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Hobby Dilemma - How To Get New People Involved?


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Yeah that's true. That's why just having your product out there in common usage like the AT Pro is such effective advertising. There is no ad to block, you already sought the content creator out so there is an implied amount of trust there already. Whereas with ads, we are so used to exaggerations and scam online today that when ads aren't blocked, people just generally ignore them anyways.

It would cost a company  a few hundred bucks to send someone like Aqua Chigger an AT Pro. They'd get thousands worth of advertising out of it though just by him using it in his videos. And it's good advertising because it comes with an implied endorsement by someone who is not the company and using the product himself because he actually likes it.

Similarly, if you make your products cheap enough and good enough, then content creators do this on their own, they expose your product for you because they buy it and use it. You get free advertising as a result, effective advertising. But when the product is too expensive, it goes from watching a video saying "Yeah, that could be me", to watching a video like with someone driving a Ferrari and saying "Yeah right, that'll never be my life". One buys the dream because it's achievable, as JP put it, the other has no intention but to keep dreaming.

I've probably referred 70 or more people to your detector guide, people who asked me questions about what to buy. That's another example of trusted advertising that doesn't really conform to the traditional idea of ads. You should probably charge companies for that page haha. :biggrin:

 

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Get your product integrated into the game called Minecraft.

Develop a virtual reality detecting simulation game

Boom! Next generation hook, line and sinker. :wink:

The hobby end just isn't glamorous. Without getting pornographic there is little appeal to rooting around in the dirt. Only a certain type of person is anything more than curious. It's very much a niche hobby that, as noted already, for the hobbiest has diminishing returns as time passes. There are very few replenishing resources for detectorists at any level. Eating our own tails.

 I imagine any expansion on the hobby end without breakthrough technology down the road involves the classic selling of half-truth. Nobody would purchase on a light truth in advertising, "You too can find treasures...if you can find them, and depending how you define treasure." [insert picture of crusty half-button, bits of iron, one crusty Indian Head cent] :biggrin:

 

If were a manufacturer of metal detectors, the future is security and industrial tech... the hobby just isn't sport. There is an art to it, but it isn't art. IMHO.

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Tom, you are asking a very difficult question with no easy answer. Everyone on the forum has given you great information.  I have thought about your question all weekend.

The first thing I would tell you is to understand the hobby. Ask yourself the question who, when, where, how, and why. Demographic study of the past and present will tell you a lot. That is providing White's kept records. Understand the past history of the 1950's to present. When I grew up in the 50's we had a radio, 78 rpm records and two channels on TV. If we wanted to occupy our time, we had to find something. The women were good cooks and made cloths to ware. They were very crafty. Most of the men were dreamers trying to find a better way of doing things. My wife's uncle made the first riding lawn mower in the community. Information was shared to help each other. Since the 50's things have changed. Each generation is much different than the past generation. To me, today's generation is a generation of instant gratification. Google can not give them the answer fast enough. The new generation is smarted in the use of computers, but ignorant in everyday activities. They are smart enough to operate the metal detectors, but to lazy to dig the hole. They can't seem to solve problems on their own. You can't turn the clock back, it only moves forward. Times change! 

Now for the second part of your indirect question. How do we improve sales. White's needs good leadership at the helm. They need to be actively dreaming of new equipment  (superior engineering staff) for the company and how to expand the company. For see the future needs of the world. So you ask why did you say this. I was active in the 80s with my metal detector. I put it up for other interest. I brought it back out and started playing with it. I went to White's web site and saw the same old detector of the past. Then I looked at Garrett and saw a similar situation. They were making some newer improved models and expanded into more than hobby detectors. Then I started searching for all metal detector manufacturers. My thoughts then changed to what happened to the American manufacturers. The answer was quite evident. They went to sleep! They waited to.......... long. They were bought up, combined or just riding on the past. I seen this first hand with the multi-billion dollar conglomerate I worked for. It is now gone.

One final thought. I am 64 years young. Been metal detecting on and off for 30 plus years. I have never seen anyone hobby metal detecting. Not at the beach or parks. Follow the advice that everyone had told you and keep White's awake.

P.S. Just came back from the court house. and what do we have. A Garrett body scanner and a Sheriff with a Garrett wand. I asked him how good are they. He responded the best!

 

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Tom,

You do know we don't really want to increase the competition, umm...  I mean grow the hobby.

Some ideas:

  • Think virtual Pokemon.  Sell a $1 metal detector phone app with $99 in hardware.  First company that gets a metal detector app on a cell phone will win this game.  Think $100 Dues.
  • Promote regular treasure hunts like you did with the Easter hunt.  Once they get the bug an upgrade in equipment is a given like any other hobby.  If I was a metal detector dealer I'd already be doing this.    

I have an acquaintance that is really big time into solar observing.  He creates solar viewing events. No he doesn't make the sun do anything special.  He just goes around and makes it possible for people to have a chance to look at the sun.   Sets up lots of scopes at different events and lets people look.  Metal detector dealers could be doing the same thing at fairs, special school events, boys/girls clubs, scout clubs, etc.  Anywhere there is an event where poeple are gathering to have fun, there should be a corn box with some trinkets where you can hand a kid a detector and let him find and keep a trinket.  Think bubble gum ring or something.  Kid has fun, parents get an idea for gifts or something.   Another words in sight, in mind, out of sight, out of mind.

Too bad you don't have dealers/distributors selling anymore . 

HH
Mike

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21 hours ago, Mike Hillis said:

Too bad you don't have dealers/distributors selling anymore . 

They do their best but many of them are opposed to having any kind of online presence. So I think it's hard for them with the changing market. But some of them do alright without even knowing what Facebook is. Still, I wonder how much BETTER they'd do if they bit the bullet and learned how to use the technology at hand to increase their reach. Old dog, new tricks...

Thanks to everyone for adding to the discussion. I'm starting to see that the generational differences play a huge role in the changes we are seeing to metal detecting. There's a whole new crop of hobbyists who spend a lot of time on social media and sharing is a huge aspect to them. They may not be in a detecting club or do much face to face sharing, but you can be assured their finds will show up on Facebook and get a ton of engagement from people all over the world.

The interesting thing to me is how little cross over there is to forums like this. The younger set tends to stay away from internet forums. Well, they might read them, but they are not as active as the older guys.

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On 20-5-2017 at 7:42 AM, strick said:

This is easy...you need to sell  the dream which is finding GOLD! I would not tell how hard it is to find however. Just tell them hard work always pays off. 

strick

Indeed you don't sell the steak,... you sell the sizzle :-)

Here are my thoughts on my hobbies.

If I want to prepare a meal of fresh daycaught fish, I'm not heading out to sea with rod and reel.

If I need some cash, I'm not grabbing my detector and hitting the local sportsfield.

If I want a decent knife, I'm not wielding my honed to perfection damascus.

If I need to get somewhere fast, not taking the 4x4 with all the camping gear.

But when I want some quality ME-time, any of the above will do!

 

Trying to get the kids into this game is like trying to take drugs from an addict. They first need to get their brains and emotions stimulated to mush in order for them to finally realize that a camp fire crackling in the dark is something to enjoy!

 

Even if they hate you with a vengeance while doing it,... in time they will come to cherish those hours sat there just watching the leaves blow by and not saying a single word to each other.

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9 hours ago, tboykin said:

Too bad you don't have dealers/distributors selling anymore .

They do their best but many of them are opposed to having any kind of online presence.

It wasn't too long ago that white's put a lot of restrictions on the dealers and their online presence if I remember correctly............. I might be wrong but I seem to remember hearing that.

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Social media is less about information and more being seen. Hey, look what I had for lunch! Picture of my dog! Found this metal detecting!

Forums get that also but for me at least I scout forums for hard core technical information and other things that can help me be successful. I am not convinced that is a young person versus older person thing. Personally I see the social media channels more as entertainment but unless I am missing it I just don't seem to find any real meat that satisfies me on social media. It's like a lake a mile wide and an inch deep.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

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Here is the demographic breakdown of the subscribers to my channel sorted by age. You would think 65+ would be the largest demographic for a gold prospecting/metal detecting related detecting channel, but in fact, it's not even close.

This is based on 3500 subscribers and about 1500 unique viewers per day, which is pretty minor in the wider scope of Youtube, small even for a prospecting channel. But it's large enough to see a general trend.

I'm sure older creators get an older demographic, but still, the numbers are more than one might think and it shows there is interest. 

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It's easy to underestimate the number of younger people with interest in prospecting and metal detecting because a lot of older people simply don't use the same social media as they do, which makes sense. No one expects their kids to hang out where they do, at least not until they get older.

Facebook is dead to most people under 25, too many older people use it for them. It's all about Snapchat and Instagram, etc for them now. I can even see my Youtube numbers slowly going down for that age group as more older people start to use Youtube, just like what happened with Facebook.

So, based on the interest I see and the almost complete lack of field presence by those age groups, from a marketing perspective it seems pretty clear to me that the largest untapped demographic, and thus the largest potential growth segment, are the ~25-44 year olds. My general generation(s). And none of us have money, few have the jobs they should have with their degrees, and few think anything is looking better in the future either.

So, my theory is lower the prices (drastically) and bring newer models out, and I bet you'll see growth in what has to be a low or even zero growth industry right now. I would suggest this more to Minelab than White's, unless of course White's has something slated to compete with the GPZ/GPX (and I guess ML doesn't care because they have Africa right now). White's could probably benefit more directly by a model that outperforms the AT Pro instead for a significantly lesser price, and getting a number of the bigger people with a lot of viewers to start using it instead of the ATP.

If you make a detector like that for $300 or under, which happens to be the most common price people ask me what they can buy something "good" for, then you'll be taking a lot of market share from Garrett.

And send me a free detector for data sharing/consulting while you are at it. :biggrin:

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Also, I agree with Mike Hillis' idea about some kind of app driven marketing plan. This was something I mentioned myself, before the GPZ was released and I was speculating on it's (then unknown) potential to be digitally updated and how it would naturally lend to an app type marketplace similar to phones. It's a proven marketing technique that turns breakeven hardware into an ongoing source of income.

Which again leads me back to the same theory: Make things cheap. Increase your customer base. A large customer base makes it possible to do something like that where the app only costs $5 or $10. With a small customer base, it's hardly worth it.

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