NG Needs Committee Members

[anyonebutme]

Easy problem to solve: Don't let Jack lead the cruise. That was his normal "going to the grocery store" speed.

[95gto]

Easy problem to solve: Don't let Jack lead the cruise. That was his normal "going to the grocery store" speed.

He was not leading the cruise until he took the wrong exit and a few cars followed. So even when we didn't make him the leader he sort of nominated himself anyway. Although he is no longer in possession of a 3/S, so potentially a moot point.

[Greg E]

I agree with this. The NG typically has three personality types that attend: those who are there for the racing, those who are there for the car show, and those who are there to just hang out. Most of the people who are still coming are a combination of at least two of these types. The key to boosting attendance is to try to cater to each type as much as possible.

Perhaps a solution would be to purposely have non-racing alternatives mapped out for the attendees that don't want to race or don't want to watch others race. This way people have things to do while others are racing. Nothing stops people from doing this now, but organizing some "official" non-racing events will help make the non-racers feel included the whole week. Also I think everyone would enjoy a good cruise at each NG. We all like driving these cars, when they aren't broken that is.

This is probably one of the main reasons why the UMG continues to be so popular. Like BRG it fits the majority of the owners. Family oriented, hang out, cruise, go karts... So few of us race our cars anymore.

That and a severe lack of advertising. In the past it was the local groups which hyped up the national event. With those numbers dying, so did the advertising.

Sad to say but if the focus on NG is just racing then that's ultimately the reason attendance has fallen.

[futurevr4man]

This is probably one of the main reasons why the UMG continues to be so popular. Like BRG it fits the majority of the owners. Family oriented, hang out, cruise, go karts... So few of us race our cars anymore.

That and a severe lack of advertising. In the past it was the local groups which hyped up the national event. With those numbers dying, so did the advertising.

Sad to say but if the focus on NG is just racing then that's ultimately the reason attendance has fallen.

Coupled with no vendors trying to push the platform (which gets people excited to race... to be competitive with the newer cars) or even attending the event...

[D.I.P.]

Now unfortunately due to life events and a rather unpredictable work schedule I have never actually been able to attend a NG. I always hoped to get to one eventually and it saddens me to see how the numbers have dwindled so much over time. I have been able to attend the ECG several times and i think i agree with the thoughts some others here have shared that events like ECG, BRG etc are more popular these days because they are more "family oriented", more about hanging out shooting the shit and cruising as opposed to Drag/Road Course racing. On the other hand I think the Racing is also part of what made NG "Special", specifically the Drag racing. It used to be where all the platform records were going to be challenged and all the forum rivalries were going to be settled. Now that it seems the platform has reached a plateau and a lot of the "big fish" have moved one the racing events don't have the same juice they once did...

Personally i think a BIG part of the problem is in fact the marketing of the event, more specifically the fact that there pretty much isn't any... I mean all i see with regards to the NG is a random Thread somewhere on one of the forums and maybe a vague post on Facebook once in a blue moon. If you look at any successful car event the key is MARKETING! You have to blast the event everywhere! Get people excited, if this isn't going to be just 3/S's anymore then it should be represented in every car forum on the internet every Facebook car group etc. How about creating a NG Facebook page (and actually using it regularly with updates etc) a Twitter account? Most importantly of all how about a YouTube channel? Have people submit 3/S videos etc record the activities during the NG and put out a nice Edit and blast that on all the social media accounts to create buzz!

Th event could be all of these things... You can have the Race-Centric events and a Family oriented chill vibe throughout... The key is to get enough people to attend to make both worthwhile.

PS: I like the idea of having a Video game tournament. I have no idea what the budget looks like but it wouldn't cost a whole lot to set up 2 "Sim-Rigs" with a Wheel/Pedal/Shifter setup and a decent 40" TV with a couple of Xbox One's (Forza has the 3000GT and enough other cars/tracks to keep everybody happy) to run a weekend Tournament with actual prizes etc... This would be especially useful in case of in-climate weather and could event be setup at a remote location with some tents and a generator...

[Alan92RTTT]

How about creating a NG Facebook page (and actually using it regularly with updates etc)

The NG does have a facebook page and we post to it regularly. https://www.facebook.com/3S.National.Gathering/

Most major posts are shared on the major 3S FB groups.

If you are not seeing the posts from the FB page you can thank the way FB decides who gets to see a post. The way FB decides who sees a post is why sharing/liking any NG post you see is vital for spreading the message.

[Lori]

I agree with Alan, but I also agree with others. There was no marketing for NG16. I didn't have it in me to get excited about ANYTHING. And I know most of you can't possibly understand what I've been going through or the toll it's taken on me, but it is what it is and what happened is in the past. Now it's time to move on from that.

What I'm reading is that people don't really want the race events anymore.. If that's the case, is there even a reason to continue the NG? Maybe it's time to let it go, and resort to ECG, BRG, and UMG. It was the racing that kept it unique, and the reason people came from all over to do it. But if we're not into it anymore, then so be it.

I understand all the other things you want us to organize, and I don't have a problem with that, but I need help. That's what this post was originally trying to get... Unfortunately, we're getting a lot of help with new ideas, but no help executing them. That's going to be a huge problem. I can do some of it, but I don't think I can do everything anymore. I have a business of my own... I hear people say, "I just can't with my work schedule." Ok, I can understand that... I have my own business, and it's not one where I can let others run it for me. I have to be present or it won't succeed. Why am I committing to a platform I'm not really even a part of if the long-time, active members aren't willing to commit? I'm not upset, just presenting valid questions.

[D.I.P.]

The NG does have a facebook page and we post to it regularly. https://www.facebook.com/3S.National.Gathering/

Most major posts are shared on the major 3S FB groups.

If you are not seeing the posts from the FB page you can thank the way FB decides who gets to see a post. The way FB decides who sees a post is why sharing/liking any NG post you see is vital for spreading the message.

With all due respect, i follow or "Like" that page and it is most definitely NOT updated/posted to regularly. Since June 30th 2015 (Essentially the end of NG 2015) there were only a total of 25 posts until today... and 17 of those were made from April 2016 forward... There are months were the page made literally 1 Post and others where it didn't post at all. All of this on a page with 1555 "subscribers" as of this morning which in itself is concerning considering this forum's own page has over 9000. Im no expert but in a present day world where Social Media is so essential to businesses and social/cultural events etc i think this is a tool that needs to be utilized to its full potential to help the event succeed. More content = More followers on the page which = more eyes on your product (the gathering) which will give you more access to instant feedback on what folks want at these events and so on and so forth.

Some people mention the fact that these cars have become cheaper and therefore a different crowd has come into the fold. Yes i agree, we have a younger demographic jumping into these cars now and this younger demo LIVES on the internet/Social Media. Just saying...

[Alan92RTTT]

The trick with social media is to post unique things not the same post every day. Once a post is made to the NG page that post is shared over the next few days to the 3S groups which spreads the word without getting annoying by posting the same thing every day.

That is not to say that we do not need more posts. That is why the 1st post in this thread asks for someone to be responsible to helping spread the word on social media platforms.

Now we just need someone with a working knowledge of what needs to be done to step up and offer to help us do it.

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

There needs to be a lot more hype during and after the event to get people to come next year. I don't even think I saw one thread with pics or race updates, etc. It used to be you had a lot of people posting during the event and especially when they got home. Even pics of caravanning to the event. I didn't make it this year due to some career stuff, but I don't even feel like it happened due to the lack of posting about it.