how should we promote badminton?

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by jchan04, Mar 10, 2008.

  1. Fan888

    Fan888 Regular Member

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    It is marketing, marketing, and more marketing.

    I live in CA, so I can speak from US's perspective only. Yes, badminton is seen as an Asian sport. OK, so be it being an Asian sport. The Asian communities in CA, NY, Vancouver, Toronto, have a pretty sizable consumer base. Let us be the targeted consumers and let the businesses sell to us. As badminton fans, we should do business with these sponsors.

    Look at the recent US National, the major sponsors are Yonex (of course), United Commercial Bank, Southwest Airlines, and Sheraton Gateway Hotel. Pretty good list. That should open the opportunity for Bank of America who likes to corner the Chinese market (their calendar is in English and Chinese). How about Singapore Airlines, Air China, Cathay Pacific, and other Asian airline. How about Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota (Asian's favorite brands). There are plenty of opportunities for these sponsors to ... yes ... target the Asian consumers.

    kwun, I remember you had a dream for a BC tournament. If you still like to explore that, PM me. I live in bay area. Maybe we can start here. :)
     
  2. winstonchan

    winstonchan Regular Member

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    Badminton is yet to be popular because of DISCRIMINATION.

    Badminton as a sports is DISCRIMINATED by many people in this world, in the same effect and extent as Racial Discrimination, *** Discrimination, etc... Discrimination is a social issue. This is not just Marketing, Sponsorships, Money, or any celebrities efforts.

    Badminton is seen as an Asian sport, a backyard sport, a sport for wimps, a sport you play on Sundays only. We have to remove these Discriminations. The world has to accept badminton, as much as they accept football. Money and marketing can help, but it still requires time and miracles to change one's mind.
     
  3. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    I like all the ideas put forth in various posts, like ads, tourneys, high profile individuals, etc. These will sure jump start baddy popularity. But to me the most important is to increase the players' base from mostly Asian immigrants to more participation by average Americans in our weekly ritual of playing (as a way to exercise). Without their involvement, the sports will never become mainstream sports in US.

    To increase the base, more gym space and time will be needed to attract ppl to come and play. That's really the hard part. We are competing with other sports for very tight gym schedules. It's almost impossible to get more without the vocal support of local non-Asian community.

    Another important thing in developing the base is to get more kids involved. Without kids playing soccer, there would never be soccer Moms. More after-school baddy classes, student clubs, and kids playing time, etc. will all help to grow the base. The PE teachers in my kid's middle school teach a lot of less useful activities, but they won't teach baddy. The reason is very simple: the teachers don't know how to play.

    All major sports have wholesale kids programs, from after-school class, camp, league to facility (field). But baddy has little to no such infrastructure as support mechanism. Even Karate is much better organized and better participated sports in US than baddy.
     
  4. enthusiast

    enthusiast Regular Member

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    I agree with Birdwood 100%. In order to get the tv programming and events we want, we have to go more mainstream or go the way of racquetball (remember that sport)? I am happy to report that there are people in the Seattle area who have plans to do just that - getting badminton into the schools and building more badminton-specific facilities. Demonstration in the schools by good players would erase the wimp view of the sport in a hurry.

    Although it is not a team sport, neither is tennis. And that sport has a very broad following. A lot of tennis parents could easily be badminton parents, once they recognise the sport for what it is - a physically demanding sport of skill (that is not gained overnight),not brute strenght (although that helps); a decorous sport that prizes civility, and a life-long means to exercise in an enjoyable manner.
     
  5. Fan888

    Fan888 Regular Member

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    Having large number of participants, you will get large number of participants. Reportedly (I don't know for sure) that badminton is the second most played sport behind soccer. So, there are a lot of people play badminton, still, it is not as popular as other sports.

    In the US, soccer is a great example. Drive by any school on a Saturday morning, you find many kids of all races playing soccer. MLS or Major League Soccer continues to struggle for survival. Popularity at the grassroots level doesn't translate to popularity in term of money and sponsorship.

    For us here, sport is a game or a hobbies. For businesses, it is a marketing opportunity to promote their name, their brand, and ultimately make more money. They look at sponsorship in term of Return-On-Investment. If the sport can give them access to X number of customers, it could be a well worthwhile for them.
     
  6. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    In US, soccer has to compete with sports like American football and baseball, which are more 'exciting' to watch, at least in the eyes of most Americans. Soccer matches are called "boring" (scoreless or 1-3 goals/match). That's why soccer is not popular in US. But around the world, it is. The problem is unique to US market and does not prove baddy can not be successful here if there are more ground swelling effort because baddy is exciting to watch and to play. Ppl can play baddy to old ages, but not with soccer. I see the problem in US is mostly: gym availability at low cost. If that can be overcome, ppl will show up sooner or later.
     
  7. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    In term of badminton is the second most played sport, they may be counting it as being played in backyard. Cost to play indoor may also hinder its popularity and progress in other countries.

    It was as expansive as or more expansive to play in China than US. Last summer, it cost me 50RMB/court/hr (about $7/court/hr). With four ppl playing for 4 hrs, it came to about $30, similar to US, but not very affordable by the average Chinese. To kick a soccer ball around would cost almost nothing in comparison.
     
  8. enthusiast

    enthusiast Regular Member

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    Where do you live in California? The court fees you cite seem very affordable. Here in the NW, there are plans to build badminton courts charging $14-18/hr.......Could you please describe the private courts in your area (facility description: age, color of walls, flooring material, amount of use during the day, membership fee(?), method of payment, etc.)? The reason I am asking is because I am deciding whether to invest in such a venture here.
     
  9. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    Let us just double the population knowing about Badminton !

    .
    Hi jchan04,

    IMHO, we can promote Badminton in 3 different ways, namely;
    (1) as a participation sport,
    (2) as an entertainment, and
    (3) as a hobby.

    Peter Gade has been working on it as a participation sport by trying to get as many people to get on the court to get a hit at the shuttlecock. Doing Badminton kids camps is an excellent way to introduce Badminton to the younger ones.

    BWF has been working on it too, not only as a participation sport but as an entertainment also. That was the reason why they introduced the SS Tournaments and the New Scoring System. They were hoping for better live and television coverage with these new introductions. Also, BWF has been trying to get non-playing nations to know and to play Badminton better.

    Badminton Central is working on it too, generating it as a hobby. :):):)
    The more we share and read/talk about Badminton, the more we will get interested in it. :D

    My suggestion:
    In the next few days, let us just double the population knowing about Badminton.

    If each of us can
    ...
    (1) get one new person to get on the court to get a hit at the shuttlecock
    (2) get one new person to watch Badminton matches
    (3) get one new person to read/talk about Badminton matters

    then, our Badminton Community will be doubled. :D:D:D

    Cheers... chris@ccc
    :):):)
    .
     
    #49 chris-ccc, Apr 25, 2008
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2008
  10. jchan04

    jchan04 Regular Member

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    Sounds good: very concise and precise. Chris' three keys to promoting badminton = participation, entertainment, knowledge. Thank you Chris.

    Yep, actually this summer my friend and I are using our university facility to play badminton. I'm going to introduce him into the sport.:D Also, in my senior year of high school I organized a intra-school junior badminton tournament targetted at grades 9 and 10. It was a success although we didn't recieve any profit.

    Any others who can share their experiences of promoting badminton.
     
  11. Fan888

    Fan888 Regular Member

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    Soccer competes with football and baseball, much like badminton competes with tennis. Soccer is perceived "boring" (by some people, exciting by others), much like badminton as "boring" (by some people, exciting by others). Soccer has never proven can not be successful, much like badminton.

    I see more similarity than difference between soccer and badminton, except soccer is very American sport among the youth (much wider popularity). Yet, soccer continues to struggle. Grass-root popularity doesn't work.
     
  12. Fan888

    Fan888 Regular Member

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    Of course badminton is expensive. There is another thread going on right now on that topic. So, I won't repeat it here.

    Court availability is a big problem. Until 3 years ago, in SF/Bay Area, you have to look for colleges, high school, community center to play. There are inexpensive but with very limited hours. Now with 8 dedicated facilities (soon to be 9), although expensive, there are so many players nowadays. Cost is a factor but I think availability is a bigger factor. However, in your example, court rental fee in China is expensive, given the cost of living there.

    As compare to court rental in SF/BA, they go for $40-$45 per hour up to 8 people. I don't know of any reason to rent court by the hour (maybe except of special training). Most people I know have club membership (monthly), multiple or single pass with $7 per entry. For 4 to 6 players, that is $28 to $42 and you can play until they close.
     
  13. extremenanopowe

    extremenanopowe Regular Member

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  14. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    For this one..

    ..one must be interested enough in badminton (playing, following the trends, keeping up with any badminton-related news etc.) to last/stay quite a while in BC...So, interest should come first..;)
     
  15. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    SoCal region is quite lucky..

    ..in that we have at least, as far as i know of, 4-5 public gyms, in and around L.A. & Ventura counties where we can play for FREE. I know such "luxury" is not easy to find and if one finds one, one might have to wait a while in order to play; let alone the amount of time allotted to play in those public gyms.
     
    #55 ctjcad, Apr 26, 2008
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2008
  16. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    There are two dedicated places to play around LA as I know of. They are very close in distance, but due to large Asian population, are very busy in late afternoon and onward and on weekends. One is San Gabriel (http://sgvbc.net/membership.html) and the other Arcadia (http://www.abadminton.com/facility/hours.php). The former is an older facility open 24 hrs a day charging $7 for non-members/day, the later a newer one with $8 fee to play all day and evening (the website has some information regarding floor, etc).

    Charging $14-18/hr would be unthinkable for anyone to play unless you are talking about per court, not per person. It will depend on your objectives whether to open a full time business (dedicated) or just to find some places to play. The easiest thing to do is to find a gym (college, high or middle school, community center, etc.) by either renting or as part of their business. Paint the layout when the floor is redone or tape it to get a quick start. Of course, a big investment in a warehouse type baddy club will require you initially have a critical mass of players already.
     
  17. chris-ccc

    chris-ccc Regular Member

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    The chicken or the egg ?

    .
    Hahaha ctjcad... But I have to disagree that "interest should come first". :):):)

    We cannot generate interest@Badminton Central if we don't "talk about Badminton first". I believe that the more about Badminton BCers get to know, the more curious/interested they will become.

    So, I was saying...
    "Badminton Central is promoting Badminton, not Badminton is promoting Badminton Central". :D:D:D

    But of course one cannot do without the other, like the chicken and the egg.

    :):):)
    .
     
  18. Birdwood

    Birdwood Regular Member

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    That's a very depressing thoughts. But until we try it, we can not be sure of that. Your idea of marketing may work, let's see if anything will come out there :rolleyes:

    With 8-9 dedicated facilities, availability is still "a bigger factor" :confused: Can you please explain this a little more. I'd think with the competition among all the facilities, the cost to play would be way down and anyone who wants to play can find an empty court anytime.
     
  19. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    It's quite true..

    ..in the earlier days prior to the SGVBC and OCBC opening (i believe both opened their doors roughly in the mid 90s, so it hasn't been too long), the only available baddy facilities are public school gyms (high schools, colleges, Junior colleges or public parks' multi purpose gyms). I believe it's the same story up north, in NorCal, as they also used to borrow public gyms prior to the recent explosion of FT baddy clubs.
     
    #59 ctjcad, Apr 26, 2008
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2008
  20. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Hmm..

    ...i think we might be referring to different point of views...:);)
    Of course, the talk & discussions @ BadmintonCentral.com would be and should be mostly centered around badminton. And BC is promoting badminton. No doubt.:);)
    ...But would you, say, visit an NFL (American football) forum and stay there a while & be active if you don't have interest in the sport??..I certainly wouldn't want to visit, let alone stay a while, in a "How to Build a Space Station" forum if i didn't have any interest...:p ;)
     
    #60 ctjcad, Apr 26, 2008
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2008

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