OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Many manufacturers sponsor future champions in this sport. Sure it gets them publicity when the young champ breaks through. All this does though is advertises them to existing table tennis customers primarily. I'd think it does little to expand the market.

There may also be some minor sponsorship of coaching camps etc. Still preaching largely to the converted.

How much sponsorship goes to encourage Table tennis at lower levels where people (not just kids) can be introduced to the fun of TT and increase the people who get wrapped up in this game. This is where new customers in the market are grown from. This is where the manufacturers and retailers can not just steal each others customers from, but create customers. Should be a fairly simple business decision to do this I would have thought. It seems the populations of TT players is shrinking, so I would have thought actions that attempt to reverse this trend would be high on the list of the TT industry's priorities.

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
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Need a traveling manufacturers team going to schools putting on demos and leaving literature! I will volenteer!

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Shakehand, left handed.
Blade, Yinhe, W-1
Forhand, H-3 National
Backhand, Sriver FX Max

I agree, but would be even better if that turned into a parents and kids TT night for the parents to get involved as well. Also needs info on TT comps running in the area, and on how to start a comp.

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

It would be a great idea for manufacturers to go to schools and help them out with tournaments, like provide balls, for free, provide dividers that they can take back if they like, and tables that they can also take back.

This way they will allow the kids to play with top quality equipment, and encourage interest in the sport.

They can also, I think drastically reduce the price o their beginner equipment so that more kids can buy better equipment and this will actually get them a stake in the futures market. What I mean is get a kid onto playing with your equipment when he is starting out, and chances are h will upgrade but stay with the brand. Its an investment in themselves, and in the sport.

People remember. I started out with cheap equipment as well, but what was the name I kept hearing, or the equipment I kept seeing, Butterfly, so naturally I gravitated towards that when I came back to the sport. Its funny since I started with Shield and Champion, two very small Chinese brands. But the players I mixed with, kept saying Butterfly. If there was one thing I remembered about the sport after 18 years, it was that name.

I think manufacturers can build on this, and in doing so, help kids out with equipment as they nter the sport as well.

I am sorry of this comes across as a promo post, but hat I am trying to illustrate here is the psychology involved.

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1-ply Hinoki Club
Violin/Acoustic Clan
Recreational/Club Player
Local Press Club (Journalists) Champion

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