DEMA- Understand the deficit of ETHICS of what we are dealing with

[Jim Lapenta]

Jim, I understand your opinion.

"The Diving Equipment & Marketing Association is an international organization dedicated to the promotion and growth of the recreational scuba diving and snorkeling industry."

In North America and the Carribean, what percentage of diving is done in quarries? I wont even ask about snorkling.

In a broad marketing strategy, they are promoting the dream for most people. You want to promote the reality for some.

Come to one of our local quarries on a warm summer weekend. The DAN BBQ had over 200 divers in the water at one time. One local quarry that you need a 4wd to get into has had as many as 70 or 80 divers in it. Majority with their own gear. Also the majority of which due to the economy cannot afford to go to Coz every month. But they can go to the quarry every weekend- If their wives let them anyway that is:shocked2: - I don;t have the time to get away as much as I;d like to somewhere warm. But I can get wet within an hour of getting off work in the evening. Once students realize this the amount of money they need to spend initially doesn't sound so bad. We'd reach more people if we indicated that they don't really need to take out a second mortgage to dive regularly. And if we got more interest it could be that more local sites would open up as demand increased. So who really is doing more to promote the dream of being able to dive.

I have one more chapter to write before I start on the final one for my book. The last one will be titled " Why dive locally?" I will be going into the reasons I see and the reality of local diving. I am making the dream come alive for my students. I'm meeting with my illustrator next week. She had no idea that the possibility existed for her to learn to dive. And to do so by exchanging some of her talents as an artist for that education. I work a great deal with young people. When I went looking for an illustrator I went to the local high schools. I knew that somewhere there was someone who had a dream of getting published in some way. I have no idea how it will sell but this 16 yr old will have a chance to have some small dreams come true including learning to dive. And maybe her example will inspire some other young and not so young people to realize they can learn to dive and do so locally. And maybe the money they save by diving locally will allow them to buy a mask, fins, reg, bc, or suit. I see that as my way of supporting the industry as a whole while promoting the dream of diving. And supporting the local shops and in turn the manufacturers. They should come first and foremost. Then once these divers have some gear and experience they will decide to travel and when they get to where they are going not be a burden on the resorts because they will know what they are doing.

 

[royalediver]

Jim,

you are a poster boy for what I have always said. People go diving to be with other people and have a good time. It's the people, not the diving.

 

[Thalassamania]

Ultimately it doesn't matter if you dive in a quarry for a weekend getaway, Bali for the week taking pictures, or the Arctic for a summer for science, in the end it's always communicating about it that is the most important part.

 

[clint@uniquescuba.com]

Let me clarify that: an ADVERTISING campaign on Facebook. Not one target divers either. In fact that would be stupid. They need to target fishmerman, boaters, skiers, skate boarders and so on. Maybe switch the focus month to month. Their Alexa ranking is 1,972,425. A simple page does not constitute a "campaign" on Facebook.

The whole point is to promote to NON divers. Now Google "learn to dive". They are right there about half way down the page. Why? Why compete with people trying to SELL Scuba Instruction? The Scuba e-tailers are fighting tooth and nail for the divers on the net. Let's market Scuba Diving to everyone else for a change.

I just don't see people typing "learn to dive" into google to broadly search for scuba lessons. Search these days is growing towards location based.

If you live in Orlando, your gonna seach for "Scuba Lessons Orlando", if you live in Chicago, your going to search for "Scuba Lessons Chicago" and so on.

Google is already automatically listing results as you type based on the location of your ip address, so as you start typing scuba lessons or scuba certification, you start seeing results of local business's.

I believe this is what you should be optimizing your business listing and website toward.


just my humble opinion

 

[The Chairman]

I just don't see people typing "learn to dive" into google to broadly search for scuba lessons.

You missed the point. Why do we need DEMA targeting people who already WANT to dive? I want them to target people who are not really considering it YET. They need to be Scuba Evangelists and don't need to preach to the choir or those wanting to join the choir. Them going to the AARP conventions was GREAT. I want to hear more of that happening.

Unfortunately, they are in an unenviable position. EVERYONE knows how they should be run. It's a huge case of Armchair Quaterbacking, and I am as at much fault as anyone else. Remember the Airline video a year or two ago? THAT was awesome marketing as well. It targeted people who were traveling to a dive friendly destination, but it got a lot of bad press here. Why? There are a number or reasons and they all have to do with a lack of communication. We still don't know who paid for the thing. Everything might have been on the up and up, but few were willing to cut them any slack because they wouldn't tell us. Unfortunately, they dropped the ball in making this a win/win for everyone and many were stuck with doubts. It really didn't have to be that way. It would have been easy for them to clear things up in an open forum, but they didn't. Here we are a year (or so) later, and people are even MORE disgruntled and unwilling to believe that they are up to do good.

The point? START TO COMMUNICATE WITH US DEMA!!! Your silence is deafening and counterproductive. I called a BOD member this past week to discuss the negative things being posted about him. He was pretty animated about the fact that people should call him and told me I should tell cerich to do just that. Unfortunately, when I offered him cerich's number, he didn't want it. It was up to cerich to call him, but not the other way around. That was unfortunate. To this point, no one from the DEMA BOD has posted in this thread. Why? I don't think it has anything to do with them being evil or greedy. I do think they are skeered and don't have a clue how to interact with us in social media. To overcome that, I invite each of you and them to come to my presentation I am having about "Connecting on the Internet". It will be a frank and pragmatic discussion about how to use social media to promote your business. I will be giving it at 5:00 Wednesday afternoon at SDI/TDI's booth. All are welcome: ESPECIALLY THE DEMA BOD and ALL DEMA STAFF.

 

[clint@uniquescuba.com]

Netdoc, after re-reading your last post I understand the point you were trying to make now.

But, how do we market to everyone else? Thats a lot of freakin people!

 

[Wookie]

Netdoc, after re-reading your last post I understand the point you were trying to make now.

But, how do we market to everyone else? Thats a lot of freakin people!

In the '60's and '70's, we marketed with Mike Nelson and Jacques Cousteau. A lot of freakin' people saw that. In the zero's, we marketed with Shark Week. Any wonder we see the decline in the number of folks getting certified?

We have at least 2 shows that are members here (Into the Drink and Travelers In Paradise immediately come to mind) that are trying to bring some respectability to scuba travel. We (the crew of the Spree) have often thought of doing a pilot (As the Prop Turns), because, hey, life on a liveaboard can't be any more boring than watching fishermen haul back crab pots, or Mike Rowe getting covered in poop week after week, can it?

As an industry, we're missing the boat when marketing to the masses. I thought the airline video was a good one, but the only time I had opportunity to see it, the captain broke into it to tell us the weather in wherever I was flying to. We need to make diving cool again. We need to stop showing the ocean as a dangerous place (when was the last time any of you were attacked by a Humbolt Squid), and show it for what it really is, a place of incredible diversity and beauty. What can each of us do as individuals? I have no idea, that's what DEMA is supposed to do.

How cool would it be if whenever some producer wanted to make a show on WWII oil tankers sunk in the Gulf of Mexico by U-boats contacted DEMA, and DEMA helped them with the logistics of the shoot. DEMA could give them a list of members who had boats, or dive safety staff, or whatever support the producer needed. How cool would it be if DEMA had 4 trailers with pools in them so that if someone in Ratsass, OH was having some sort of dive gathering, they could get one of the portable pools to perform Try Dives. How cool would it be if DEMA bought banner space at the next PGA golf tournament with information about diving. DEMA's job should be to do the things that individual dive shops can't afford to do. Unfortunately, they aren't doing it very effectively.

I have friends that lease pool time at the local country club for their confined water sessions. That just happened to be where they found a pool to lease. Where do their clients come from? The local country club, of course. What do they charge for an open water course? $1150, which includes everything you need to learn to dive, instructors fees, books, pool and open water time, a ride to the quarry in the van, basic gear, nothing is tacked on. They start a class of 8 every week, and they aren't marketing to people who want to learn to dive. They are marketing to people who want to play golf and tennis.

 

[theduckguru]

In the '60's and '70's, we marketed with Mike Nelson and Jacques Cousteau. A lot of freakin' people saw that. In the zero's, we marketed with Shark Week. Any wonder we see the decline in the number of folks getting certified?

We have at least 2 shows that are members here (Into the Drink and Travelers In Paradise immediately come to mind) that are trying to bring some respectability to scuba travel. We (the crew of the Spree) have often thought of doing a pilot (As the Prop Turns), because, hey, life on a liveaboard can't be any more boring than watching fishermen haul back crab pots, or Mike Rowe getting covered in poop week after week, can it?

As an industry, we're missing the boat when marketing to the masses. I thought the airline video was a good one, but the only time I had opportunity to see it, the captain broke into it to tell us the weather in wherever I was flying to. We need to make diving cool again. We need to stop showing the ocean as a dangerous place (when was the last time any of you were attacked by a Humbolt Squid), and show it for what it really is, a place of incredible diversity and beauty. What can each of us do as individuals? I have no idea, that's what DEMA is supposed to do.

How cool would it be if whenever some producer wanted to make a show on WWII oil tankers sunk in the Gulf of Mexico by U-boats contacted DEMA, and DEMA helped them with the logistics of the shoot. DEMA could give them a list of members who had boats, or dive safety staff, or whatever support the producer needed. How cool would it be if DEMA had 4 trailers with pools in them so that if someone in Ratsass, OH was having some sort of dive gathering, they could get one of the portable pools to perform Try Dives. How cool would it be if DEMA bought banner space at the next PGA golf tournament with information about diving. DEMA's job should be to do the things that individual dive shops can't afford to do. Unfortunately, they aren't doing it very effectively.

I have friends that lease pool time at the local country club for their confined water sessions. That just happened to be where they found a pool to lease. Where do their clients come from? The local country club, of course. What do they charge for an open water course? $1150, which includes everything you need to learn to dive, instructors fees, books, pool and open water time, a ride to the quarry in the van, basic gear, nothing is tacked on. They start a class of 8 every week, and they aren't marketing to people who want to learn to dive. They are marketing to people who want to play golf and tennis.

Well not quite, they are marketing to people who want to get outdoors and not be a spectator. Golf and tennis is what they are currently doing.

Prior to the 70s, there really wasn't all that much to do at home. No Cable, not home movies, no computers and very little air home air conditioning. Now people like to sit home and watch things where 50 years ago they wanted to get out and experiance things.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

As an independent instructor with limited advertising budget I have to be creative. I'm woking with the Girl Scouts now. I went to one local high school to recruit a student to do some art for me. The county SWAT team was there for a training exercise. Guess who handed out a bunch of cards. I visit my local military recruiting offices every couple of months like clockwork. Those guys rotate out all the time so there is a potential source of new students all the time.

If I had a video camera I'd try to put together one for local public access stations. Air time is usually cheap or even free. I hand out cards to everyone, everywhere. IF DEMA were to put together a local diving video that showed people that they can stay home and have a lot of fun and be available to instructors and shops for a more or less token amount think of the exposure it could get. Let the end users determine how they want to broadcast it and pay for that. I could not put it on my local network stations but if it played on a monitor at my local gyms or hospital fitness fairs it would reach those who might otherwise never consider diving. Run it on airplanes going to Aruba? Ok but what about the people who fly to Alaska, the Dakotas, Seattle, or freakin Pittsburgh for chrissakes. That is where local diving needs a boost.

Shops are failing and DEMA is, in a way, promoting that failure. How can the little LDS in SW Pa, Tennessee, or Kentucky afford to buy time - and frankly why would they want to- to run an ad that in effect takes business away from them after the inital OW class? No wonder classes are getting shortened and divers shortchanged. THey have to cut corners to get enough students to keep the shop afloat. I'd rather have 10 students a year that dive locally on a regular basis and come back for advanced training than 25 who I see for OW and then not again because they only dive resorts. The shop would rather see those 10 that buy bc's, regs, suits, tanks, etc.

Yet DEMA continues to ignore this segment of the population. I was going to get my DEMA membership when I became an instructor. But being unable to attend the show for numerous reasons and seeing that my membership and one vote were really meaningless in the face of entities that could buy dozens by coughing up a few more dollars I saw no point.

Some may say that at least I would have had a say as a voting member. BULL! How many members signed the petition last year, along with those of us who would have become members if they thought it would be useful, and were basically dismissed as malcontents and troublemakers? If some of the smaller companies were to form a new association that addressed the issues we wanted DEMA to address you can bet your hind end I'd join. And be as active as I am now as a voice for local divers, shops, and smaller maunfacturers or even more so with the added resources an association would provide.

 

[Leadking]

What do you think this new Jim Cameron movie will do for diving?
Sanctum | From Executive Producer James Cameron | In Theaters February 4th in 3D