AGD - a prestige brand?

[teufelhunden]

Please don't call Bose a prestige sound brand, kthx.

[Lohman446]

Please don't call Bose a prestige sound brand, kthx.

Prestige prices with performance advantages being questionable? I thought it was a great example.

[teufelhunden]

Prestige prices with performance advantages being questionable? I thought it was a great example.

Meh, I concur its performance is quite questionable, but I wouldn't call it a prestige brand.. unless of course you're talking about idiots, then of course it is


Anyway, on topic..

[REDRT]

If AGD built a "death cannon" (still liking that term) and it beat everything out there. They could charge big dollars for it. It would sell because it is the best. There is alot of players out there today with no brand loyalty. They only buy what is percieved as the best. It may never happen, but if AGD built one and it happen to cost 2k I'd still buy it. The all new enter name, mag....

[Lohman446]

If AGD built a "death cannon" (still liking that term) . They only buy what is percieved as the best.

You hit the nail on the head. Prestige marketing is not always about being the best - factually one can build Civics that will run with the big boys for much less than the cost of a Ferrari. Ford has done it in the past with the GT40s?, but failed to effectively market prestige - remember the GT40's were winning races and loosing on the sales floor. In fact, some of the custom Vipers and Vettes runn better times than the Ferrari. Ferarri in an attempt to save there prestige will no longer compete in vehicle "shoot-outs" done by magazines - no cars loaned to the magazines to compare others to - a smart move, it keeps there mystique. The point is.. there is a marketing system around prestige, and it sells. Do I think you would have to sell a ton at some ridiculous price to accomplish it - not at all, this is just the opposite, in fact selling a lot may actually hurt the prestige name. Once you have AGD as a prestige name you will see a residual effect of that prestige as people buy the less prestigous AGD RT Pro just to have the AGD because AGD makes a prestigous marker. How many people were drawn to the X-mag and bought something less that AGD made, just to have something from AGD? (honest question)

I once saw an article on a Mercedes CLK? compared to a Pontiac GTO - there was very little in difference between the cars, some walnut trim, minor performance, if any... its just well, one has prestige. Is it possible to market a paintball marker into the same idea of class and perception among players? To me its a whole new idea for paintball today, market towards prestige, not to mass sales. It requires marketting, but marketting with a different goal, perhaps its more attainable.

[MicroMiniMe]

If AGD built a "death cannon" (still liking that term)

AGD Railgun
HPA tank ran right to valve, no reg. Gripframe with a barrel on top its so small. Very high pressure equals minimum of space required to operate.

/Isn't this what TK was envisioning he would build if released of all outside influences and built for his own joy of engineering?

[REDRT]

To me its a whole new idea for paintball today, market towards prestige, not to mass sales. It requires marketting, but marketting with a different goal, perhaps its more attainable.

That there is why AGD doesn't succeed. Marketing!!!! Really SP's and the rest isn't that great, but they all have one thing in common ie marketing. I like the "prestige" thought. When you think of the best clothing you think of... Dye and "The Art of Winning". A fantastic compaign slogan. Not to mention a catchy name "DYE". AGD could market even the old E/Xmags to this line of thinking and do well. If they were reintroduced with suttle changes and up'ed with a whole new marketing slogan, one with prestige in mind. It might work.
Feature it sitting on a hot European sportscar, Set in a fancy butcket of ice like champaign next to a huge trophy and caviar. The thoughts are endless.

[Conversekidz]

AGD should make an ultra marker and do it just for a team. Sort of like the Russion Legion Freestyle. It was built only for the team, and not sold to the public.

It would be a good way to get the name out again.

[PBX Ronin 23]

On paper it sounds like a good idea. In reality, it's a lot harder than you think for AGD to do that.

[Lohman446]

I don't doubt for a moment this would not be an easy task - please note that I specified not using a competetive tournament team to do this with - I do not think it is the most effective way of marketing it.

I have been told, look at how few X-mags were sold, 150? - thats a lot for what I am thinking. Make and sell half that number and you would be fine. Note that I know there is going to be a lot of cost in this marker - I also insist that the price be high enough to keep the prestige of owning one. I'm talking $1500, $1800, $2000 - keep in mind this is a custom built, custom anno, perhaps custom software marker. The mark-up, per marker, is going to be high, the profit per marker is going to be high. Use the profit off these markers to fund advertising - or to, well bribe favorable press comments. Whatever it takes to market this thing as the prestige marker, make that advertising, and this marker self sufficient - you could create a prestige brand... cust back advertising a little (not kill it), let the mystique around it build, for gods sake keep your mouth shut when untrue "hype" things start spreading, let it be better than real. Few people are going to buy a $2000 marker and then admit its not what they thought it woudl be, they'll put it up, say there saving it as a collectors item, whatever.

Did I just say this marker did not have to be profitable when advertising was considered? Yeh.. I did. Make Airgun Designs the designer brand of paintball... your demand for the "ultimate" mechanical marker will rise from the relationship to your ultimate supermarker... you have just niche marketed one thing to sell more of another. I keep going back to the Porsche Boxster - if this thing were not a Porsche and you compared it to other cars in its price range (Corvette, Honda S2000, Viper?) how do you think it would come out? They would sell a lot less if it had Kia emblems on it.

[RetroEclipseMan]

I like this idea, but in the long run I don't see it really working too well. I think the main problem is that AGD already has a reputation, which to the overall pb community is not all that great. Up till the time time I stopped shooting AGD guns 7 months ago I'd still get the "blender" and "oh, that's just a stainless steal brick" comments which means that people's opinions have not changed and I think even if you come out with some sort of supergun I still think people are going to assume the same thing.

A local Washington company, Splat Attack came out with their own "supergun" based off the cocker. Basically it was just an inline design mehcanical with a few other changes. Now, a lot of people don't know about these because they were marketed just as you've explained and were definately high priced. Their last model that came out about 2 years ago cost over $1500, when the average mechanical cocker cost half that. Now those that have shot it know that it's one of the best mehanical guns out there but the problem is that few really know about it.

I think in your expample if AGD did do something like this you would have to do a run of 75, sell them and then not produce any more for a few months and make them not available, since many people want something they can't have. I think even putting them in the hands of a pro team would be benificial, but only produce enough for the team and let people see them shooting them but not release them to the public for a while. Such as someone mentioned about the RL Freestyles. Let the mystique of the gun grow that way. I dunno, I'm gonna stop before I just start rambling, and just keep an eye on this thread.

[Lohman446]

I like this idea, but in the long run I don't see it really working too well. I think the main problem is that AGD already has a reputation, which to the overall pb community is not all that great. Up till the time time I stopped shooting AGD guns 7 months ago I'd still get the "blender" and "oh, that's just a stainless steal brick" comments which means that people's opinions have not changed and I think even if you come out with some sort of supergun I still think people are going to assume the same thing.

True, to a degree - but Mags have been out of the spot light for sometime. Many members mention how most of the "kids" don't know what they are. Frankly... pre eyes and force feed most every marker could be a blender... and people accepted that. Those who once owned mags walked away to something with all the "features" over time, except for some. I don't think the mag name is as bad as some think it is. Lets keep the AGD name, and rename this marker something else. I mean, look at the Shocker... SP managed to undo its reputation - time, mystique, rumors (true or not), could make a demand to exceed the supply - one of the tricks would be to make sure that demand continued to exceed supply.

[REDRT]

AGD should make an ultra marker and do it just for a team. Sort of like the Russion Legion Freestyle. It was built only for the team, and not sold to the public.

It would be a good way to get the name out again.

They did. 4.0 boards for everyone, but the public

[Conversekidz]

True but a 4.0 e-mag looks identical to a 3.2 e-mag. (yes I know on the display you can see 4.0)


Freestyle and a Russian Legion Freestyle look completely different.

I think if the mag comes out again in an electric form it needs to have an LCD screen on it, not that the digital screen they had in the E-mags don't work flawlessly its that the LCD makes the gun look "newer"

[REDRT]

True but a 4.0 e-mag looks identical to a 3.2 e-mag. (yes I know on the display you can see 4.0)


Freestyle and a Russian Legion Freestyle look completely different.

I think if the mag comes out again in an electric form it needs to have an LCD screen on it, not that the digital screen they had in the E-mags don't work flawlessly its that the LCD makes the gun look "newer"

Good point.
I would hope there would be a multi func LCD screen on something new.