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Technical Without car magazines, how will advertising reach car guys?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by BamaMav, Feb 7, 2020.

  1. bob b.
    Joined: Aug 30, 2009
    Posts: 231

    bob b.
    Member
    from peoria az.

    i never bought a magazine for the adds I always thought they were annoying
     
  2. Poparod
    Joined: Jan 2, 2020
    Posts: 9

    Poparod
    Member

    Sites like H.A.M.B. are the new word-of-mouth. Go back 100 years or more and car guys, like the horse traders before us, listen to our friends after reading an ad. I especially appreciate having the ability to still get an expert on the phone after reading a post about them or from them. So here’s a huge thank-you to all the shop owners who will take 10 minutes to talk to me after I’ve seen your ad or read your post. I’m glad to spend some bucks for your time.


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    dirty old man and bchctybob like this.
  3. bchctybob
    Joined: Sep 18, 2011
    Posts: 5,190

    bchctybob
    Member

    I agree that we have to embrace technology and the changes we’re seeing but I’ve noticed that many suppliers in our hobby have very basic, limited websites. Parts aren’t listed, Searches don’t work, they lack pictures and don’t even think of using the “contact us” feature, they never respond. As always, you have to call and hope they answer.
    As to us “no social media” folks, if I tried to visit the H.A.M.B. and Facebook and instagram and whatever the latest hip app is each day, I would never get out to the shop and build a car. Although they are great resources, I for one just don’t have the time to spend on them. I would like to respond and participate in more of the threads here on the H.A.M.B. but I just can’t justify the time.
    Luckily, the style of cars I build need only parts I’ve “hoarded” over the years and stuff I make myself. McMaster Carr, Summit, Speedway and the local stores provide the rest. No social media required.


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2020
  4. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Not in the last couple of years. I or someone else would have to go back though issues of the Ten publishing rags to see when they last ran those big Hoffman group adds but I am thinking at least two years ago.
    None in the March 2017 Street Rodder or any of the three or four newer issues I dug out of the tote that I ready to head to the storage shed.
    They have been gone so long that guys have quit tossing out the Helix crap as a viable front end on one bard I am on.
     
  5. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    As a couple of guys said, there are still rod magazines from other publishers
     
    Murph8 likes this.
  6. J'st Wandering
    Joined: Jan 28, 2004
    Posts: 1,772

    J'st Wandering
    Member

    I am one of the "I will never do social media" guys. What am I missing of value? Since I am at this site, you can assume that what I follow in cars has already been done for many years. How many ways can you build a traditional rod or custom? I know where the old junk yards are and they are not on facebook.

    It comes down to where I am wasting my time and I choose not on social media.

    I may also have a closed mind but that is for another discussion. ;)
     
    INVISIBLEKID, partsdawg and Gasser 57 like this.
  7. Warpspeed
    Joined: Nov 4, 2008
    Posts: 532

    Warpspeed
    Member

    The internet has largely replaced glossy magazines for hobby type subjects.

    Forums have provided an excellent way to contact others with similar interests.

    You tube and e-bay offer people ways of displaying and selling their goodies and unusual parts, somewhere to show their stuff.
    Then we have swap meets, shows, and clubs.

    Its sometimes frustrating finding exactly what you want, but if you are really keen, plenty of ways to keep up to date.
     
  8. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,817

    BJR
    Member

    Isn't the Hamb classified as social media?:eek:
     
    lothiandon1940, wraymen, Tim and 2 others like this.
  9. J'st Wandering
    Joined: Jan 28, 2004
    Posts: 1,772

    J'st Wandering
    Member

    Yes, you are correct. I like to make my own rules. I don't do facebook, twitter, etc. and tell myself that the HAMB is different. I live in my own world and don't screw with it.
     
  10. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,817

    BJR
    Member

    "I live in my own world and don't screw with it." That just got you a like.:D
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  11. Jimbo17
    Joined: Aug 19, 2008
    Posts: 3,959

    Jimbo17
    Member

    I built the website I use and I have been using the computer since the mid 90's but I really don't use social media very much other then the HAMB
    I am on Facebook but I really am not very good at using it and I have never even tired Instagram and the other social media sites.
    I run my business for the most part by myself and at 73 years old I am not sure how much longer I will run the business because of some health issues.
    I really don't have the time for social media and learning to use it.
    I do think it might help attract new customers.

    Jimbo
     
  12. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,052

    wicarnut
    Member

    I just read in Goodguys Gazette that they are going to continue printing their monthly magazine which is included in yearly membership of $40, Also NSRA has not printed anything about discontinuing their monthly magazine street scene, $30 year membership, magazine included. I am down to just StreetRodder magazine and like many I like the magazines over reading it online which is my option now. I read some wanted a hot rod type magazine so GoodGuys and NSRA are 2 options for the ads in print and both have some HAMB type coverage in them. This is just a suggestion, not looking/wanting all the negative BS from antisocial members with their negativity on GoodGuys Or NSRA. Everyone Have A Great Day !
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2020
  13. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,287

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I've always wondered why people don't just print out advertising circulars and then find some way to distribute them to like minded enthusiasts, like say at a cruise in where they could just leave them in the cars on the seat. Seems like an efficient way to reach the masses in the hobby and its unique. :rolleyes:
     
  14. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,143

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    Based on how some people respond to having car show flyers tossed in their cars at shows I'm thinking that would be a good way to get shot!
     
  15. ken bogren
    Joined: Jul 6, 2010
    Posts: 1,056

    ken bogren
    Member

    As for fliers ... a local show had a table where any car related (show/vendors/etc) could put a stack of fliers, anyone who wanted one was free to pick up as many as they wanted.
     
    dirty old man likes this.
  16. no55mad
    Joined: Dec 15, 2006
    Posts: 1,956

    no55mad
    Member

    Just got the latest HRM, one of the few survivors. They have reduced the size of the print so small it is almost impossible to read w/o some very strong magnifiers.
     
  17. cederholm
    Joined: May 6, 2006
    Posts: 1,748

    cederholm
    Member

    Social media - including this site. I've found some great AMERICAN craftsmen producing parts on this site and on Instagram/Facebook. Follow a handful of people that build what I like and other names start to pop up and I got check them out. A positive word of mouth here means a lot more to me than an add in a mag.

    I like mags, I have stacks of them, but when I want info fast I always look online.

    ~ Carl
     
  18. Black_Sheep
    Joined: May 22, 2010
    Posts: 1,446

    Black_Sheep
    Member

    Most people are savvy enough to use Google...
     
  19. lcfman
    Joined: Sep 1, 2009
    Posts: 379

    lcfman
    Member
    from tn

    I just purchased the latest Hot Rod magazine at my grocery . The mag had ads in it. The mag wasn't that great and I will not spend 7 bucks again but I will subscribe to Hot Rod ( $14 yearly) at least once to see if they improve.
     
  20. Google is your friend. Lots of things get googled and advertising is done that way. Or web based magazines will be selling advertising. Easy peezy unless you are a Luddite like myself.
     
  21. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,711

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    This has taken a different direction that I would have thought it would.

    Sure, anybody that is computer savvy can use Google or other search engine, that's not in question here. But before you fire up that search engine, you have to have an idea of what you're looking for. And if you have never seen nor heard about something, how you gonna look for it?

    I could give a rats ass about ads and company profits, I never liked having to sort through a bunch of them myself. It's the info that I'm talking about, that info that such and such has this hickey that will bolt on my 47 Henway and make it run like a raped ape. The info like who was running brand x cams and winning, or brand z pistons in their class racer. Things you can't pick up off a google search.

    Hell, maybe I'm just living in the past. I learned a lot by reading ads in the old books. I skimmed over a lot of them, but I also learned a lot about things that I didn't know.
     
    Gasser 57 likes this.
  22. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,291

    jnaki

    upload_2020-4-7_3-51-34.png
    Hello,

    In our early days, print advertising was more powerful than advertising on TV. Even though we could not fast forward the TV ads, it was usually a bathroom break during commercials. We had access to TV early on (usually at night), but we had direct access to the magazines almost every waking hour. Our parents had Life, Look, Sports Illustrated, Better Homes and Gardens, etc. We had the usual Hot Rod and Rod & Custom, etc.

    So, I blame the ever, persistent advertisement of the “Marlboro Man” on almost every back cover of Hot Rod Magazine in the early days, for getting us to smoke. Sure, it was our choice, but that guy had all of the fun in every shot that was pictured. He was the “he-man” of all men and that in itself, made us want to be like him. Until he quit, my dad’s stash of Lucky Strike Cigarettes were missing a few packs over time as we became a little version of the “Marlboro Man.” There were very few girls that smoked, but the ones that did were cool and nice looking, so we thought the cigarettes attracted them to us. Ha!!!

    As the years rolled by, other manufacturers decided to outbid Marlboro for that back cover and now, we were seeing all sorts of cigarette manufacturer’s advertisements. That lasted until smoking got the ban on TV ads and print ads. By that time, we had already moved on from Hot Rod Magazines.

    Jnaki

    I know that in our old Westside of Long Beach neighborhood, it was a tough area. There were non-hot rod influenced kids that still smoked. But, we probably would not have smoked until we saw the “Marlboro Man” in action. Little kids can get swayed by just about anything. The monthly advertisements on the back cover of Hot Rod was, for me, a bad influence. I haven’t smoked in 50 years. It was just a thing to do in junior high school, high school and college.
     
    Baumi and jakespeed63 like this.
  23. sliceddeuce
    Joined: Aug 15, 2017
    Posts: 2,981

    sliceddeuce
    Member

    Library cards. Free like this site.:)
     
  24. jetnow1
    Joined: Jan 30, 2008
    Posts: 2,152

    jetnow1
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from CT
    1. A-D Truckers

    Perhaps some of these ad dollars can be used to become Alliance vendors. Talk about targeted advertising.
     
  25. Google search..seems to be todays "go to" for info on anything.
    Business owners need to be committed to the changing times..which means having an up to date website, which is a breeze to use, with "New Products" and "informative information" at the forfront.
     
  26. liliysdad
    Joined: Apr 1, 2013
    Posts: 98

    liliysdad
    Member
    from Oklahoma

    This is the reality....if anything, the smaller guys have a more level playing field than ever before with the death of the print mag. I would make the broad generalization that very few folks under 40 would consider advertising in the few print mags left as anything remotely relevant to their purchasing decisions.

    Small, boutique home based manufacturers are doing very well advertising solely on social media platforms, and the builder to client interface is something never before seen. Parts can be dreamed, designed, modified, ordered, built, and shipped without ever leaving your sofa.

    The Golden age is now.
     
    54 ford coupe likes this.
  27. sliceddeuce
    Joined: Aug 15, 2017
    Posts: 2,981

    sliceddeuce
    Member

    I guess you have clearly pointed out to would be advertisers that placing ads on a web site is a fiscal error.
     
  28. Instagram is just like picking up a glossy mag, just daily rather than monthly. Every day I see a "good morning" from Borders kustom in Japan, which will be great photo or video of gorgeous traditional lead sleds.
    plus my feed will show 60's drag racing, maybe what Dave Shuten is up to, Kustomrama today posted a bubble top 59 Chev', videos of casting manifolds at Offy last week, or Jesse James forging and power hammering steel - instant escapism! plus whatever other stuff I am into, motorbikes and newer automotive, plus work related - and I can reach people I want to for my own branding. You can spend as much or as little time there as you like- just like a magazine. And I can flick it open whenever I have a couple of minutes.
    there are definately pictures of older cars that I have never seen before too - not every old photo got into a magazine, and people are uploading previously unseen photo collections from the past.
    Even better, I can send images direct to my kids to make sure they are being infected with hotrod culture to offset whatever else they are seeing online!


    OP's question - answer could be facebook - you find a group that is all about your car; it's a bit like the social groups here. You work out who has good advice - I am in a couple of Aussie groups that cover 5Customlines, plus a great tank fairlane group which covers me for mechanical as my 54 has 59 running gear.
    Best place to order a water pump?
    Has anyone done x before?
    Sounds a lot like here on the HAMB, just more localised.

    This issue is not just automotive either remember - right now we look like losing our local print newspaper / rag which was struggling before the plague hit - restaurants, auto trade and entertainment now not advertising and real estate( the old rivers of gold for print) was already going heavily online.

    mind you, I still like cracking open a box of old hot rod magazines and sitting down with a beer in the shed and going back in time too.
     
  29. ramblin dan
    Joined: Apr 16, 2018
    Posts: 3,609

    ramblin dan

    Haven't bought a car magazine in years. Everything is online including catalogs for all the parts I would want and I don't see swap meets going away any time soon. I can't help but wonder in the next few decades what the face of our hobby will be after us guys aren't around advertising or not.
     

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