Badges, Branding and The Quality of DTD.

[theprawnidentity]

But the flipside to them offering to wear a patch would be to attract more players to their regular club.  Its a symbiotic relationship imo, it's not just the club who benefit from the advertising.

[Jables20]

The thing about patching up players is it's not actually that valuable right now.

What used to happen is that poker was on TV so companies were very keen to spend lot of money to make sure their name was on anybody at the table. Now it's not on TV, who cares if someone on your table is wearing a patch?

It's great that you signed up because you saw someone at a live game wearing a DTD patch and you asked them about it and they spent time telling you about it. In fact, that's fantastic!

Is anybody in Vegas going to ask Alex Goulder who DTD are because they saw him wearing a patch and act on that information? Not unless Alex takes time and explains why playing on the DTD software would be good for them. If 10 people ask Alex in a day and he spends 5 minutes explaining the site to them, how many sign ups do you think that will generate? It's non zero but it's close. That's an hour of Alex's time though.

If Alex makes a final table, that's another story. Hitting an FT/getting a bracelet picture might get some sign ups, but now there's a massive opportunity cost to Alex because he could be wearing a Jack Links patch for $4k or something.

[Jables20]

PS when I say Alex Goulder I mean any decent travelling DTD reg as outlined in OP... and when I say Jack Links I mean any company who thinks patching up players in poker tournaments is +EV. I have absolutely no idea if Jack Links do this sort of thing but goddam it I'd wear their patch for free jerky all day

[theprawnidentity]

Is anybody in Vegas going to ask Alex Goulder who DTD are because they saw him wearing a patch and act on that information?

Reuctio ad absurdum ITT.  We are talking about the UK poker market and the pro's who travel to different venues around the UK.  DTD does not work on an international level at the minute and would not be relevant to 7000 international players in the WSOP ME.  That doesn't make it irrelevant in events like the GPS, GUKPT, UKIPT's and other UK based events not hosted at DTD.

The thing about patching up players is it's not actually that valuable right now.

Vs the cost of a patch, I would suggest that it would be massively +ev for the club and as such, the regs who play there.  If a patch costs 50p and one guy signs up and plays a £5.50 feeder then were ballin already.  Not to mention the money they spend when they eventually satty something and arrive at the club.

That's an hour of Alex's time though.

I'm assuming thats an hour of time at a live poker table where he would have been rushed off his feet doing other things?

[Jables20]

Sorry I thought you were talking about asking players to wear patches for free at the series and at EPTs.

Reuctio ad absurdum, I like that hehe

I think you're wrong on those last two points though. The maths isn't as simple as you suggest in the second point. I'd actually estimate that you've overshot the cost of a patch but I'm not sure, it might be 10p who knows. They only physically last once or twice at a push. Is Joe Bloggs gonna get a new sign up every time he plays a side event at the GUKPT Luton, I doubt it. Do DTD want to be sending out 100 patches to people a week?


On the third point, it's not just at the poker table, it's at the bar, and walking around - there's definitely less down time if you're wearing a company patch. At the poker table the company is paying you to share some of the brain space you would ideally be spending focussing on the game.

One reason I would be disinclined to ask players to wear my brand for free if I ran a site is that it could very easily devalue the brand. I'd be relying on random people not to get in a fight at the pub/ do a bunch of drugs/ be terrible ambassadors while wearing my brand. I also would want to avoid a situation where I'd be saying yes I'd like you to wear my hoodie, but not you, to customers that I value the same

[theprawnidentity]

Yeh I mean, I'm not suggesting you start handing them out in the street or anything.  But a select few regs who the club wouldn't mind associating themselves with (obviously as Tal said, it has to be the right person).

On the third point, it's not just at the poker table, it's at the bar, and walking around - there's definitely less down time if you're wearing a company patch. At the poker table the company is paying you to share some of the brain space you would ideally be spending focussing on the game.

I kind of disagree with this, I'm 'somewhat' of a talker at the table (I have been told I never f**king shut up!!!!) but it doesn't mean I am any less focused on what I'm doing.  I usually don't talk about other things whilst playing a hand but it's quite easy to talk and follow what's going on outside of that.  Conversations usually go something along the lines of:

"What are the patches about?"
"They're for insertbrandhere.com"
"What do they do?"
"Well they do x,y & z, go on the website and have a look.  Followed by more Somerville conversational bollocks..."

It literally costs you nothing and you know that theres a chance that someone will go away and least have a look at the website.  100 patches a week is wayyyy over the top.  If you could get 4 or 5 guys who would be happy representing your brand, and they play an away leg say once a week (for argument) you would be looking 52 patches a year @ £0.50 per patch???  Might even work out cheaper to give them a hoody after all.  You're not alienating your existing customers, I don't refuse to play on stars cause they wont make a member of team pro.

[smurf]

I would fall in to the category of a 'recreational' player so my twopenneth.

I see many players wearing patches of some kind...I read them and simply assume they are experienced players who know what they are doing so (rightly or wrongly) watch their game more closely and try to adjust mine.

I have never gone home and looked at the website they advertise, I just use their badge as a " I know what I am doing" sticker....and a bit of an ego booster for the player wearing it.

If players wanted to wear it then far enough I just don't see them as doing an awful lot.

[George2Loose]

Most pointless thread in a while. This ship has sailed. I'm sure DTD would already be sponsoring players/regs if they thought it'd benefit

[theprawnidentity]

Most pointless thread in a while.

You gotta pass your boring Saturday's with nothing else on the menu other than coursework somehow!  Little bit harsh though, given the amount of MU threads that keep popping up.

[George2Loose]

I have never feel compelled to speak to someone wearing a patch. If anything I am pretty happy when I see an unknown patched up to the nines

[theprawnidentity]

I have never feel compelled to speak to someone wearing a patch. If anything I am pretty happy when I see an unknown patched up to the nines

http://uk.pokernews.com/news/2010/02/rupinder-bedi-interview-with-dtd-monthly-deepstack-winner.ht-5549.htm

 

[s4ooter]

Its a weird one.

I run a poker podcast and try to do the best to "market" it at poker events.  Sadly we have zero budget, so homemade "patches" are used as we cant currently afford the costs.  We also enter teams in national poker team events and get as many logos on the players as poss.  As presenter/founder ill wear the logo everywhere i can to help push the brand.  This prob is helped that i am one of those chatty/jokey players at the table and find it easy to get into convos regarding the podcast as much as poss.

However, i would say, that i have a lot more convos started at "smaller" events ie APAT, than i do when playing GPS', UKIPTs etc.  Think its more of an interest to a recreational player, and thats precisely our target audience.  We are also lucky to have people that will wear our "patches" in any tourny they play, for free, as they are willing to help push the brand.  Obviously our next move is to get some patches made up (bloody expensive mind!)

As for DTD, im pretty sure 80% of UK poker players know about DTD... i mean its the premier card room in the UK.  So is there any value in patching people up?  I suppose if people are doing it for free, there is no harm, bar the costs of making the patches.  Im sure DTDs marketing team have looked at it before, but with the lack of televised poker in the UK, i cant see it really breaching a massive audience.....

[PathFinder]

I have never feel compelled to speak to someone wearing a patch. If anything I am pretty happy when I see an unknown patched up to the nines

http://uk.pokernews.com/news/2010/02/rupinder-bedi-interview-with-dtd-monthly-deepstack-winner.ht-5549.htm

 

Hahaha! You are too awesome Tom

[Oxford_HRV]

badges and patches aren't eye catching enough..

[Boba Fett]

The problem with DTD patching is that I feel like pretty much everyone that plays poker in any kind of UK event where a patched player would be playing, already knows about DTD the live venue in Nottingham therefore I dont think the impact on the live club from patching players would be minimal.

It might be more useful to advertise their online skin but I know that I personally see players patched and can be sitting with them all day and never actually read their patch, remember what it is or take any interest in what the site is and what deals they offer.  I might be in the minority with this approach but I dont think I am.

DTD might be in a more unique position than most to get people to willingly wear patches for free but Im pretty sure the general attitude with patches is that people wont wear them unless there is something in it for them.

Blonde had some patches that people wore at events, would be interested to know how many people signed up and contributed to the forum after seeing a player patched and taking the time to find out what blonde was.