I just finished a phone call with the TCA business office that has me concerned, as well as disappointed and somewhat disturbed. Normally I would not discuss something like this on the forum, but its implications affect all of us in the hobby and so this post is intended to avoid emails and calls to us as to the what and why of TCA's decision.
I have been informed that TCA is ending its association with OGR as well as CTT with respect to its advertising. Part of the reasoning was stated as the average age of their membership being 75 years old and a desire to reach younger folks using the internet rather than print. I explained that about 85 percent of TCA's message on OGR went to online participants: namely the forum (with millions of page views per month) and our online magazine which is growing. Unfortunately this was met with "the decision has been made." Budget constraints were sited with a drastic cut across the board for advertising.
OGR has had a long and positive relationship with the National TCA, and has supported the organization through special promotions as well as multiple specific categories created especially for the TCA on our forum. As you all know, those club-specific categories are wildly popular and thus cost OGR to maintain, which partially comes from the support of businesses in this hobby.
I have been in marketing for quite a few decades and have worked with marketing teams from well-known companies through my association with Gannett Media. You name the major company and my team likely worked with them at one time or another. I understand budgets and markets, as well as demographics (not trying to brag here just trying to make a point). The decision to remove name awareness from the largest group of participants in this segment of the hobby in my mind needs more thought. This is akin to tearing down all billboards with your message on every major U.S. highway! And yes, billboards are very effective if used properly and in the most trafficked areas. OGR, CTT, and other publications are the main highways of this hobby! We offer not only traditional print products, but we also offer online/social media products. It seems to me that a discussion of how to more effectively use our online advertising would be on the table, however that was not the case during this morning's conversation. The TCA, in my opinion, appears to many newcomers to be a "collector" organization by virtue of its name. This may be a problem in today's market since the emphasis in recent times is more on operating trains and building layouts. Perhaps some consideration should be given to a name change for the TCA that more adequately reflects both the collector and operator participants in our hobby. With the reach that OGR and CTT have already established, we could play a major role in helping revitalize the TCA with fresh new advertising messages. Organizations must evolve with the trends in the hobby and address those trends! We have done so here at O Gauge Railroading magazine, and we will continue to do so as long as we have your financial and moral support!
Finally, the team here at OGR wishes the National TCA the very best as they endeavor to build awareness of their group. We have enjoyed our relationship with them over many decades, and hope that we have future opportunities to serve and work with them to support and grow our great hobby.
After I opened it and read it, I was really surprised/shocked the such a decision was made by TCA. I am not a member of TCA, as a two-railer their field of interest has no real interest to me. As an aside, when I visit a friend in Baltimore, I do read his CTT and enjoyed looking at the past. Note that between reading his print OGR and using this forum, I became a subscriber.