Eye Candy in a Malibu DVD - read post below before voting

[chathamsolutions]

100 votes.

86% believe Malibu Corporate should invest the money into the 'eye candy' section on their DVD.

72% believe it's one of the best places they can spend their marketing dollar.

Clear majority

[Ronnie]

I think the DVD's should include The Malibu Crew WOW's with thier "Eye Candy".

[WakeGirl]

Now there's an idea.

[smeagol]

This thread is the first I heard of Malibu even having a DVD. I saw some footage playing on the plasma at the boat show, but didn't know that it was footage that I could take home.

I would like to get my hands on a couple of older DVDs. An '03 or '04 for the eye candy (can we just call it EC?) and an '05 since that's how old my boat is.

[Greg_S]

I watched the 03 EC video (thanks Jack!) on the way to work this morning and boy was I surprised! I have been under the assumed presumption that it would be a great T&A segment with some great looking Malibu's in the background. WRONG!! I'm curious about how many thought it wouldn't be a good to bring it back have actually seen the EC video's.

I loved the footage and thought it was more like an episode of Pull or part of a Relentless that featured Malibu's with boarding, skiing a footing. I also really liked the Malibu Open footage.

I think the 05 & 06 DVD's do a great job in identifying the boat lines, options, build quality etc but don't do much in the way of getting you throw the DVD back in to watch it again. The 03 vid can be watched over again just because it has another great 30+ minutes of entertainment.

I think Malibu should put something back in like the EC section and feature the previous years Malibu Open.

[BlastRlxi]

The 03 vid can be watched over again just because it has another great 30+ minutes of entertainment.

My point exactly.

[2 ThumbsUp]

This thread is the first I heard of Malibu even having a DVD. I saw some footage playing on the plasma at the boat show, but didn't know that it was footage that I could take home.

Dealers normally have the DVDs at the boat show. Hopefully the DVD shipment will have arrived for the STL boat show next week. Dan's Boats was at a smaller boat show recently and DVDs were nowhere to be found...did go home with my 06 coffee table book however.

[Greg_S]

The 03 vid can be watched over again just because it has another great 30+ minutes of entertainment.

My point exactly.

Boating for my family and I is entertainment. Recreational activities are entertainment. Isn't that what it's all about?

Is the DVD entertaining at all for you? or just education about Malibu boats? Even the 05 & 06 DVD's are entertaining to me, I just think that if Malibu is going to have promotional DVD, the approach of the 03/04 is better than the 05/06 ones.

What is it about the EC and Malibu Open sections of the prior DVD's that you don't like or think is inappropriate?

[BlastRlxi]

I agree with you 100% that the DVD is very entertaining and I love watching it over and over like everyone else. I just disagree that the DVD is that important to the boat buying decision of most people.

[stewart]

So, Andy are you panning on buying a new boat? Or, do you just like collecting the DVD's?

[chathamsolutions]

156 hours and happy with my boat. Don't see a new boat in my near future.

But would like to see Malibu get bigger, stronger, faster...

Smart marketing is one way to get there.

[stewart]

Kind of my point exactly. You bought in 04 and have collected 3 years of DVD's. And now your upset that Malibu is not spending money on the entertainment portion of the there DVD.

Malibu is doing it right, the DVD is to showcase there new models. Not to produce a wakeboarding video. They have sponsored riders who can do that. IMO.

[hyperlitenerd]

Kind of my point exactly. You bought in 04 and have collected 3 years of DVD's. And now your upset that Malibu is not spending money on the entertainment portion of the there DVD.

Malibu is doing it right, the DVD is to showcase there new models. Not to produce a wakeboarding video. They have sponsored riders who can do that. IMO.

but with only chad sharpe and brian grubb showing up in most videos, and rarely behind a malibu...

I think that the video is cool, but the money could be spent in other ways to get people who are not showing up to the boat shows, or going down to the dealer.

[WakeGirl]

The 03 vid can be watched over again just because it has another great 30+ minutes of entertainment.

My point exactly.

Boating for my family and I is entertainment. Recreational activities are entertainment. Isn't that what it's all about?

Is the DVD entertaining at all for you? or just education about Malibu boats? Even the 05 & 06 DVD's are entertaining to me, I just think that if Malibu is going to have promotional DVD, the approach of the 03/04 is better than the 05/06 ones.

What is it about the EC and Malibu Open sections of the prior DVD's that you don't like or think is inappropriate?

What I loved about the EC on the '03 & '04 was the way that it shot like a wakeboarding video, but it was all Malibu & covered a lot of different disciplines. I personally believe that Malibu could shoot an entire dvd of just this stuff & sell it. I definitely agree with Stewart's point that if this is something that Malibu does & gives away on their dime, then it changes the aspect of the whole thing. As a business owner, it's sort of laughable if a customer that already owns my product & has no intention of buying more anytime soon wants me to change or revert the scope of how I market my business. As I alluded to earlier, maybe they just need to get with a dvd producer & sponsor a few, then market them that way. I'd probably buy them.

For the consumer that is looking to buy & watches that video for the first time, IMO the '03 & '04 versions are much more powerful in terms of the overall emotion & feeling that you're left with after viewing it. Think about it - a family goes to the boat show & maybe they're looking at buying their first boat & happen to stop by the Malibu booth because of its cool display. They start looking around at the possibilities & the sales guy sends them home with a dvd. The '05 & particularly '06 versions were little more than the brochure, but with '03 & '04 you get this other section that completely gets you fired up for summer & to own a Malibu. Nobody here or anywhere else would say that they bought their boat because of the EC, they will tell you about bang for the buck, quality of craftsmanship, etc etc. But the EC was a big part of the emotional piece to hook that person in. Malibu shouldn't put the eye candy back in for us, but for the future consumers that they're looking to hook. It's entirely possible that the costs & logistics of getting it done outweigh the return for them, I really don't know. TANSTAAFL after all.

Maybe one of the ways that they could fulfill our desires to have the latest DVD with EC is to include it as part of the Club Malibu stuff that you get every year. That way they're not losing money by just giving them away to people that have no intent to buy a new boat.

Oh, & I haven't voted in the poll because there are too many unknowns as far as cost & logistics vs. returns for Malibu.

Edited February 3, 2006 by WakeGirl

[SacRiverRat]

Kind of my point exactly. You bought in 04 and have collected 3 years of DVD's. And now your upset that Malibu is not spending money on the entertainment portion of the there DVD.

Malibu is doing it right, the DVD is to showcase there new models. Not to produce a wakeboarding video. They have sponsored riders who can do that. IMO.

Psssst Stewart... back off of Andy dude. If you raz him too much, he may never show up to one of our gatherings

Actually I don't think he exists

[Malibudude]

Kind of my point exactly. You bought in 04 and have collected 3 years of DVD's. And now your upset that Malibu is not spending money on the entertainment portion of the there DVD.

Malibu is doing it right, the DVD is to showcase there new models. Not to produce a wakeboarding video. They have sponsored riders who can do that. IMO.

Psssst Stewart... back off of Andy dude. If you raz him too much, he may never show up to one of our gatherings

Actually I don't think he exists

[chathamsolutions]

Thanks Tracie, you made my point.

You're right Stewart, I'm not in the market - today. But I remember vividly sitting in front of my TV watching the DVD over and over and over and over. But I wasn't watching the Malibu descriptions of their boats, I was watching the eye candy. I was watching and imagining what I wanted to see / be. A real live Malibu owner.

For me, and I realize this wasn't the experience for everyone, but for me the EC in the Malibu DVD helped solidify my decision and helped me through to delivery of my boat. And it appears the poll is saying the same.

I thought it was powerful enough that I started this thread in hopes of building momentum to help the Marketing Queen see it's worth putting it in future DVD's.

Troy, J, and the rest of you: anytime you want to come down to SLR (OK or Anderson) I'll give you a pull. Sad I can't make it to the show today with the rest of you. Running a race and doing a fun walk with the kids.

[VinRLX]

Actually I don't think he exists

He does exist. Not that I've met him, but I do offer proof. . .

I never had the 2003 DVD, though I tried to find one through several sources, because my boat is an '03. Andy sent me his own personal dvd, across the country, so I could dupe it and send it back. What a network we have here.

Oh, and Andy, you really did pay it forward. Greg has the EC on 03 because I sent it to him. . .because you sent it to me. It crossed the country once again.

[hyperlitenerd]

I've got the 06 dvd, woohoo. The intro does a good job in place of the eye candy, and all the sections have video of people ridding, talking, driving. Seems good, not so sure if I like the dvd layout, but cant be too picky.

[Madmanacrossthewater]

I agree in regards to lack of eye candy, there should have been more. I think they replaced the candy with model info. With so many models to choose from, it's easy for Joe Sterndrive to get confused. The candy is good, but model info is good too.. from a sales standpoint. The more a customer knows, the less I have to do .

Think about how many discussions have been had here, in regards to LSV vs VLX or RLXi vs SlXi? More info is good, I can see where they are coming from.

Edited February 5, 2006 by Madmanacrossthewater

[88Skier]

I agree in regards to lack of eye candy, there should have been more. I think they replaced the candy with model info. With so many models to choose from, it's easy for Joe Sterndrive to get confused. The candy is good, but model info is good too.. from a sales standpoint. The more a customer knows, the less I have to do .

Think about how many discussions have been had here, in regards to LSV vs VLX or RLXi vs SlXi? More info is good, I can see where they are coming from.

That's a good point. Besides helping people to understand the different models, I think that more photos or footage of the boats with different color combos would be helpful. You can drive yourself nuts picking the colors. Having actual boats to look at would make choosing the colors easier. I had no idea what my boat would look like until I went to pick it up. I hoped I would like it.

The eye candy is good to watch after you have ordered your boat and are waiting for it.

[stewart]

I can see your point Andy and I see Malibu's.

What I want to know, is what is going on with Mailibu's site. I tried to show my CFO the new 247 as a sales pitch and there are only 3 pictures of it in the gallery? The intro page to the 247 only has a picture of the entertainment center, cooler and something else. What about some of the other features like built in garbage can, rear compartment with shower/controls/pump switch, new glove box, engine?

I would think the internet, would be there greatest source of information, photos and eye candy. And it's not........... I think that's where they need to put there investment dollars first.

Oh well, there's always next year.......

Edited February 5, 2006 by stewart

[Sunsetter95]

I went to the Phoenix Boat and Sportsman Show yesterday. What a weak showing by Malibu. The boats sitting on the floor. No bling. No 25' was brought. MC has always upstaged Malibu at our shows, lights, glitz, they go all out. Very disappointing.

Another thing is that our ignorant show promoters seem to always schedule the show during the week the FBR (Phx Open) PGA Tour event is in town, and the SuperBowl weekend. !

[stewart]

After the not so Super bowl, I got a chance to watch the 06 DVD.

I think the DVD was done pretty well. Sorry Andy. They had a great intro, with a lot of different shots of boarders and skiiers. The boats were all showcased and got me excited to see them OTW. I don't know how much more eye candy they could put in without going out and actually producing an actual watersport video.

I'm going to stick by my guns and say that Malibu did exactly what they needed to do to promote there current line up.

I got a Tige video a few years back, and it was very plain and basic. I got a Bombardier video earlier this year, and all it did was show the shootout between the new 800 against its competitors. It didn't even showcase there product other than that.

Did Mastercraft even hand out a DVD?

[chathamsolutions]

...

Did Mastercraft even hand out a DVD?

Yes.

AND they spend millions more in advertising/marketing. Or so it seems. The whole point here, is Malibu has a great tool already, I don't disagree. But they could make it better. I think producing a full fledged video every year - or at least a 10-15 minute one, would be something that would draw people to the brand, the boats and eventually to the dealers with cash.

MC is spending BIG bucks to have their boats at MX shows and all other kinds of sporting events - trying to get the crossover crowd. If Bu just made this DVD something that people could watch - other then a brochure on the screen - it would be more appealing.

They've got something, but are only using it for 1/2 of it's potential. I think they're doing the same thing with their web site - as others have mentioned. And I think they're doing the same thing with their online store. So much more could be done there. If you're going to do it, do it first class or don't do it at all.