RCU Forums - View Single Post - What can the AMA do to recruit the under 30/park flyer group?
Old 01-16-2005, 10:56 AM
  #14  
fliers1
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Lockport, NY
Posts: 1,318
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default RE: What can the AMA do to recruit the under 30/park flyer group?

The idea of clubs using park flyers for promotion purposes, is for safety puposes. Meaning they could promote with park flyers on school property, shopping malls, or just about anywhere. Otherwise, clubs could only do anything on their flying sites. As club members get people interested with park flyers - where there would be a lot of spectators, they could have their regular larger fuel and gas powered models on display. They could sign them up after explaining the advantages of flying in a club.

CCR

The AMA has had an "incentive" program to bring in more members for 4 years. It's called the Sign 3 and Fly Free Ambassador Program. So far it hasn't worked very well. It seems that either members aren't aware, don't care or claim that they can't find anyone who's interested in the hobby and/or joining the AMA.
There isn't really much more that the AMA can do. Like someone once said, "We are the AMA and the AMA is us".

There is one thing they could do at AMA headquarters, that is get the RC industry to throw some of the collectively millions of dollars they spend on magazine ads directly to AMA clubs. It appears that the industry thusfar has been given a free ride. Meaning they have had the membership doing the free in-the-field, hands-on promoting and to put salt in the wound, having the members as the in-the-field salesman/customer, pay them to do it. After all, the RC industry has as much, if not more than anyone else to lose. What's wrong with this picture?

Imagine if for example, Great Planes paid clubs to put on hands-on demos and signed up new members? Club members could do this quite safely with park flyers just about anywhere. This is just one idea that could possibly work.

CCR