andy wrote:

Lee ...

i think go for it.

the only issue i can see is that some people may see this as a more offcial site and get on various high horses a little more in the hope that B&O will take more notice of this as they are now advertisers. not a major issue i know, but it might happen.

but apart from that....charge them a hefty fee......when you price it..just remember the recent price increase..you could mention FOREX issues..labour....costs of production...lol

andy

I can't see a real downside. 

Anything that helps build and foster the relationship between the most knowledgable and committed sector of a loyal customer base and the company concerned has got to be good.  Rather than looking at the possibilty of B&O in someway 'tainting' the independence of the site, see it as an opportunity for leverage and to influence product development and change.

Cleve

Phil, I was thinking the very same thing about having B&O making the Beo5 config software available on Beoworld!

Beoworld has already been very cautious to keep the Beo5 configuration software from being shared via this site for concern of staying on good terms with B&O. I fear the slippery slope of this. Will Beoworld begin removing leaked details of future products at the request of B&O? I imagine that the urge of B&O to censor will be irresistible to them.

Lee,

I think its true to say that King Street was one of the early dealers to openly stick our heads up and support Beoworld as a site/concept/community, so personally, I am glad B&O feel the time is right for the brand to get involved too.  The US & Them situation of 18 months ago was not ideal.

I have wondered about a dealer ad on here - but aside from maybe being too controvertial, we are a regional dealer in the North West of the UK, and this is an international site - so global brand-awareness is just the job, whereas a dealer specific ad would either attract mail order enquiries (which we don't do) or simply be brand advertising for the entire network at our cost.

As others have said, the site should not become dependant on any one revenue stream - be it B&O, STB, LifestyleAV or whoever, as things change and the site could suffer.

I hope its the start of a real partnership...

KingStreet wrote:

I have wondered about a dealer ad on here - but aside from maybe being too controvertial, we are a regional dealer in the North West of the UK, and this is an international site - so global brand-awareness is just the job

It's dead-easy for the developers to create a system which serves UK-specific adverts to UK web users. This means it would be quite easy for your dealership to advertise on the site and only attract interest from UK customers. There are no reasons why you can't sell product to people outside your area, but within this territory (UK), which means an advert could be very valid.

I have a few thoughts and questions.  I guess if it means small banner adverts at the bottom of the page, that would be fine.  If it means a more splashy type of advertising like a flash presentation, then maybe that's not so good.  Will there be a large financial investment in Beoworld by B&O UK?  Are there going to be ads from other countries?

If there is a large financial commitment by B&O, will membership fees be unnecessary?

I am generally supportive of the idea of having ads on the site and do think they can be useful.  Although I live in the US, I recently made a purchase from Sounds Heavenly who advertises on this site.  The products and service are excellent.  I don't think I would order anything from B&O UK.  However I did buy a Serene phone in Paris.  Things do get complicated.  I think we need more information.

linder wrote:

I don't think I would order anything from B&O UK. 

UK B&O dealers aren't allowed to sell directly to customers outside of the UK, apart from those people who walk in to a store. ie. you can walk in to a store and take away a Beosound 3 with you.

Therefore my UK-specific advert suggestion would be an option for UK dealers such as KingStreet. They would be able to put an advert on Beoworld that would be only seen by UK web users and pay a little less for this setup (as they aren't targetting the entire site userbase).

moxxey wrote:

linder wrote:

I don't think I would order anything from B&O UK. 

UK B&O dealers aren't allowed to sell directly to customers outside of the UK, apart from those people who walk in to a store. ie. you can walk in to a store and take away a Beosound 3 with you.

Therefore my UK-specific advert suggestion would be an option for UK dealers such as KingStreet. They would be able to put an advert on Beoworld that would be only seen by UK web users and pay a little less for this setup (as they aren't targetting the entire site userbase).

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Can't see any downside at all

Just go for it

Jumbo

The_Beonic_Man wrote:

Other members support the site and prizes through their paid membership. 

That is simply not true Simon.

Not one penny of membership fees pays for any of the prizes. Every single prize in the monthly draw is either donated by a third party or supplied by LifeStyle AV (at Lee's expense).

Chris.