Quote:
>If I don't have the benefit of good knowledgable friends to consult with on my
>first few purchases, I'm going to make them based on how comfortable I am with
>the company and how solid they seem to be.
This is what advertising is all about. Fortunately for us, right now, a
kite company with money to spend on advertising will also be the ones
producing first class product. I think we'll see that one-to-one relationship
degenerate somewhat as the market grows and people who don't fly kites
start trying to make money at it. Then, as with so many other ads we see,
the glitz may catch the eye of a beginner but whether it is a sound product
will have to be determined by some other mechanism.
Quote:
>Will we ever be able to give away a car at a competition? I don't know, but I
>doubt it - not enough money in it yet. Even if ESPN was interested in
>covering a competition, would it make it on prime time? I wonder; I would
I really think this will be completely dependent upon how popular stunt
kite flying (or did we decide it should be called sport kite flying (grin) )
becomes with the masses. I would have agreed with you until I started
seeing people making a living playing beach volleyball. I think the
kite festival concept simply has to develop more and in ways that will
attract spectators and in ways that will convince them that they want
to buy a kite. All the things you've mentioned in the rest of your msg
have to take place. I think it is. WHen I came home with a stunt kite
my wife didn't know what I was talking about. Now she has fun flying.
Most of my friends didn't know what a stunt kite was. Now several of them
own them and others are saying they will soon. It's like a virus, you
just have to get these things near the people and they catch the fever :-)
Once that happens, you can bet that we'll see TV coverage of kite events
and it will happen whether "art" or "sport" are being judged (my opinion
of course). Heck, I remember seeing hula-hoop and frisbee contests on
TV.
Quote:
>In my opinion, the best thing we could do to promote the growth of the kiting
>industry is start working with the kids. Things like kite-building seminars,
>festivals, etc. A chance to get a line in their hands and let them see the
>more upscale kites as they get older and more serious.
While I agree with working with kids I'm less convinced that this is where
growth of this activity will come from. I think it's our first instinct
to believe that if we convince the kids they're neat we'll have growth. The
same thing is said over and over again in the model airplane hobby. Then people are surprised that there are no kids in the hobby. Somehow the fact that it costs several hundred dollars and requires superb hand-eye coordination, to say
nothing of long attention spans to be become proficient at it (and the
fact that kids have none of these things) is lost on the advocates.
Actually I question the idea of "getting started" in kiting for $50 if
you're talking about setting up a set of Spectra lines with a decent kite
attached. Kite rentals may permit cheap test flighting but I think it does
a dis-service to the potential kite flyer to hand them second class equipment
and expect them to enjoy things the way we do. Inexpensive kites are getting
better, no doubt. But I have yet to see anything where the total package costs
$50 and yet will actually perform. Beginners need good equipment. It's hard
to get cheap equipment to fly decently. The thing is, spending a couple
hundred bucks on a hobby is peanuts relative to the so many things people do
to enjoy themselves. I think what you're talking about is getting them
to a point where they see it as something they want to do and there, having
someone hand them the lines to a kite is the best way.
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