The Media and Power Bocking

[webmaster]

So yesterday morning jumping stilts were on TV twice, On the ITV on "This Morning" with Becky helping someone learn how to bock and on STV's "The Hour" which is the Scotland's equivalent to ITV.

I didn't get to see this morning but I watched the Scottish piece just now on http://video.stv.tv/bc/catchup-thehour-part1-20090922-1700/ Both places contacted me and this is how the convo went...

ITV This Morning, called sometime yesterday..
"Hi, we have this priest coming in tomorrow on this morning, his seen some people on Pro-Jumps, wants to master them and we are looking for a Pro-Jump expert to come in and teach him how its done, you will be given credit on  the show and on the website... and we need confirmation within the hour" I asked them if they needed to be provided projumps and safety and if they could use the term "Pro-Jump" when referring to the stilts. So I got told Nope they ordered from the Pro-Jump website and have their stilts already, Yep they would need safety gear and No they couldn't mention any brand name or they would be in hot water but Yes we would get a link on the website.  
So I thought that fair enough, I knew Becky was in London already so she was my first choice and she said she could do it so all done and dusted.

My thinking was even if there is a few seconds of TV without brand names mentioned exposure is great for Bocking in general and if we are getting a link on their site its excellent in terms of seo.

I haven't watched it but the feedback I've received, its wasn't as good if it could have been, another brand name was mentioned, the stilts used were not Pro-Jumps, Becky wasn't given much exposure at all, they didn't really say much about the product, the plus point is the new bocker was a very quick learner and gave a more accurate indication of how quickly Bocking can be learnt...

Now going onto the The Hour.. Colin to me a couple of days ago, he wanted a pair of pro-jumps sent in to review, I remember telling him the bare essentials were the knee & wrist pads followed, touched on how you could be walking unaided in 10 mins, very low rate of serious injury, told him theres a revised manual in there that gives you a wealth of info, link to forum  and I concentrated more on the health side of and the benefits it brings and definitely did not mention France lol

Which brings me to the following questions:

Do we (as a company) need to be more selective about who we provide resources to?

Do Bocking groups need to do the same?

Is there a consistent message that needs to be put in place by us & established groups as well, if so what should it be?

Example: as a company the message we want the media to portray is the following....  Pro-Jump Jumping stilts are the equipment used in the new sport of Power Bocking which not only has huge health benefits but are great fun Although they look daunting, injury rates are extremely low and once you strap yourself in the majority of people are walking on them unaided within 10 mins and can learn basic tricks within the hour. Prices start at £115 for junior models and £135 for adult directly from Pro-Jump.
99% of the time the only thing we ask is that the jumping stilts are referred to as "Pro-Jump Jumping Stilts" and if they can not use the brand name then they are simply referred to as "Jumping Stilts.
If Pro-Jump 101 are attending the they are referred to as "Pro-Jump 101" and that they are allowed to wear their PJ tops.

However I'd say only 1 out of 10 places will stick by what they have promised or even get the key information correct. This is despite imho a very good manual, the wealth of info on the forum and also us giving them time to throw any questions at us about the product!

Some of you may be aware that Pro-Jump's sister company GhostBikes use to sell Mini Moto's and every time a negative piece went out in the media about them which was very often we saw an instant increase in sales, however that was a type of product which we could only sell for a limited period. Now with Pro-Jump the difference is that if at this stage even before clubs are established, before it is recognised as a sport  it is going to be branded as dangerous, a toy, just something you're likely to use and get some broken bones... Do you think with Pro-Jumps not all publicity is good publicity?

btw please excuse typos I'm so tired lol

[darfgarf]

don't know about most of the bockers being in france, but the scottish program isn't too bad

for the moment i guess any publicity is good, just anyone that does a tv program should be forced to make a point that it's not a piece of cake, and they aren't toys

at least they're not in the argos catalogue yet...i don't think 

[Nero]

now this was what i was b***hing about when i saw the this morning piece, the media do whatever story they want to do, they may tell someone "oh we will promote your team or brand etc" but they will make the story they want out of whatever they shoot, and once its aired its an arse ache to get any sort of correction out of them.
i done a piece on aggressive skating back in the day for a media crew we met in town, we done some real nice stuff for them, and they asked us to just skate around and do our thing.
when the story was actually shown it was a piece badmouthing aggressive skaters, basically saying we are the new menace of the pavements and should all be banned.
The media, ALL media are pushing a message they are told to push, and unfortunately unless its pro jump paying stupid amounts of money to tell them what to push, they will continue to report what they want about us.

[toddy]

i have to agree with nero

but then if they agree to something they should keep to it, if they keep buggering you areound i would then start asking for there agreement in writing befor you even consider it, as if people started to bugger me around i wount like it and i would think about stoping being soo generouse and helping.
as tbh now it is people seeing people on bock that is making more publisiy than tv at the mo (but then i dont watch too much tv)

[webmaster]

The problem is in most cases we get the call the day before to organise something for papers and TV and they usually need an answer within the hour, due to past experience we have tried to choose more carefully but when you have an hour to organise something its  giving you a few mins to think about the pros and cons so usually its a case of if we can help, if it sounds good and we get even a tiny bit of exposure for jumping stilts in general putting aside what Pro-Jump get out of it I go for it, but over the past couple of months we have had something or another going out every couple of weeks and so far nothing has impressed me much at.  Its only been the times paper who have who have delivered something which they said they would and not only printed something that was almost 100% accurate after the article was published and they got what they wanted from us, they then still followed up with pictures from the shoot. This is another pet hate of mine, once the media company has got what it wants from us they usually don't follow up with video and photos as they promised

[Locky]

I do agree with you Naz. The media have their own agenda and will stamp on anyone anywhere to get what they need. For this reason, we now avoid such TV work unless there are some extreme circumstances, no pun intended.

When they see us out and about or doing a display at a festival etc I am always the one on the microphone and something I *really* try to push is that we are not gymnasts or people with any sort of acrobatic background. We are joe public who saw the stilts and fell in love. Almost anyone can do it. I nearly always mention that the youngest we've had on stilts is 3 and the oldest is 78. When we do workshops the first rule we have is that we do not let go of them. It would only take a lapse in concentration for 5 seconds on our part and then bam! someone falls down and its suddenly deemed too dangerous or too difficult for them....and everyone else watching them.
For any sort of public performance, TV included, we need to maintain control of the situation and thats usually not what TV companies want.

[Hilly-of-the-Marshes]

it might be worth getting a contract template written up, so that if you get one of these things short notice, you can make any minor altrations based on exactly what is happening - and then insisting on it being signed if they want any help with their articles - have the contract faxed over too, so that you have proof and roberts ur dads brother

at least they're not in the argos catalogue yet...i don't think 

possibly in the argos extra bit, but i dont think its in the main catalogue - but there are fly-jumpers in tesco-direct - mainly juniors but there are some adult m60s

[Locky]

I think most TV companies would take a look at the contract and either go elsewhere or just not bother.

[TomH999]

The media have their own agenda and will stamp on anyone anywhere to get what they need.

Totally agree

[CJ]

the media always have had and always will have their own agenda, its like the newspapers only printing what will sell papers the truth don't necessary come into it

[Spud]

Ok, As you may or may not know I am a media student. It's my 3rd year as one of these numpties and although this doesn't make me an expert, I have got some idea of how things work and why they do. Just before I get flamed I have no intention of working in TV, especially not ITV. Or the press for that matter What I'm saying might not be in the right order but meh..

@Naz, you will always struggle to get a broadcaster to use the term pro-jumps. This comes down to product placement. They are not yet allowed to do it in the UK and even tho you wouldn't be paying it still comes down as advertising. Watch this space tho as product placement has been cleared so I am sure it will be ok in the near future. Websites and press are different. Hence the link I know they used another brand name. I am assuming powerisers. It's wrong. You should be annoyed. ITV messed up. But..in their defense, for all of the wrong reasons powerizers is often used as a generic name for bocks. It does however mean the researcher for this did a bad/quick job.

Was the feedback received from bockers? Or did you get an independent to give you feedback. I am sure the opinion of somebody involved with the sport and somebody who had never seen them before would be very different. Think of the amount of people that were introduced to the sport that may not have known about it before. There was no negativity. The The sport has gained some mainstream coverage. Thats a great thing.

Do you need to be more selective to who you provide resources to? I guess thats up to you and more importantly if you are wanting these resources to = sales. If you just want to increase the profile of the sport then I would say any positive exposure will help no end. If you want sales then before deciding whether to say yes or no I would research the show. Find out the target audience and see if it matches with yours. If you want bocks to be referred to as projumps and for PJ 101 to wear there T's and if they can't then say no. Unless you are willing to settle for all round sport exposure. (this has to be good for sales in the long run?) But these migth just be a few points to consider before any media coverage. If it's not even reaching an audience that care about bocking then maybe it's just a waste of time/money/effort.

And, you are right. The information given in many articles/on the TV is inaccurate. It's poor work. But, there job is to have something for the viewers and not necessarily do stuff for you. Its not right. But thats now things seem to work. This morning is a 2 or 3 hour programme isn't it? And this is made everyday? That's a lot of content and work. I'm sure as soon as one is finished work starts on the next. I'm not surprised they dont get back to you but I don't think it's right.

The media is tough. I'm not defending it. They could be more courteous to those who provide content. I just cant ever see it happening. It's more competitive than ever. There is little time for these things. I'm sure these people that call you treat you like a good friend..then forget you once they have what they need.

 
 

[Locky]

Powerisers were not mentioned although Phil introduces becky and says she is a [something] expert but I think someone else is talking too and I couldnt make it out. It certainly wasnt clear whatever it was.
In the studio afterwards Phil mention 7 League Boots but I dont think this is a reference to the 7 leagues brand and was an honest comment by Mr Schofield.
7 League Boots, the stilts, are named from a very old european folklaw storey about some giants who could take super human leaps. The only online reference I can find to it is here. It's not very well known but we've had an old lady in cardiff bay point at our stilts and go "7 league boots?" and our eyes nearly popped out of our heads.

I think it was an honest comment, and just unfortunate under the circumstances.

[Spud]

The same thing happened to us at a norwich meet one time. It was really quite weird. I was like how the hell, do you know band names..then all was revealed.

That was kinda unlucky if that is the reference to other brands you are talking about.

 

[webmaster]

I think most TV companies would take a look at the contract and either go elsewhere or just not bother.

I think that's true, however the level of interest that is shown is increasing and I think the media are coming to Pro-Jump as we are the most accessible at the moment. I think I need to think about putting something in place, that is fair to both the media and to Pro-Jump and if they do not agree then take it from there.

@Naz, you will always struggle to get a broadcaster to use the term pro-jumps. This comes down to product placement. They are not yet allowed to do it in the UK and even tho you wouldn't be paying it still comes down as advertising. Watch this space tho as product placement has been cleared so I am sure it will be ok in the near future.

To be fair, I don't mind them using the generic term "jumping stilts" or even "powerbock" the only thing that winds me up is when they tell me that they can't use brand names then use another brand name or worse use an illegal brand name (This has actually happened lol)

I know they used another brand name. I am assuming powerisers. It's wrong. You should be annoyed. ITV messed up. But..in their defense, for all of the wrong reasons powerizers is often used as a generic name for bocks. It does however mean the researcher for this did a bad/quick job.

I actually find most of the media that have contacted us haven't got a clue what they are called and neither to the general public at large. Most try to give them their own "cool" name and fail as the last time they tried to do this they called them "PowerJumpers" which is the site for an illegal skyrunner seller. Also my comments were based on how I now perceive the media overall, I'm not actually bothered so much about what Phillip said as it does seem like a genuine mistake and the researcher that phoned me didn't expect much from me but if I had done a lot of running around for this then I may have been cheesed off more.

Was the feedback received from bockers? Or did you get an independent to give you feedback. I am sure the opinion of somebody involved with the sport and somebody who had never seen them before would be very different. Think of the amount of people that were introduced to the sport that may not have known about it before. There was no negativity. The The sport has gained some mainstream coverage. Thats a great thing.

I'm not denying that at all, that's why I mentioned the the example of the minimotos  and asked if all publicity if good with regards to Bocking - as for us as a seller majority of the time it is as you always get an increase in sales, this is also the case if another brand is behind the coverage or if it is us.  

What I was thinking about when I wrote this was the way people like Matt in Wales and Clive in Lincoln are pushing to get the PowerBocking recognised as a sport and also trying to apply for funds based on developing the sport, bearing that in mind does all publicity being good still apply?

If you just want to increase the profile of the sport then I would say any positive exposure will help no end.....
.....Unless you are willing to settle for all round sport exposure. (this has to be good for sales in the long run?)

Generally speaking any exposure good or bad usually means more hits to the website after jumping stilts are shown no matter what brand name is used or a generic one is used. Around 70% of the time we know they will not mention Pro-Jump but we still provide resources to help the sport BUT this is where my concern is coming in as the info they are providing is inaccurate.

To expand on this lets look at "The Hour" show, I was chilling with my friend who hasn't seen a pair when I remembered this went on air earlier that day so I took the opportunity to watch it... the following is what I picked up on:

> He puts a helmet on but nothing else - I had told him wrist & knee pads most important

> I thought the first part where he spoke about them, then footage of him using it was really good but it went downhill towards the end where the viewers were left with the thought of how dangerous they are

> The other products were health, sport and fitness based, this was the focus of my convo with him but when asked about why you would do this he basically said its fun and its something the french do lol There are so many health benefits that he failed to mention

I asked my friend what she thought and she was like it got my attention but when they mentioned how dangerous it was and that the only thing you get from is is a laugh she got put off but she did say she is not very sporty and perhaps those who are may have liked a challenge but wasnt sure if what is essentially coming across as a toy is worth the £135

If it's not even reaching an audience that care about bocking then maybe it's just a waste of time/money/effort.

I think personally these are the type of people I want to reach, the people who have never even thought about jumping stilts who may look at whats been said about them and are then researching them on google. Also if they make it accurate and informative and say that that most ages can participate, its loads of fun, you can do something simple on them like walking or go completely extreme and on top of all that even when you are doing the simplest things on them you are getting great health benefits it will capture more peoples imagination.

[sprog]

If it's not even reaching an audience that care about bocking then maybe it's just a waste of time/money/effort.

I think personally these are the type of people I want to reach, the people who have never even thought about jumping stilts who may look at whats been said about them and are then researching them on google. Also if they make it accurate and informative and say that that most ages can participate, its loads of fun, you can do something simple on them like walking or go completely extreme and on top of all that even when you are doing the simplest things on them you are getting great health benefits it will capture more peoples imagination.

I think for the right audience to be reached, bocking first off needs to appear on the right programmes. If you consider the majority of bockers, I'd say they are people aged 15-30ish.

I think the WB's made a good choice working on S4C for mosguito, as that show is aimed towards younger people who are going to be really interested in the sport. If you think about the target audience for This Morning, I'm willing to bet 75%+ of the audience are either retired, unemployed, or on some kind of leave from work. How many of them are going to be that interested? No more than 1% I would have thought. Others will think "Oh that's nice" and that's about it.
I think something that is geared more towards younger people or those with an interest in extreme sport or fun stuff would be a better choice of programme, for example CBBC, CITV, The Gadget Show, Bang goes the Theory, etc. Those kind of fun, exciting shows that really grab people's attention, and where bocking could get a lot of positive coverage. Of course, it's not up to ProJump or any other sellers, it's all down to the channels and the show's producers, and how they choose to portray the sport.

I spose I'd better stop now as i'm starting to ramble a bit, and I'm tired.

[Spud]

I actually couldn't watch the video on the link you gave because of my slow internet so I can't really comment on that. Seems like they were pretty stupid. I don't think the talk of dangerous stuff is gonna apeal to everybody but I'm sure to many youths it adds a cool factor. But then I think they would be taking up the sport for the wrong reason. I think everybody here wants bocks to be seen less as a laugh and something more serious. Equipment, not a toy.

I'm gonna make a bit of a horizontal point here but meh..

I don't actually think TV/press coverage is a patch on the work local groups do. I say work, but just meets and stuff is probably better publicity than anything else. I think the gymfests were a great thing. But I'm not sure the sport has a high enough profile yet for these events to be appealing to the public/people that havn't used bocks before. One of the best events I have been to for bocking was probably the kitefest. The EPB's and EA's did tryout sessions across the weekend. People went out and bought bocks after. It was a success. The main reason I think it worked so well was because it was a festival bursting full of the "right people". Meaning mostly the right age group, people with an interest in sport/extreme sports. The WBs went to nass. I guess it was the same kind of story there.

The important thing is people at these events are already open to sports that are different, have an element of danger. To your average joe the whole extreme sport thing is new too. I can imagine that is quite daunting. I think initially reaching the right people will be important. Until the sport is understood on a more general level. Apposed to Power what..

 

[aidanh1]

hmmm the media will allways push sporting as being bad but good if you get me

for example skate borading skating BMXing ETC nearly all sports have the media bad mouthing them but really bad mouthing a sport makes the sport popular

as we all know these stilts are crazy fun there so easy and light and brilliant work out but no matter how much we try and push the good message forward the media will forever bad mouth us becuse there stilts! they raise u higher than u shud and if u trip ur gonna hit the floor so yes in a way they are dangerous so why push a message that these stilts are "really easy" and "safe" if u put that messageorwrd and people buy more nd they fal break bones ant media find out its gonna mae the sport look even worse isnt it?

i think you should just bock skaters dont row wif the media and people they dont care what people think about them and there popular

we need to be like skaters hardcore crazy nutter b*stards (then agen most of us already are)

[darfgarf]

hardcore crazy nutter b*stards

...wait...what?  every skater i've seen/met is just  akid trying to be 'cool'  and failing badly.  also i'm yet to meet a skater that realises how stupid it is to not wear pads, so if nutter b*****ds is replaced with idiots, that'd make sense...

[chocl8]

we need to be like skaters

Fail.

[Jason]

About time I made a comment on this 

I didn't read newspapers for many years as I am of the opinion that the media in general are a very one sided single uninformed overopinionated bunch of Pill*cks (apologys to anyone who works in the media  )

They will say what they want to make a sensational story even if it is an outright lie and although there may be some good reporters most are in it for one person (Themself) and don't care who gets hurt on their climb up the ratings

I must agree with Spud that local public meets are the way to get people into the sport so the more we get out into the public the better

Having said all that any coverage on telly is always gonna be good for the sport and the only down side is if they make it look to dangerous them some kids won't get to try as their parents will stop them thinking they are gonna get hurt

Now for my good idea for the day Naz 

So many people ask me where to get them and the best advert I have is the spring covers with Projump.co.uk written down the back
So why not kill two birds with one stone and try and find someone who can make armoured spring covers with Projump down the back then sell them for £20ish

Most bockers will go down the easy route of buying spring protection if it was available and you get the advert thrown in

Jason 

[toddy]

that is a good idea (OMG jason with an idea, it could have been bad)

well back to the idea, alot of big bike shop's have got chain gardes that are nerproeem with velcro on the edges that str***es arounf the chain stay's to protect them from chain slap, so you could approtch one of thoes companies to see if they could make a big one with projump down them.

[webmaster]

So many people ask me where to get them and the best advert I have is the spring covers with Projump.co.uk written down the back
So why not kill two birds with one stone and try and find someone who can make armoured spring covers with Projump down the back then sell them for £20ish

What happened to the springies mod?

and I will look into it

[Jason]

  If I lived in the far east and could survive on a bowl of rice a day I would probably make a profit making Springies 

But Time verses cost was just too much and would cut into my inventing time 

Like the idea of neoprene would give a lot of protection

Jason 

[adamessex]

the company that make them are all lizard skins. I looked into what they already had ages ago when i got my first set of stilts I'll take a set if they ever get produced