Will Fisher Ever Improve On Advertising?

[Prospector Mike N.S.]

Hello MD Friends;
I have been a Fisher owner since the 80's with my 1265X it's hard to beat, there have been only a very few Items that I have overlooked to find with it because the target sounded like Pop cans, however since then I have became recently a Fisher Detector Dealer in Eastern Canada. Here and other parts of Canada the Fisher name in Detectors is not well known. Here's where that other guy that starts with a "G" wins with his coloured advertised catalogs describing all the Hype and Hoopla of each detector along with DVD video that come with each detector. He is winning the hearts of many here and has become a household name. Like a snowball effect is what it has created, just because someone bought the "G" product they pass on the info to others and that's all they know.They are outselling Fisher by 10 to 1 ratio because of this advertising.
I think Fisher really needs to improve in their advertising to combat this I truly try to promote Fisher but's it hard to win over "G" products when you have a $3 Black and white catalog that really blurry and really don't go out of their way to say much about each detector either. The small Bounty Hunter and Teknetics folders are nice but they also lack pizazz of describing each Detectors features and so on, very little details is not what sells detectors. You gotta pull out all the stops and build your products up, not with B.S. but people like to see more on each detectors features etc. So until Fisher step up to the plate and do better catalogs (coloured) with more details on each detector, and perhaps include DVD instruction with each detectors I'm afraid "G's" products are going to continue outselling Fisher, and to me this is a sad situation of a truly great product.
Prospector Mike - Nova Scotia Canada

 

[wharghoul]

Mike, I completely agree with you....

I love my F75 Ltd, but I know their costs can't be more than $1,000 to produce the units, seems like an awful lot of profit margin....

Besides, let's say they sell their units for $1,249 ea. with the same crappy black and white owners manual. What if they included a more indepth manual with an instructional dvd and then passed on the extra cost to us for a new retail of $1,359. Would the extra $10 deter any of us from purchasing the machine?

Would the extra $10 pay for itself in attracting more people to Fisher? I think so.

I don't understand why Fisher isn't running a 20 second ad during the airing of meteorite men. It's an amazing opportunity to capitalize on the product placement.

As a former E-trac owner, I can say that ML does a much better job of marketing. It's a shame too because in my dirt the F75 is the better machine for coins/relics, but all the local club guys swing the minelabs and I'll bet superior advertising plays at least a small part in that.

 

[gmanlight]

Well at least the web site is new . The old one was really dated.
I don't know what a new brochure will do as most people will surf the web for info.
Thy do need to tighten up on release dates and there detector naming can
be confusing like the Gold Bug , SE, PRO and so on .
On the plus side thy have been putting out some great stuff.

 

[Mike Hillis]

I agree with you too, Mike.

Remember the spread Minelab put out for the Safari? That was a great advertizing campaign. Very appealing. I still want one.

The advertizing starts the whole process of discontentment with what you have in your hand. The more eye appeal the advertising has, the more you think it might be better than what you currently own. Makes you want to start researching it, following the unit around, etc, until at some point you make up your mind to own one. All from a little eye candy.

HH
Mike

 

[Prospector Mike N.S.]

You Bet Wharghoul . I know you did a typo error but that's OK, $1249 - $1359 well OK $110 bucks lol. Anyway your right the advertising is what sells the products, even the nice web site Fisher has done still lacks much info on each product. OK so we can download the operating manual or specs sheet, but how many passer-byers are going to do that. Not many unless they are really interested in the product. All they have to do is go to "G" web site and look at all those write ups on each detector ..wow.. gee even I want one of each lol. And hey look it's a Silver Quarter in every video how good those "G" are. That strategy they use has got people hooked, line and sinker .. just need to reel them in now.lol. Anyway it is sad, yes Mike H. your right, I seen these ads as well and I wanted one right away. That's what I mean, I hope someday soon will Fisher wake up and see they are losing the war on advertising. Hey War - your right those two guy's on meteorite men could do some more plugging for Fisher, Fisher make great detectors, I now own a Tek Omega 8000 and I won't let anyone pry it from my fingers. Mike it's like inticing that little kid by showing him that candy in the shop window, lol.
Thanks for the replies Guys and HH. and may Fisher take note.
Mike Nova Scotia Canada

 

[Alimo88]

Or answering repeated email requests?

 

[Bill Ladd]

For magazine ads why have you gotten away from pictures of finds? When I get my Western & Eastern Treasures & begin flipping through it usually the only thing that will make me stop flipping is a picture of a cool coin or relic that was found with that great new detector their pushing. All the other brands ads have finds featured, & photo's of user finds with that detector are the hook.....nobody stops for fine print. A pictures worth a 1000 words right, & their are some great things being dug up with Tek/Fishers that could help sell a few more units....
The best/only first texas ad that made me stop was the 2008 F75 one that had pictures of a GW button, Saxon brooch, CS relic, colonial coins, "found with the F75 with less than a year on the market....."
Bill

 

[marcomo]

For magazine ads why have you gotten away from pictures of finds? When I get my Western & Eastern Treasures & begin flipping through it usually the only thing that will make me stop flipping is a picture of a cool coin or relic that was found with that great new detector their pushing. All the other brands ads have finds featured, & photo's of user finds with that detector are the hook.....nobody stops for fine print. A pictures worth a 1000 words right, & their are some great things being dug up with Tek/Fishers that could help sell a few more units....
The best/only first texas ad that made me stop was the 2008 F75 one that had pictures of a GW button, Saxon brooch, CS relic, colonial coins, "found with the F75 with less than a year on the market....."
Bill

I understand what you're saying, Bill, and that's why so many detector ads have coins and relics as props in their ads.

I actually thought the ads for the F75 LTD last year and F75 Black this year were excellent, both the design and the copy written by the multi-talented Dave Johnson who really knows how to write a compelling sales pitch.

But I don't think I'm typical when it comes to advertising. Most people don't give advertising much conscious thought. Subconsciously, it's a whole different story.

Garrett sells a whole lot of product, but I find their multi-box ads cluttered and noisy.

Of course advertising only shows how good the marketing deptartment is, not how good the detector is.

My F5 is a long time favorite detector, but when I look at the original F5 ad, it's one of the ugliest I've seen.

 

[CoiltoSoil]

I bet Whites gets a ton of business from those commercial spots on the history channel and I think a few of the Discovery channels. What better way to sell a detector then advertise to a million people who just watched a show on the Templars lost treasure etc.

 

[Sunny Jim]

"But I don't think I'm typical when it comes to advertising. Most people don't give advertising much conscious thought. Subconsciously, it's a whole different story."

Agreed. Marcomo.


I hear you all about the advertising, but I just want more info.

As for the cheap paper catalogs, It might be a cultural thing going on that the G company is capitalizing on.

My grandfather who was a farmer had simple tastes for advertising and I never saw any flashy glossy ads in his reading room. He had a conservative eye, a man with modest tastes for advertising. He would look at and slowly pour over each page, one at a time. Ever wonder why Sears And Roebuck were so popular? When they went glossy it was all down hill.


I just don

 

[Elton]

So yes...eye candy is the trick to capturing an audience ( Buyer)

 

[inspectorslg]

I Love the Fisher product so much I have 4 units. I own a F-75 Special Edition, F-2 (wifes), 1280-X Aquanaut, and a CZ-5. You cannot beat the warranty and the quality. Was going to buy an E-Trac before I purchased the F-75. After doing some reseach it was another Fisher hands down.

 

[inspectorslg]

I'm new to this forum and would like to introduce myself. The name is Steve and I live in Palm Coast, Florida.

 

[marcomo]

Welcome to the forum, Steve!

Keep us posted on how those detectors do for you.

 

[rick in mi]

Welcome Steve I have 2 fisher detectors and i love them,cant look back ....hh rick in mi.

 

[larryk56]

I think many people who get in this hobby
eventually buy other brands regardless of what they
may of purchased as their first detectors.

All they need to do is get on these boards
and they give enough marketing hype on several
brands in a jiffy!

 

[dring219]

my name is Donnie , I am a NOOB to MDing , i dont even have my detector yet .
I hope to have it Sat , Feb 5th . A Fisher F5 .

I kept seeing ads on Discovery / History channels about Whites , and finally asked / told wife i wanted a MD . We talked a few days , i searched websites . We settled an a price that we could afford . As i looked into Whites , i figured that it wasnt for me , so i started looking around some more . Found a MD superstore on the east side of FL , kept looking at their website , reading forum posts , looking at more websites . Was really seriously thinking about a "G" 250 / 350 , but really thought that a turn on and go unit wasnt for me .

Kept looking reading more forum posts , and saw where Bart Davis said that he sold Fishers that didnt include all that frilly foo foo that came with the units from that super store in FL . That he had reasonable prices and also included shipping and he sold Fishers that had a 5 year warranty , not just a 2 year .

I thought since this was a birthday present to myself , and that going to be 40 , that those basic units werent for me , the F5 had everything i wanted , never even saw an ad for it either . Watched several UTube vids about it , read things that Mike Hillis wrote , and i was sold on the Fisher product line . All thanks to an ad about a Whites unit .

So far , Bart at Big Boys Hobbies has done me right , hope the F5 i get is the v2 with the screw on coil rather than the plug in , but if it is the plug in , saw an earlier post about Fisher replacing it under warranty .
Sorry for being so long winded on my first post , but i have yet to see anything from Fisher / FT as far as ads go .

Thanks , Donnie in East Tennessee

 

[TerraDigger]

Why not ask Mike Scott, Director of Sales, First Texas Products, directly on this forum, why they lag behind on the amount & quality of advertising.
As a former sales professional, that would be my approach. Then we can hear from the 'horse's mouth' the reasons.

 

[jmaryt]

if i was a "betting" man,i would venture to say "'money!"
and perhaps,to a "lesser" extent,the "wrong" season.
"spring" and "xmas" seasons are "generally"considered the best
times of the year to advertise metal detectors,and related equipment.
just sayin!

(h.h.!)
j.t.

 

[Mike Hillis]

Hope you enjoy your F5 as much as I enjoy mine.

HH
Mike