Round 2 AMT Advertising Suggestions

[Casey]

Maybe the masses respond better to pretty pictures and eschew verbosity?

Edited March 6, 2018 by Casey

[Ace-Garageguy]

22 minutes ago, Casey said:

Maybe the masses respond better to pretty pictures and eschew verbosity?

You would be correct in that assumption. 

One of the popular web acronyms now is TLDR...too long, didn't read.

[regular guy]

 

' Maybe the masses respond better to pretty pictures and eschew verbosity? '

Give us both.

Look at the difference between then and now.

'Opening hood!!' Now.'Opening hood.'

Then look at the sidebar.

'Car Craft Magazine Consultants to AMT'.'George Barris King of Kustomizers:Latest Ideas and Innovations' Now. Nothing.

How about 'Model Cars Magazine:Consultants to AMT'?

What the advertising needs from AMT now is more energy.

 

[Luc Janssens]

Maybe opening hood and detailed engine, scare most weekend modelers away, as to them maybe it reads, too complicated to build!

 

 

 

 

[regular guy]

 

Brainstorm here.

'Jimmy Flintstone:consultant to AMT.'

Include JF parts in box! Get them to run off current add on parts;

Really should be separate boxes though.

Being a nostalgia buyer current customs do irritate me.

Fair is fair though. Build kit versions for the new crowd.

 

[unclescott58]

30 minutes ago, Casey said:

Maybe the masses respond better to pretty pictures and eschew verbosity?

I enjoy the boxes like the ones above, better than I did the photograph style boxes used by Ertl over the past few decades before Round 2 took over the model end of things. True there are times where I was disappointed at what I found in the box did not meet my expectations by what was shown on the box. But, still I enjoyed the dream they conveyed. Even if it was more of a dream than reality sometimes. 

There is an old saying, "You don't sell the steak. You sell sizzle." A raw steak in itself is not all that appealing. I don't buy a steak for how going to look by itself. I buy a streak thinking about how it's going to look, and smell, and taste, when it come off of the grille. And sad to say, once in a while I get a bad steak. But, do you know what? More times than not, I get a good one. Sometimes even a great one. And basically it's the same for me with models. Sometime I've gotten a bad one. Most times good. Several times great. But many times, it's been the great box art, the sizzle, not the raw plastic inside that sold me on the kit. 

By the way, I've even purchased kits I knew ahead of time were not great kits, because of the box art. A ridiculous thing to do you say? Maybe. But, I'm sometimes buying the dream. The sizzle. Even if I know it's not going to be real. I am an illogical, and sometime an irrational human being.

[Luc Janssens]

3 minutes ago, unclescott58 said:

I enjoy the boxes like the ones above, better than I did the photograph style boxes used by Ertl over the past few decades before Round 2 took over the model end of things. True there are times where I was disappointed at what I found in the box did not meet my expectations by what was shown on the box. But, still I enjoyed the dream they conveyed. Even if it was more of a dream than reality sometimes. 

There is an old saying, "You don't sell the steak. You sell sizzle." A raw steak in itself is not all that appealing. I don't buy a steak for how going to look by itself. I buy a streak thinking about how it's going to look, and smell, and taste, when it come off of the grille. And sad to say, once in a while I get a bad steak. But, do you know what? More times than not, I get a good one. Sometimes even a great one. And basically it's the same for me with models. Sometime I've gotten a bad one. Most times good. Several times great. But many times, it's been the great box art, the sizzle, not the raw plastic inside that sold me on the kit. 

By the way, I've even purchased kits I knew ahead of time were not great kits, because of the box art. A ridiculous thing to do you say? Maybe. But, I'm sometimes buying the dream. The sizzle. Even if I know it's not going to be real. I am an illogical, and sometime an irrational human being.

Indeed it's selling a dream, what the raw plastic can turn into, and don't spoil it with words on how to do it, cuz then it gets too complicated.

[Ace-Garageguy]

6 minutes ago, regular guy said:

Brainstorm here.

'Jimmy Flintstone:consultant to AMT.'

How 'bout "Bob Grainger: Consultant to AMT."

[Casey]

16 minutes ago, regular guy said:

Give us both.

There is only so much room, so something's going to get cut.

16 minutes ago, regular guy said:

Look at the difference between then and now. 'Opening hood!!' Now.'Opening hood.'

If double exclamation points are the deciding factor whether or not somebody purchases a kit, we are all in big trouble. I assumed AMT calling out an opening hood was due to previous curbside/promo kits not containing such a feature.

20 minutes ago, regular guy said:

Then look at the sidebar: 'Car Craft Magazine Consultants to AMT'.'George Barris King of Kustomizers:Latest Ideas and Innovations' Now. Nothing.

Well, 50 year has passed since George and Sam Barris, Gene Winfield, Darryl Starbird, etc. were at the top of the customizer food chain, and their names still resonate with those buying these vintage AMT kits. Why add any new names to old kits which haven't been updated for 50 years, add if we're being honest, are often outdated and not always pleasing to the eyes. They might've been neat-o for '62, but now, not so much, unless you're over the age of 62 and longing to relive your youth. Nothing wrong with that, but as James pointed out, that train is going to run out of track eventually.

To be fair, Revell has done a good job of appealing to the newer generation by involving Chip Foose and for one kit at least, Stacey David. Revell seems to realize the need to develop relationships with generations not considered baby boomers.

TL/DR: More info is available, but you have to do the leg work yourself.

[Ace-Garageguy]

10 minutes ago, Casey said:

There is only so much room, so something's going to get cut.

If double exclamation points are the deciding factor whether or not somebody purchases a kit, we are all in big trouble. I assumed AMT calling out an opening hood was due to previous curbside/promo kits not containing such a feature.

Well, 50 year has passed since George and Sam Barris, Gene Winfield, Darryl Starbird, etc. were at the top of the customizer food chain, and their names still resonate with those buying these vintage AMT kits. Why add any new names to old kits which haven't been updated for 50 years, add if we're being honest, are often outdated and not always pleasing to the eyes. They might've been neat-o for '62, but now, not so much, unless you're over the age of 62 and longing to relive your youth. Nothing wrong with that, but as James pointed out, that train is going to run out of track eventually.

To be fair, Revell has done a good job of appealing to the newer generation by involving Chip Foose and for one kit at least, Stacey David. Revell seems to realize the need to develop relationships with generations not considered baby boomers.

TL/DR: More info is available, but you have to do the leg work yourself.

Bingo. The voice of rationality.

And pretty often, those TLDR folks go on to ask questions that were fully covered in the TL part.

[regular guy]

' Maybe opening hood and detailed engine, scare most weekend modelers away, as to them maybe it reads, too complicated to build! '

Then they can build snap kits or curbside kits.

BTW MPC '64 GTO is a new curbside/snap kit

' not always pleasing to the eyes

I am coming around to liking the 'dopey' aspect of some of the kits.

A purtist's point of view.

Look at the Revell Big Daddy Ed Roth Tweedy Pie(did I get it right this time?)

Very true to the original.Box art included.

Lindberg '32 Ford roadster has a dopey front body piece to cover 'lay down' racing radiator.

That's the way it was then. Not every idea lasted though the tests of time.To become something that you would do the same way today.

We used to make colored plexiglas dash knobs in wood shop. Where are those now?

 

 

[Greg Myers]

11 minutes ago, regular guy said:

I am coming around to liking the 'dopey' aspect of some of the kits.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

25 minutes ago, regular guy said:

We used to make colored plexiglas dash knobs in wood shop. Where are those now?

Still alive and well with the traditional guys...

      

[regular guy]

I don't know what Mr Meyers is attempting to say. Yes. These are cool! Here's one? We will go with that.

The AMT Royal Rail and Depth Charger have been languishing for years on Hobbylinc.

Prices slashed to 50% and no takers.

I am going to get one next order. Sure they are dopey But if you think about it they are for 6-10 year old's.

Real nostalgia Takes you back to building kits like Weirdo's and Aurora Wolfman and Frankenstein.

Scuba diving was a big trend in the 60's.Then the Royal angle was a lot of things had royalty like nams. Duke, Imperial, Crown, Princess and more.

It was a good association. Today it's just stories about the English royalty or zippo.Think the other royalty hide.Don''t want to get trashed by the press.Good thinking!

Dopey kits rule!

 

Edited March 6, 2018 by regular guy