Train commercials?

[tschmidt]

I would think that 1 page ads in popular magazines would do well, especially before Christmas. the magazine used would be dependent on the audience that you are trying to get to.

TomS

[Jumijo]

Hey Brianel027,

Congratulations on your 4th star!

Jay Leno has toy trains?! He grew up in the same town as me. He went to school and worked at McDonald's with my brother. Had a thing for cars even back then.

Jim

[darianj]

I thinks it's because a TV commercial just wouldn't make a difference for those companies. First of all you have the price of TV adds today. By the time you pay for the TV time, and the cost for making the commercial, it would probably turn a very little (if any) profit for the companies. I work for a well known pharmaceutical company and although the company has the money for TV adds, it's been decided that they are too expensive and would not even make a difference of 5% when all is said and done.

Also you have to deal with the fact that people don't really watch commercials too much now-a-days. People either flip channels while the commercial is on, go to get something to eat, or talk about what just happened on the program they are watching. If you're like me, you have a DVR and fast forward through commercials.

Then there's the fact that if you are lucky enough to grab someones attention during a commercial, that commercial has to be so far out there that when it's over, you don't know what was being advertised. I can't count how many times my wife and I have watched TV, saw a great looking commercial, and said to each other "That was a good commercial! But what were they advertising"?

I do think it wouldn't hurt for the companies to sponsor some of the the train shows that we watch. Also, I think it would be a good idea for them to start putting up train displays every now and then...especially during the holidays. Last year, I could count on 1 hand how may train layouts and displays I saw...and they were all done by a local hobby shop.

[Anonymous]

What makes for effective train advertising here in Southern Michigan is the combination of the large O Gauge Layout at The Train Barn in Portage, MI and the seasonal O Gauge Layout at the Vicksburg Historical Society in Vicksburg, MI.

What would increase interest even more is a 1940 to 2000 era model of the Grand Trunk Western and New York Central in O Gauge that runs in a typically open building during the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's time period in nearby Schoolcraft, Michigan.

All the small towns with Crossovers and Junctions could work with Historical Groups to install seasonal or permanent exhibits based on the Railroads that once passed through town and still run through town. Just like in the bluegrass song "The Passing of The Train".

Andrew Falconer

[jefelectric]

Are we in a time warp? Am I missing something or does this thread start on April 18, 2005 and then pick up again on April 12, 2006?

[pbjwilson]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jefelectric

Are we in a time warp? Am I missing something or does this thread start on April 18, 2005 and then pick up again on April 12, 2006?

"Beam me up Scotty"

[Anonymous]

This is an annual review of what is happening in toy trains and model trains that operate on O Gauge Tracks. We will pick up the thread again in 12 months.

Andrew Falconer

[dougdagrump]

Get them on TV and in the movies. Remember it was just a few weeks back when there was all this buzz about the opening episode of the Sopranos with the Lionel layout . [:D]

[Jumijo]

The buzz about the Sopranos placement was only among people already in the hobby. And if you ask me, having a layout and playing with trains was portrayed a little negatively. When Tony came by and Bobby was wearing that hat and playing with the trains, it was obvious that Tony thought Bobby was a doofuss.

Advertising to the general public to make new customers is just as important, if not more so, than advertising to hobbyists already familiar with the products.

Jim

[Anonymous]

The best toy train commercial would be to have a wide variety of people get together to build several small train layouts and operate them on a series that could air on a channel like TLC.

Andrew N.

[Jumijo]

This weekend, I re-read an interview Roger Carp did with Wellspring (Lionel) management. They stated that their advertising goal was to aim at people outside the hobby, not existing hobbyists. That was in 1996.

They also said they wanted to put TMCC in every locomotive!

[Anonymous]

Somebody has to make a 30 minute commercial featuring only girls and women working with toy trains and model trains. That is outside the normal audience.

Andrew Falconer

[jimhaleyscomet]

Command control in every locomotive? Sounds like MTH. I rarely see a set without PS2. Perhaps some day Lionel can get the cost low enough to put command in every locomotive. I wonder what the incremental cost is to add command control.

Jim H