertising through media is always good. The ad has to be professional. As Bazzqueen said, you find a deo called Africa with fitting colours, it seems professional. The wrong clours, it seems ameaturish. Similary, for sporting goods, get across the image of either being a fast-paced, action packed kinda brand (Like RBK or Kookaburra bats), or something more classic and subtle (GN is the only one that comes to mind), and stick to it.

Promotional events, competitions, etc. all help.

But nothing beats word of mouth. Create your product, advertise like mad initially, keep the quality high, and then once people start buying it, hope for word to spread.

EDIT: Endorsements, as Kev said, does work. But how will a new bat company get endorsements initially? Seems a bit tricky to me. And I'm likely to never buy a Woodworm bat cause I feel KP is a bit of a prick, but since Bravo uses it I'm more likely to get one. So it does help if you can get someone famous to promote it.

 

[Leicester Fox]

I used to buy all my stuff on who used it, now I know a bit more and generally think about what to buy although I still have the same bat as my favourite player atm Alastair Cook! If you want me to try a new brand, it depends what it is, but if it's getting lots of good press and people are saying it's brilliant then chances are I'll be interested.

 

[Simbazz]

Kev, you make a good point, but as Zorax said, it aint possible with a new brand!

The only way you could get endorsed is maybe have an open day? If you could fund it, try to get one or two mid-class players down to play with the bats etc. take photos, ask how it went etc. then just try to get sponsored onto bats, even if its at junior grade, a logo is a logo, the more its seen, the better you'll become.

 

[Almost_Austwick]

Kev, you make a good point, but as Zorax said, it aint possible with a new brand!

It's very possible with a new brand - if you have enough cash.

 

[Animator!]

Getting your product out there, I won't go into detail about promotion etc because everyone already has, but yeah, having people using your bats, getting runs etc, no substitute for watching those using your products being successfull, whatever level.

Very interested to see the website btw.

 

[Will_NA]

Word of mouth. Niche product. Value-add. Something that differentiates its product from its competitors.

I'm basically just pulling phrases from my Business Studies class today.

 

[usy]

1. Very kool, Fresh, sexy (I don?t mean ugly nude stupid ladies), Graphical advertisement!
2. Value for Money, What I pay for is what I deserve to pay for.
3. Originality.
4. If it is food it better taste good, or else it?s in the bin.

 

[King Pietersen]

Kev, you make a good point, but as Zorax said, it aint possible with a new brand!

The only way you could get endorsed is maybe have an open day? If you could fund it, try to get one or two mid-class players down to play with the bats etc. take photos, ask how it went etc. then just try to get sponsored onto bats, even if its at junior grade, a logo is a logo, the more its seen, the better you'll become.

Woodworm were a new brand when Freddie signed up, iirc.

 

[Kev]

1. Very kool, Fresh, sexy (I don?t mean ugly nude stupid ladies), Graphical advertisement!

Yeah, we all know you'd prefer ugly stupid nude males

 

[evertonfan]

One thing that everyone has so far failed to mention is Endorsements. Much as people hate to admit it, they buy stuff because they see Celebs/Sportsmen using it. How many Woodworm bats would be sold in the UK if Freddie and KP didnt use them? Not many.

Nail
Hit
Head
etc.

I wouldn't have such an insane fashion sense if Serge & Tom didn't have one either. I wouldn't wear trilby hats if Doherty didn't wear them and I certainly wouldn't own my Woodworm if Jimmy Anderson didn't have one.

It's not just clothes either. I've lost count of the amount of famous sports people i've modeled my hair on. I've had it all from Torres' alice band look, Beckham's spikey blonde phase, the Jimmy Anderson/Freddie Ljunberg red stripe and even the Flintoff skinhead and earring.

Damn, I really am a woman.

 

[usy]

Yeah, we all know you'd prefer ugly stupid nude males

as long as it's not you ...lol

anyways not really.

 

[CortezTheKiller]

Memorable advertising seems to be the way to go. Creates brand recognition and doesn't even have to make any sense: I mean the Phil Collins/gorilla advert for Cadbury's? WTF? I still can't quite work out why a gorilla drumming to In The Air Tonight = Cadbury's Dairy Milk, but you can't deny it sticks in your mind.

Obviously a prime-time ad will cost tens of thousands of ?s, but in these days of the interweb viral adverts could be just as effective.

Unfortunately coming up with a memorable ad is rather more tricky, sadly.

 

[Lucky]

Wow. Thanks for your input guys.

Interested to see what people see as important.
Obviously, sponsorships are important in getting the product out there but at the moment, I doubt I have the funds to attract any professional player.

I've noticed a few problems with the website currently, especially the fact that I can not post any high quality digital pictures on the site, which is making the site looks bare.

What I decided when I made this website/company, is basically what I look for in products that I would buy for cricket. What I would spend my money on, so hopefully, when I do release my full range, people will be interested.

Once I get my website fully completed and up to date, I will start advertising.
Currently, the site is in the "Beta" version

But I'll put an offer out there, if there is anyone out there considering some new gear or such, please just send me a PM or email and I'll see what I can do. Obviously I can't give anything away for free (at the moment) but I can give it to you for cheap. So anyone interested in some gear and someone who wants to help promote the brand, just give us a yell.