LGB on Ice....in Texas!

[Bucksco]

Go to www.lgboa.com and click on the NEWS icon.

[Tom The Brat]

I think somebody has way too much time on their hands[C):-)]

[Bucksco]

There's never enough time for marketing to hundreds of thousands of potential train enthusiasts!

[RhB_HJ]

The official and definitive word from Jack Lynch, Marketing Manager at LGBoA and LGB Coordinator for the LGB Club in North America:

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bucksco

There's never enough time for marketing to hundreds of thousands of potential train enthusiasts!

[Rastun]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bucksco

There's never enough time for marketing to hundreds of thousands of potential train enthusiasts!

I'm sorry, but with that being said, it seems that LGB would rather try and get free advertising on a free forum that has an advertising policy of it's own.
which is:

QUOTE: ADVERTISING INFO

Thank you for visiting trains.com! We hope you enjoy your visit.

Trains.com offers many ways to promote your company to our visitors. You can sponsor a specific section, run banner or button ads throughout our entire site, or target banners or buttons to an area that best suits your company. We have the flexibility to cater your advertising message to our viewers.

Please contact me if you would like to learn more about promoting your company on the most in-depth railroading web site.

Erik Bergstrom
Business Development Manager
trains.com
[e-mail]
888-558-1544, ext. 647

Since I see no sponsorship, banner or button ads here at trains.com for LGB. I'm really starting to think maybe anyone that advertises in Kalambach publishings' magazines is just allowed to throw ads on the boards to their heart's content.

Jack, I can understand your position with your job, but, how about when someone asks for an opinion on a starter set or track or what have you, instead of doing the LGB is "the best" speach. How about give the person some reasons why LGB is supposed to be better than the others, and let the person decide on accurate information? Employer loyality is a rare thing these days and it's good to see, but, there's a point when enough is enough. It's nice to see some neat things in the hobby like those articles about the trains in different places and I'm sure if people where given the chance to look at the information without having a certain manufacturer's spin put onto the news. They would ask questions to find out what kind of equipment was being used. If this post had been the first post and then questions following along I think it would have been great. But to blatantly say There's nothing more important to you than marketing to "Hundreds of Thousands of potential customers" You have just made sure that everyone knows you don't come to these different fora to actually contribute to the hobby. You are here for nothing more than to advertise for your employer.

[Bucksco]

I defer to Kalmbach. If they would like to remove my post they are more than welcome to do so.

[vsmith]

Oscar Wilde kinda sums up my feelings about this...

"There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is Not being talked about..."

Oscar knew best....any exposure is Good exposure.

As for appropriateness on this forum I'll leave that to Eric and Rene.






PS I still can't afford 90% of that red box stuff...[;)]

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

..................................................

PS I still can't afford 90% of that red box stuff...[;)]

Vic,

I've picked up much of my LGB RhB rolling stock as used items, some new but at greatly discounted prices (dealers flogging the stuff that just took up space) and then I have a few pieces which are brand new at full price (but it had to be good value!)

[Tom The Brat]

I meant about all the ice[:D]

[Bucksco]

2 million pounds of ice hand carved by 45 artisans from Harbin China. Pretty amazing .

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bucksco

2 million pounds of ice hand carved by 45 artisans from Harbin China. Pretty amazing .

...And a really really big air conditioner to keep it frozen![;)]

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RhB_HJ

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

..................................................

PS I still can't afford 90% of that red box stuff...[;)]

Vic,

I've picked up much of my LGB RhB rolling stock as used items, some new but at greatly discounted prices (dealers flogging the stuff that just took up space) and then I have a few pieces which are brand new at full price (but it had to be good value!)

Yep, e-bay for me, some clearance, lot of TOYTRAIN that then gets the bejezzuz treatment with paint, parts, and details...currently building new scratchbuilt trucks for all my 2 axle cars so I can continue to use them after mounting ozark link and pins to new end beams, ends up looking nothing at all like the original car and way better to me (you didnt read that Jack[;)]), I will try to post some pics of them.

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Torby

I meant about all the ice[:D]

Torby [;)][;)][:)]

It could have been "LGB on Ice .... in Australia" referring to the most vocal LGB booster (non-DCC kind [}:)][}:)][:D]) being less vocal. [}:)][;)][}:)]

At least we don't have to go without our regular dose of LGB boosterism.

[tangerine-jack]

Gaylord...........yup, no need to say anything about that one.


[oX)]

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Hey, ya can't blame the guy for trying! I'm no red box fan, but I find it a credit to him that 1) he's a company man. 2) he's out there giving it a shot. and 3) he is effectively generating publicity and therefore potential customer awareness.

Once I figured out the angle, I just take his posts with a grain of salt; or ignore them altogether!

[Bucksco]

Believe it or not I've been a model bulder/ model railroader for over 40 years now. If it wasn't one company it would be another . After all it is promoting the hobby.

[kstrong]

Not that my opinion means anything, but I have little trouble with Jack posting this particular link. I'd prefer a direct link to the story itself, rather than a link to the company's main web page, or at the very least a description of what the story is within the body of the posting.

My only other--and more pertinent--suggestion would be for Jack to make full disclosure within the message. If Jack works for LGB, I think any posts which point to the LGB web site should state that he has a vested interest in promoting the products of that company. In the news business, we're required to do something like that if we've got ties to any story we're covering. (For instance, any stories we do on Viacom or any of its subsidiaries, we're required to let viewers know that we're owned by Viacom.) In fact, some stations got in serious trouble for running government "Video News Releases" without stating that they were produced by the federal government. Granted the forums don't operate under FCC rules and regs, but it's common courtesy to let readers know if you have vested interests in the information you're passing along, even indirectly as is the case here. Jack may have no ties to the display itself, but to get to the story, you've got to go through the manufacturer's main web site, to which he does have ties.

Think of it in these terms. I could post a link to a news story on a web site. If it were on cnn.com, I'd have no reason to make any kind of disclosure, as I have no financial or professional interests in CNN. However, if I were to post to the story on cbs4denver.com, I'd be obligated to state that I work for that particular media outlet. By you clicking on our link, you increase our page hits, which ultimately generates more revenue for the station, which means I get to keep my job and buy more trains. So, I have a vested interest in you clicking onto our web site.

Whether the rules and regs require full disclosure or not, it's just common courtesy to do so. It's one thing to be a rabid and enthusiastic fan. But if you have a stake in a company which you're promoting either directly or indirectly, a simple disclaimer to that effect is, in my personal opinion, appropriate.

Later,

K

note: I work for Kalmbach as an independent contributor. The above is my personal opinion, and should in no way be construed as an official Kalmbach policy or position.

[RhB_HJ]

Kevin,

Regarding the direct link to the story: Not that easy if the front page is "Flash" generated.[;)][:)]

The rest:
Quite some months ago Jack posted some other "LGB tidbits", this was at a time when his profile was very skimpy. At least he improved that after I reminded him in a post.
Perhaps he will see fit to generate a signature that mentions his position at LGBoA. James Tapper (the techie honcho at LGBoA) did that a long time ago. He contributes solutions and useful advise on several fora without hiding behind a "neutral" user name. OTOH different strokes for different folks.

It is quite possible that once the LGB Club with Forum is up and running, the "infomercials" on other fora will cease. But I'm not holding my breath, just hoping.

Note: I'm an independent contributor to "GARTENBAHNprofi" and "BIG TRAIN OPERATOR" magazine. I'm also the owner of Eastern Mountain Models Ltd., a company that provides goods and services to model railroaders in Z through Large Scale.

[Tom The Brat]

Oh. I don't mind the link to lgb. He posted a link to an interesting curiousity. The same with the train at the north pole. It really didn't need to stir up all that controvercy.

Let's lighten up a little[:-,]

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Torby

Oh. I don't mind the link to lgb. He posted a link to an interesting curiousity. The same with the train at the north pole. It really didn't need to stir up all that controvercy.

Let's lighten up a little[:-,]

TOC might hava slight disagreement with ya there......[:D]

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

QUOTE: Originally posted by Torby

Oh. I don't mind the link to lgb. He posted a link to an interesting curiousity. The same with the train at the north pole. It really didn't need to stir up all that controvercy.

Let's lighten up a little[:-,]

TOC might hava slight disagreement with ya there......[:D]

Hi Vic,

TOC isn't the only one!!!!!

Any of us who wi***o get the manufacturers' and publishers' blurbs have indicated as much on the different websites.
As far as "lighten up" is concerned, that's what's happening: shine a spotlight on a practice that is hmmmmm.... not up to "standards". OTOH LGBoA/LGB/EPL always have their own standards and as we know they are highly proprietary (not to be confused with "proper"!).

Of course it would be much nicer if one could get prompt replies to technical and delivery questions, instead of yet one more infomercial that contains very little info.

Disclaimer: I'm an independent contributor to "GARTENBAHNprofi" and "BIG TRAIN OPERATOR" magazine. I'm also the owner of Eastern Mountain Models Ltd., a company that provides goods and services to model railroaders in Z through Large Scale. In addition EMM Ltd. provides translation and webspace to the GARTENBAHNprofi to make the mag more enjoyable for English speakers.