Older Audiences & Advertiser Appeal (For All Markets)

[davideduardo]

Someone offered my first wife and I a new VCR in 1984 for $100 (they were running 4-500 or so at the time. Based on the background of the guys making the offer, we figured it was hot.

Ah, but I traded one out when at WQII in around 1978 or 1979, and the blank tapes cost about $25 each at the time. My first use was to record the nightly Channel 2 WKAQ news which ran before I generally got home!

I looked at What Year Did the First VCR Come Out? and saw that I was not really the earliest of adopters, although there was not much to do with one back then.

 

[gr8oldies]

Ah, but I traded one out when at WQII in around 1978 or 1979, and the blank tapes cost about $25 each at the time. My first use was to record the nightly Channel 2 WKAQ news which ran before I generally got home!

I looked at What Year Did the First VCR Come Out? and saw that I was not really the earliest of adopters, although there was not much to do with one back then.

In high school I was an Audio/Visual aide and one of my jobs was setting up and recording TV programs for various classes on a one-inch machine on wheels. it was taken class-to-class as neccesary

 

[KeithE4]

Sarnoff did not "get FM right". He purposely got it "wrong" from his perspective to thwart the growth of FM when he believed interest in the new radio band would negatively affect his launch of television.

If FM had remained at 42-50 MHz, it would have been a disaster for the mode. Not only is that enough room, but skip issues would have been a killer early-on, once there were even hundreds of stations vying for that 8 MHz slice. Sarnoff may have been trying to screw Armstrong and the users of his invention, but he ended up doing what was necessary to save FM.

Sarnoff was the last of the real "robber barons", doing everything he could to to thwart the development of any technology that was not his. And his treatment of Maj. Armstrong was one of the most evil and vile behavours in the history of industry.

No argument there.

 

[anotherguyTN]

True. I waited five years to buy a VHS machine. They hit the market in 1977 for $1,000-$1,400 (a bargain compared to the $2,000+ for a Sony Betamax).

In 1982, having just jumped to TV and gotten a nice raise, I bought a really good VHS for $700.

Five years later, its replacement did more, was a better machine all-around and cost $300.

VCRs went below $50 in the early 2000s. The last new one I bought was a Panasonic for $65 that still works great on a store closing sale at Circuit City.

In high school I was an Audio/Visual aide and one of my jobs was setting up and recording TV programs for various classes on a one-inch machine on wheels. it was taken class-to-class as necessary

I was in AV in high school as well and it was the first place I saw a VCR in 1975. Would that have been Beta?

 

[michael hagerty]

VCRs went below $50 in the early 2000s. The last new one I bought was a Panasonic for $65 that still works great on a store closing sale at Circuit City.

I think I kept the one I bought in 1987 until 2006, when I bought our first flatscreen. At that time, I got a combination VHS/DVD unit----and incredibly, Panasonic is still making and selling it:

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMR-ES35VS-Recorder-Combo-Input/dp/B000F4EJH6

It stayed with the first Mrs. Hagerty, so I have no idea whether it's still working 17 years later or not.

 

[michael hagerty]

I was in AV in high school as well and it was the first place I saw a VCR in 1975. Would that have been Beta?

It would have to have been. Or a pro-series U-Matic.

 

[gr8oldies]

VCRs went below $50 in the early 2000s. The last new one I bought was a Panasonic for $65 that still works great on a store closing sale at Circuit City.


I was in AV in high school as well and it was the first place I saw a VCR in 1975. Would that have been Beta?

No, this was a reel-to-reel machine

 

[TexasTom]

No, this was a reel-to-reel machine

If it was reel-to-reel, it was probably an EIAJ-1 format machine -- those had some popularity in the early seventies, and were built by several manufacturers, including Sony, Panasonic, and JVC. If it was a VCR (cassette), then it almost certainly would have been 3/4" U-Matic, which was also manufactured by Sony, Panasonic, and JVC (but Sony had the biggest market share by far).

Very unlikely that any Beta machines were in a school in 1975, as that was when the very first machine was just starting to appear.

 

[kfbkfb]

EIAJ-1 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

My high school had one of these open reel VTRs (Sony or Panasonic), I recall the teacher of some sort of film class recorded part of the Ten Commandments movie, there was a way to make the VTR do a sort of freeze frame so we watched the parting of the Red Sea segment where the real water is swirling around and then the picture suddenly switches to animation.


Kirk Bayne

 

[anotherguyTN]

I think I remember seeing a cassette so it may have been U-matic.

 

[Kelly A]

I'd love to read the story behind that sentence if you have a reference.

Once again, spotlight is denied inventor of TV

New York — Another lousy break for Philo Farnsworth.

www.recordonline.com

 

[landtuna]

Once again, spotlight is denied inventor of TV

New York — Another lousy break for Philo Farnsworth.

www.recordonline.com

 

[davideduardo]

Sarnoff, despite Maj. Armstrong being a huge RCA shareholder, was "betting" on TV where RCA held a lot of patents and was way ahead of the mechanical systems developed by others. He saw Armstrong's FM as a potential competitor to TV and did all he could to stop it and slow it down.

Armstrong's first major invention was the supersonic heterodyne circuit, or superhet, which allowed radio signals to be reproduced loud enough for speakers, making broadcast radio far more practical. His second "big one" was the development of noise and static free FM.

Armstrong's 1936 paper on FM was presented at the annual IRE convention at the Statler Hotel in Cleveland: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-IRE/30s/IRE-1936-05.pdf and starts on page 31 of the bulletin of the IRE.

Wiki: Edwin Howard Armstrong (December 18, 1890[2] – February 1, 1954[3]) was an American electrical engineer and inventor, who developed FM (frequency modulation) radio and the superheterodyne receiver system. He held 42 patents and received numerous awards, including the first Medal of Honor awarded by the Institute of Radio Engineers (now IEEE), the French Legion of Honor, the 1941 Franklin Medal and the 1942 Edison Medal. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and included in the International Telecommunication Union's roster of great inventors.
Armstrong tried to develop FM, but by the early 50's he was distressed so badly that he took his own life.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

DavidEduardo said:
The fact is that the group that uses Cricket phones is so far out of any group advertisers are interested in (I think most Crickets, in fact, are bought by family members who realize that Ma or Pa can't fathom an iPhone),

In radio, we try to discourage heavy over-65 listening if we can because it taints the perspective of ad buyers. I remember well when Randy and his team took over WFLA in Tampa and when an old woman would call, they'd sometimes be put on the air just so the talk host could say, "Oh, my god, another blue-haired old lady..." and hang up. The whole idea was to make them feel unwelcome.

I know plenty of seniors who use Android phones and iPhones. We don't turn stupid after 65. I find your comment unnecessary. I wouldn't have a Cricket Phone.

A long time ago back before the major carriers had unlimited plans I bought a Cricket Phone for my Daughter. Unlimited minutes, text, and data because she ran up a huge bill using her boyfriend's phone. We had a problem with the first phone and it was like dealing with a bunch of robots instead of helpful people.

 

[davideduardo]

I know plenty of seniors who use Android phones and iPhones. We don't turn stupid after 65. I find your comment unnecessary. I wouldn't have a Cricket Phone.

I did not say that all seniors have to use simple devices. But those that don't know how to use a SmartTV won't know how to use an iPhone. Usually a grandkid sets up the SmartTV, but using a smartphone requires constant knowledge of "the system". So most users... and the primary market... are seniors who don't get new tech.

A long time ago back before the major carriers had unlimited plans I bought a Cricket Phone for my Daughter. Unlimited minutes, text, and data because she ran up a huge bill using her boyfriend's phone. We had a problem with the first phone and it was like dealing with a bunch of robots instead of helpful people.

And that is what in marketing and research we call "outliers"... people who are not in the target a service or product was designed for. A good example of this is the marketing for the Subaru which is based on identifying a number of specialized markets that can appreciate their qualities of safety and reliability and they market only to those subsets.

Case Study: 3 Examples Of How Subaru Nails Their Audience

Case Study: 3 Examples Of How Subaru Nails Their Audience

beaconbusinessmarketing.com

Extensive Marketing Strategy of Subaru - 2023 | IIDE

Looking for complete details about the marketing strategy of Subaru? Bring your search to halt & have a look at our blog to get all your answers.

iide.co

The second article points out the LGBTQ appeal of the marketing, and it is interesting to note that the specific targets do not necessarily overlap or share interests.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Part of my job is servicing cell phone displays at Walmart stores. Cricket isn't necessarily sold as a brand for seniors. They're sold as a cheap brand with lower priced models and prepaid services, even including Android and I Phones. Even Verizon and AT&T have those cheaper phones available even though they don't push them as much. Most of the brands even have basic flip phones for people who want that type.

The brand that gets pushed as being more for seniors is Consumer Cellular, but even they have Android and I Phones available along with simpler phones for people who want them.

 

[gr8oldies]

Part of my job is servicing cell phone displays at Walmart stores. Cricket isn't necessarily sold as a brand for seniors. They're sold as a cheap brand with lower priced models and prepaid services, even including Android and I Phones. Even Verizon and AT&T have those cheaper phones available even though they don't push them as much. Most of the brands even have basic flip phones for people who want that type.

The brand that gets pushed as being more for seniors is Consumer Cellular, but even they have Android and I Phones available along with simpler phones for people who want them.

I had a Cricket phone in the early 00s back when Cricket was only in 6 markets, Dayton, Ohio being one of them. Cricket, unlike the other carriers, didn't have onerous credit and deposit requirements, but also had very limited coverage.

 

[davideduardo]

Part of my job is servicing cell phone displays at Walmart stores. Cricket isn't necessarily sold as a brand for seniors. They're sold as a cheap brand with lower priced models and prepaid services, even including Android and I Phones. Even Verizon and AT&T have those cheaper phones available even though they don't push them as much. Most of the brands even have basic flip phones for people who want that type.

I think what we are thinking of for seniors is Jittebug... a custom-made phone for seniors.

 

[RadioGuy1864]

Cricket is owned by AT&T. It's intended to be a cheaper alternative to traditional AT&T service post-paid service. It's not marketed to seniors, but to people who are looking to save money.

 

[Kelly A]

Cricket is owned by AT&T. It's intended to be a cheaper alternative to traditional AT&T service post-paid service. It's not marketed to seniors, but to people who are looking to save money.

Like seniors on fixed income?