I popped in at the Scrap Genie and found an intriguing post about sneak peeks at CHA... Read it here. I love this site by the way and am a total addict.... I just added Becks X Link in the Eye Candy Section of the Sidebar but, I have been reading her insight for sometime- it is a really wonderful site for all crafty types not just scrappers BTW. Thank you to the ADC folks for the heads up!
I, as much as I get giddy about seeing the latest and greatest (the fact that I popped in on the Scrap Genie in the first place- I am one of those folks who love to have the inside scoop- no doubt), think it is a huge mistake for manufacturers to release their new stuff early and not have anything else at CHA..... I know I sound like a complete hypocrite here but, in my defense, I am one of those folks who signs all those Non-Disclosure agreements before I make samples using the prototypes for conventions like CHA- can you imagine how hard it is to keep a secret when you get to play with the COOLEST stuff on the planet (for up to a year in advance)? I am one of those folks who totally loves seeing the reaction of folks at CHA when they see the handiwork for the first time!
So, I digress, why do I think sneak peeks are bad? The main reason is that, store owners and buyers need to feel loved- stealing their thunder by leaking to the public their intentions as a manufacturers and showing off what is behind the curtain ahead of time hurts store owners in the long run. Now, I know many manufacturers think, well, ads in traditional forms aren't working, online sales are up, web 2.0 makes the customer more informed so, I need to follow trends and go where the money is right.....? Hello! Where do you think true scrapping, crafting, arty type junkies are made? They are not created in online forums where new techniques and projects are copied and stolen and recycled and rehashed...they happen in the classrooms where folks have the ability to watch it all unfold, where questions are in real time and the organic process is experienced. Once a student gets the taste of that arty bug in a real world experience, they go off seeking like minded junkies to chit chat with (folks that already own everything there is to own and are total and complete junkies)..... I love online communities and have made many dear and near friends but, I never went seeking them first, I looked for them after I became interested in something..... Another thing to marinate on is the fact that many of my students (the customer in the stores and conventions) work in front of a computer screen all day, where do you think they go to create....hint, it isn't online, it is in person face to face. Back to the subject.
By disenfranchising the buyers (store owners) by skipping over them and going to the end consumer, manufacturers are making the stores irrelevant and, although there may be an instant reward, the longterm result will be a shrinking of consumer base (why, because there will be no place for them to go to learn about new stuff and become hooked on something cool when the stores are forced to close because their lack of sales and traffic....)
CHA was created to unite small manufacturers and their wonderful new stuff with buyers. What happens when the buyers decide it isn't worth the investment to show up any longer? Who will be the talking piece to those who are new to the industry (you know, all those newbies who have never crafted in their lives but stumbled into a craft store to buy some glue for their kid's Science project....)? Showing off the new stuff to existing addicts has merit but, it is a customer base with a set number of folks. Unless new folks are added to the mix, the likelihood that that set number of folks will continue to purchase at the same levels is just not very high. As folks craft for any length of time, they quickly acquire all the toys and they become easily bored. They tend to buy less and less and do a lot more looking at projects and samples they can make their own with the stuff they already have on hand. Sneak Peeks bite the hand that feeds and even though I LOVE seeing it all ahead of time it is like skating on the sharp edge of a double edge sword.
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